I'm looking for a music player that has a large capacity, as I would like to use it as a backup for my collection. Bells and whistles like video and suchlike aren't essential, but of course they would be nice - however I'd prefer the ability to play a variety of formats - particularly flac.
I know most people will scream "i-pod" at me, but I'm a bit wary of them. Most people I know who swear by them seem to be more fascinated with the design than whether it's actually the best device available - it seems to me that they don't know anything about any alternatives - "media player" means "i-pod" to them and that's about it.
I also seem to remember some techy acquaintances I once had being a bit sniffy about it and claiming that there were annoying things about it, like having to use i-tunes and what not and that there were better, if less hyped, machines available. However this was some time ago.
Are there high capacity devices that are better than the i-pod and what issues and restrictions are there with the i-pod and it's insistence that you only use i-tunes?
I know most people will scream "i-pod" at me, but I'm a bit wary of them. Most people I know who swear by them seem to be more fascinated with the design than whether it's actually the best device available - it seems to me that they don't know anything about any alternatives - "media player" means "i-pod" to them and that's about it.
I also seem to remember some techy acquaintances I once had being a bit sniffy about it and claiming that there were annoying things about it, like having to use i-tunes and what not and that there were better, if less hyped, machines available. However this was some time ago.
Are there high capacity devices that are better than the i-pod and what issues and restrictions are there with the i-pod and it's insistence that you only use i-tunes?
