OK all you tech people, give me all the details. My ds-9 is wanting a MP3 player because one of his friends has one. We are trying to determine if we want him to have one or the other. Thanks for all the info.!

No difference. The i-pod is just a brand name.

However, some people go with the i-pod because product support is a little bit more user friendly. It's a bit more 'plug-n-play' for people who aren't very technically oriented.

Other than that, you can find really good MP3 players - non-ipod ones - for much cheaper than the brand name.

It's like the difference between a Tivo and a DVDR.

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"Poor people work for their money. Rich people make their money work for them."

I have a Samsung one I got for my b'day from Target for about $100. It's a plug and play, and it's all one thing, so no cables to worry about, it just plugs into the USB port on my computer.

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Alicia

Mommy to Aidan 10-21-05 and Rori 7-3-07

Sears has one in today's ad on sale today and tomorrow. It is an off brand but says it is plug and play ability, has pretty good size storage and is $40 and then a $15 rebate. The Ipod with the same storage capacity is $80. Just like Kleenex and tissue - people often use the terms interchangeably.

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Better to give your kids the values you have
than the valuables you can't afford.