This is Eric Aceves’ submission for the HP Magic Giveaway. Feel free to leave comments for this article as you see fit – your feedback is certainly welcomed! If you’d like to submit your own how-to, what-is, or top-five list, you can send it to me. Views and opinions of this writer are not necessarily my own:

There seems to be a fad going on that started with the release of the iPod Mini. That was when I started to notice more people with them, and the Mini was my first iPod too. But is it really a fad or is there a reason? There are good things about other mp3 players such as the Creative, SanDisk, Zune and Sony players.

I would like to know why other people are getting iPods and how you feel about having one. Does it make you look cool? Are you “in” if you have one? Or are you the type of person that chose it over others for the features? There are many great portable media players out there that offer the same stuff with even more features. I am not a big fan of Apple products because of their prices. A PC is easier on the wallet and they have a lot more stuff for them. Still, I have several reasons why I got an iPod.

1. They have great battery life. Normal use for me is using the device from home to school (50 min), between classes, and from school to home. Some random use also occurs at home. This is the biggest reason why I recently purchased my iPod Classic. When I had the Zune 30, my battery would always die out really quick during normal use. I had tried everything to make it better, such as reducing my interaction with the device like moving through the menus. I tried to listen to the music in lower volumes (which is hard when you are riding the train and bus to school), turned off the WI-FI, and I reduced the brightness. It wouldn’t last long on one charge – two days. When I bought the iPod Classic, I was overwhelmed by the battery life. I was so surprised that I actually timed the battery life and got a whooping 35 hours using half volume and continuous play with no interaction. I had tried the same on the Zune 30 but only got about 10 to 12 hours. I know that’s not a fair comparison because the Zune 30 was out a year before; but the later generation of the Zune, the Zune 80, did get a better battery life; but from reports it only got 20 or something hours. So the iPod still did better than the Zune.
2. iTunes. I have heard people say that they don’t like iTunes, I have used it for several years and never had a problem with it. Some say that it is hard to use. I remember using it for the first time and found it pretty easy. Of course, I consider myself a geek with technology but it was quite easy to use and help people with when they had problems. People have said that they didn’t like that you couldn’t drag-and-drop. Yes, you can drag-and-drop; this makes it easy to add media.
3. Storage. When I purchased my second iPod (the Classic I spoke of), I chose the 80GB rather than the 160GB because the price was lower; I didn’t want to spend an extra $100 for space which I may never use. I thought 80GB was enough for me and my needs. So this point really depends on how much storage you really want and what you’ll pay for.
4. Usability. When I first used the iPod I remember thinking, “Man, this is easy to use and straightforward.” I have used other media players that have a nice interface as well. I have always liked the idea of all the buttons are on the front rather than scattered all around the device. It makes it very easy for new users to adapt to its usability. If you think about it, that may be why Apple has done so well with the iPod and iPhone – because of their usability and interface.
5. So many accessories! If you’re still not broke after buying an iPod, then there are a ton of iPod accessories to select from. Of course, there are all sorts of accessories for other media players, but they do not compare to the selection of the iPod.

So those are my top 5 reasons that I got an iPod, what are your yours?

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – Ponzi loves her iPod and iTunes integration, but she also hates both the iPod and iTunes.

The iPod is a beautiful, sleek mp3 player. It’s simple, easy, and fun to use. The problem, though, is that the iPod gets scratched, and then it becomes an eyesore. Since it does get scratched you should keep the iPod in a protective case, but most cases are a pain to use all the time, don’t dock easily, and generally don’t look as good as the iPod itself.

On the software end, iTunes is easy to use and listen to music, and it has some great iPod integration. Of course, the problem is DRM: you can use the media you’ve purchased in a way you want to. You’re limited to using the songs on your iPod or within iTunes, but beyond that you can’t simply play it on a generic MP3 player.

What MP3 player and music service do you use?

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