I was going to recommend the iAudio model, but that seems to be out of your price range. Have you checked websites like pricewatch.com and pricegrabber.com? they can sometimes find really good prices on items. also, you might want to check www.dapreview.net. They cover high-end and medium-grade mp3 players from most major manufacturers. They skimp on ipod coverage since there are several websites which do that, but they are a good source of info on Cowon, Creative, Iriver and Archos products.
If you can wait till Thanksgiving, companies are likely to have new models out by then, and you can definitely get great deals on existing models.
my dell dj just died after only 15 months of use so i need to get a new mp3 player. i did some research and it seems like all the mp3 players out right now suck so im having a hard time trying to decide on what to get.
here is my criteria:
the main thing is i need something with at least 30gb of space (preferably 40 gb) and a lot of battery life (20 hours +). also it has to be reliable and last me a long time. i dont want it to stop working after just a year like my dell dj. my budget is under $350, and i dont mind buying off ebay if i can get a good deal. a photo mp3 player would be nice, but is really not a high priority for me. im not too picky on sound quality since i figure anything over $300 will sound good enough. ease of use doesnt matter to me because im not a ******* who cant figure out how to use an mp3 player.
so far the cowon iaudio x5l seems like the best choice because of all the features and long battery life, but it seems too expensive for only 30gb of space.
i liked everything the sony vaio pocket had to offer, but unfortunately it has a crappy design and is too big.
i dont really want an ipod because they are too popular and trendy. also they are overpriced and have low battery life. does anyone know anything about the next generation of ipods? because if fix the battery life and lower the price i might consider it. i dont want to wait to long to get a new mp3 player though.
i love the design of the sony network walkmen hd5, but its 20gb hard drive is too small.
so what do you guys think? should i just wait until there are better options, or are there any current mp3 players that fit my needs?

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