buying a new mp3 player

i'm buying a new mp3 player prior to the coming summer break; i'm planning to travel a lot and my 2 years old creative zen v plus looks extremely outdated now. so i'm going to buy a brand new mp3 player and give the old one to my little sister.

after spending some time researching about the current mp3 players out there, i have finally shrank my options of choice to 2: the apple 8gb ipod touch or the new 16gb creative zen.

although the 16gb creative zen does not have the cool new touch screen interface and the wifi capabilities of the ipod touch, it is still a very solid mp3 player and a more-than-capable portable video player with support of countless audio and video format. it is cheaper and the media storage is significantly bigger (16gb against the ipod touch's 8gb). the creative zen also support sync with windows media player (my main media player on my computer), and divx videos could be moved to the player and be played instantly without the use of additional codec converter; a very HUGE plus!

so what about the 8gb ipod touch? it's a lot pricier (34960yen compared to the zen's cheap price tag of 18663yen) but it definitely has the most features with support for additional widgets (if you use hacking software to install 3rd party utilities), the cool touch screen user interface, wifi capabilities, internet surfing etc.

without a doubt, the apple ipod touch is the COOLEST portable audio player out there, but like all other apple products, it suffers from freedom of compatibility and flexibility in moving media files from the computer into the player. it has limited format support, and everything must go through the clunky apple itunes software. the touch screen is a cool feature, but i predict its coolness wears thin quicker than expected.

although at this point, i prefer the more practical creative zen, the coolness of the ipod touch cannot be forgotten. so i'm in a dilemma; should i get the cool and trendy ipod touch, or the more practical and highly cost-effective creative zen?Apple ipod touch

Positive points:
* the touch screen user interface is extremely cool
*the design is more slick
*its an apple product, a branding power that you could use to brag to your friends
* support of additional widget through hacking that could further increase its functions

Negative Points:
*a lot more pricier
* limited support of audio and video format
* strictly dictatorship-style of apple bonding the player with the clunky itunes
* lower storage capacityCreative Zen

Positive points
* a lot more cheaper
* great compatibility with various audio/video format + ease of use in synching
* greater storage capacity
* expandable media storage with the sd card slot
* highly cost effective

Negative points
* not as cool as the ipod touch
* no wifi support
* no widget support
* you cannot brag as much as you could with the ipod touch

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after setting my priorities straight, i have finally decided to go with the creative zen. i'm also getting the sony headphone with noise canceling technology; and the price of both plus the skin pack is still cheaper than buying a 8gb ipod touch alone. practicality, ease of use and cost-effectiveness wins against trendy coolness.