Great portable unit, easy to use

We have the pink, the green and the blue one at our house. The kids bought them with their own money they saved. They LOVE THEM. However, mom has a different opinion. A wise friend told me to make sure I got the warranty. We have used them all!! They just are not made to withstand a lot. the kids love them and the amount of songs and the battery life. Just a word to the wise, spend the 30 bucks and get the warranty.

I-tunes is the software that comes with each i-pod. The software looks a little bit overwhelming when you first open it up. My 16 year old figured it out quickly (not sure if that is encouraging for 40+'s) and showed me a quick overview. She was able to load cd music and stored music on the computer onto everyone's ipod. My husband has an off brand mp3 player and it was able to be loaded. The kids set up a play list for me and I can play it right on the computer as I work with no i-pod in my possession.
The software is quite easy to use and customer service is very helpful. My ten year old can even load her own songs, so it is very user friendly!

The units overall are very nice. The bright colors appeal to the kids. I like that they are available in so many colors so there is no fighting and identification is quick and easy. The unit is .3 inches thick and weighs only 1.4 oz! Compact and sleek design.

The amount of songs the i-pods hold is mind boggling. I cant imagine that you would ever need to listen to 1000 songs or 25,000 digital photos at a time but the teens tell me this is vital. So the storage space is a huge plus! Personally I would be happy with 500 songs.
Supports MP3 (up to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, AAC (up to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (iTunes Music Store), Audible (formats 2, 3, 4), AIFF, Apple Lossless and WAV audio formats, plus BMP, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG and PSD (Mac only) image formats; podcasting support

YOU CAN ALSO USE THE NANO AS A FLASH DRIVE!! Yes no need to carry a separate flash drive. I was going to buy flash drives for my kids and my daughter alerted me to this fact! How cool is that? The only problem is i-pods are outlawed at school.

The lcd screen is 1.5 inches and even though it sounds small it is easy to read.

The battery life is fair in how long it lasts. The paperwork says 24 hours. It does last that long time and we have taken many trips. The nice thing is you dont have to turn on the computer to charge it. You do have to be careful to not unplug until the unit tells you it is safe to do so. We got a car charger for ten bucks that works really well. There is also a "boost" charger out there for about 20 bucks that has an AA battery that will prolong the battery life. For all regular purposes, the battery lasts several hours. For intense purposes, you might want the boost or charger on hand!

The unit is very easy to use. The "file" system for saving songs is very nice and helps you to get to the songs you need quickly. Being able to set the procession of songs is also very nice. The kids really like how they can set their music and let it go.

Sound quality is very good. The ear plugs that come with the unit are uncomfortable and hard. We purchased the bright colored urethane ones at best buy (again color coding personal possessions) for about ten bucks each. We also have speakers that allow the unit to be used as a "boom box". This works really well and you would be surprised at the quality of sound out of a set of cheap portable i-pod speakers (off brand about 15 bucks) and a little itty bitty nano!!

The nano is extremely portable. We did but cases for them but the kids just dont like them too much. They like the feel of the nano in their hands and tuck them into a waistband sometimes. My one daughter uses a generic neck badge holder when she runs to hold the ipod. Lots of nice accessories out there to make it more portable.

Overall this is the bomb in mp3 players. At first glance the price seems excessive. When you start looking at all the features and the sheer volume of songs, it is really a good price. My kids saved up their own money to buy their nanos and not one has complained about the price they paid. They are all very happy with the units. Yes every kid has one. They have cell phones and ipods - that is just this generation. My generation was the perk of a phone in your own room and a nice stereo. I wish I could have been "portable" and had a cell phone and an i-pod. Maybe mother's day I will get my own nano and not have to borrow one when they are in school!!