Customer Rating: 
Summary: Was great for almost 2 years- then Ka-Blooey!
Comment: Really liked my Ipod for almost 2 years, thought the sound quality was fine, like Itunes and the playlists, bought a car radio with an Aux plug and used it in the car every day. All of a sudden the hard drive just died 2 days ago- wouldn't mount to the computer initially and then wouldn't turn on at all. I am just barely within my 2 year window for my American Express extended warranty, so hopefully I will come out ok- the replacement cost from the Apple Store near me is $270.... I am not happy that a $400 player would just die within 2 years and no one at Apple cares. Ridiculous.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Meets My Bedside Needs But Not the Best Portable
Comment: My research, both online and talking to iPod users, made me realize that if I wanted portable music I wanted LESS GB, not more because 20, 40, and 60 GB models strain the battery. But I wanted a huge GB storage space and only wanted to use my iPod beside my bed so I got the 40 GB model a year and a half ago. The battery should last me forever since I stick on a rechargeable JBL Soundstage system (good, not great, but I don't super high volume next to my bed pillow). So far I've had no battery problems.
For bedside or table use, get lots of GB. For a portable, getter a less expensive, less GB model.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I love my iPod and the deal I got
Comment: I bought this 40 GB iPod for $195 refurbished at Small Dog Electronics. It has a one year warranty. It's my first iPod and is a dream (especially once I figured out the shuffle). It's easy to use.
As someone else recommended, make sure to upload your music to iTunes and take the time to properly categorize your genres, etc. This will maximize your experience in listening to exactly what you want.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent user interface, but died in less than 2 years
Comment: I love the iPod interface, but this little guy just can't seem to last two years. My hard drive died, and the Apple store couldn't get it going again unless I shelled out $200-$250 for a replacement hard drive. Might as well buy a new one. I have to say that these iPods either have batteries or hard drives that die in what seems to be a short time frame. Apple did offer me a 10% discount on my next iPod if I turned in my old one, but to be honest, I found that a laughable offer give how much I originally paid for it. They also wanted me to buy the $60 extended warrenty (so that it would cover two instead of one years). Apple, if you can't make a product that lasts for two years, then either take it off the market or improve your quality. I did buy another iPod because the store offered me a student's discount, but if this one dies with in two years, I am seriously going to consider another company.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent MP3 Player! It broke things wide open
Comment: I received this ipod, my first, for my birthday when I was in college. I have gotten an amazing amount of use from it, and it hasn't the slightest indication of imaging and has shown absolutely no flaws from the beginning. It doesn't have the bells and whistles that the more recent upgraded models have, but this particular ipod broke the barriers of the previous mp3 players on the market and demonstrated what huge amounts of music data could be stored on such a small thing. If you're looking for the bare bones music player, with no need for the video and picture-holding capabilities, and you have a lot of music to boot, this is a great option for you. It's a shame the current high-capacity iPods offer only 30GB and 60GB, respectively, because I imagine a lot of people would prefer thier device to fall somewhere between those two storage amounts. I think Apple should produce a very wide variety of sizes and features for its listeners. Either way, though, this makes a great product, and for the enrichment of my ears (and for the deflation of my pockets), I will probably be buying iPods for the rest of my days.
Summary: Was great for almost 2 years- then Ka-Blooey!
Comment: Really liked my Ipod for almost 2 years, thought the sound quality was fine, like Itunes and the playlists, bought a car radio with an Aux plug and used it in the car every day. All of a sudden the hard drive just died 2 days ago- wouldn't mount to the computer initially and then wouldn't turn on at all. I am just barely within my 2 year window for my American Express extended warranty, so hopefully I will come out ok- the replacement cost from the Apple Store near me is $270.... I am not happy that a $400 player would just die within 2 years and no one at Apple cares. Ridiculous.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Meets My Bedside Needs But Not the Best Portable
Comment: My research, both online and talking to iPod users, made me realize that if I wanted portable music I wanted LESS GB, not more because 20, 40, and 60 GB models strain the battery. But I wanted a huge GB storage space and only wanted to use my iPod beside my bed so I got the 40 GB model a year and a half ago. The battery should last me forever since I stick on a rechargeable JBL Soundstage system (good, not great, but I don't super high volume next to my bed pillow). So far I've had no battery problems.
For bedside or table use, get lots of GB. For a portable, getter a less expensive, less GB model.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I love my iPod and the deal I got
Comment: I bought this 40 GB iPod for $195 refurbished at Small Dog Electronics. It has a one year warranty. It's my first iPod and is a dream (especially once I figured out the shuffle). It's easy to use.
As someone else recommended, make sure to upload your music to iTunes and take the time to properly categorize your genres, etc. This will maximize your experience in listening to exactly what you want.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent user interface, but died in less than 2 years
Comment: I love the iPod interface, but this little guy just can't seem to last two years. My hard drive died, and the Apple store couldn't get it going again unless I shelled out $200-$250 for a replacement hard drive. Might as well buy a new one. I have to say that these iPods either have batteries or hard drives that die in what seems to be a short time frame. Apple did offer me a 10% discount on my next iPod if I turned in my old one, but to be honest, I found that a laughable offer give how much I originally paid for it. They also wanted me to buy the $60 extended warrenty (so that it would cover two instead of one years). Apple, if you can't make a product that lasts for two years, then either take it off the market or improve your quality. I did buy another iPod because the store offered me a student's discount, but if this one dies with in two years, I am seriously going to consider another company.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent MP3 Player! It broke things wide open
Comment: I received this ipod, my first, for my birthday when I was in college. I have gotten an amazing amount of use from it, and it hasn't the slightest indication of imaging and has shown absolutely no flaws from the beginning. It doesn't have the bells and whistles that the more recent upgraded models have, but this particular ipod broke the barriers of the previous mp3 players on the market and demonstrated what huge amounts of music data could be stored on such a small thing. If you're looking for the bare bones music player, with no need for the video and picture-holding capabilities, and you have a lot of music to boot, this is a great option for you. It's a shame the current high-capacity iPods offer only 30GB and 60GB, respectively, because I imagine a lot of people would prefer thier device to fall somewhere between those two storage amounts. I think Apple should produce a very wide variety of sizes and features for its listeners. Either way, though, this makes a great product, and for the enrichment of my ears (and for the deflation of my pockets), I will probably be buying iPods for the rest of my days.