I would like to buy a shuffle or nano, i am not very au fait with them.

I would mention that once you buy an Ipod anything (nano, shuffle, clasic etc) you are very much in the grip of Apple and Itunes ..... which is costly. From what I can gather from my son who has all these up-to-the-minute gadgets, you buy and download everything from Itunes and the bills soon mount up - well, his bills certainly do. You can buy MP3 players (pretty much the same if all you want is a means of playing music) for far cheaper, and you can put MP3 music files on it from your PC/laptop, at no cost. Your existing music collection can be converted to MP3 format and put onto your MP3 player - you can't do that with anything Apple. Just a suggestion which will certainly save you money, hope it's of help.

Just to correct and clarify some of the points you make in your reply wendiew. I have placed all my all CD's on my iPod, iPhone and at no additional cost. The software that comes with Apple products allows you to convert/import your CD collection into their format and apply them to your device.

You don't have to buy your products from iTunes alone. I have purchased downloads from HMV and Amamzon at a fraction of the price and all have the option to convert these into the Apple based files and they all play on my Apple based devices.

The design aspects of Apple products are wonderful and the ease with which to use them is a major plus. They are truly plug and play type devices and are small and functional.

I agree that you can buy an MP3 player and this will function in a similar way.

I feel that great music to work out to are the power anthems of the 80's - Eye of the Tiger, YMCA etc... The music of this period I genuinely feel is enjoyable and fun and that can help when reaching the pain barrier!!

I agree with Parchester. 80s music is the best to work out to, especially the Rocky songs. If you want to choose order of play don't buy the shuffle.

Hi,

I thought I'd add a couple of comments...

1) The shuffle will play your songs in a random order, while the nano will play from ordered 'playlists' you can set up. I'd go for the nano so you can have 'mood' playlists - say a workout playlist (packed with Survivor, Whitesnake, Van Halen, Bon Jovi and the soundtrack to any Bruckheimer/Simpson 80s movie from the sounds of it :), a chillout playlist etc. That way you won't be in the middle of a high-intensity aerobic workout and suddenly have Enya playing, as you might from a shuffle...

2) ipods will play standard mp3 files. You can rip CDs or download from any sites and stick them on you ipod. Heck, ipods are just usb hard drives with media players so you can use it as a backup device if you want and stick important word and excel docs onto it if you want.

3) You can buy cheaper models, but speaking from experience unless you buy a big name (apple, creative, sony) it's a false economy as lesser brands break easily.

I would say nanothem.
>;o)

Apple are overpriced toys!

But yes there are so many docking stations etc that you are actually forced to buy one - amazing company Apple or should I say Steve Jobbs - he rescued it with the imac when it looked like it was going under.

I would go with an Ipod - The nano is a bit feeble!

My personal preference is Creative they are the leader in sound devices for computers and produce rock solid products.

That's interesting, Omen. I bought something from Creative ages ago and they are always sending me emails, so I've been thinking about a Zen...

Hi Instinct - when you get your mp3 player you might be interested in downloading free workout music from fitMusic.com (can be done through iTunes podcasts)

You can buy a great ipod for a fraction of the price from Cash Converters - theres sure to be one in your area

How about the track - Survivor! Lol sorry couldnt resist.

So did you get one Instinct? And how many times have you made it to the gym................?? Most people I know join up, go a few times then stop!