Which One?

[sherrardk]

My daughter is 8 next month and I want to get her a personal 'music player',of some kind. I am obviously clueless about such stuff but boy#1 will load the songs on, etc. I don't want to spend loads but don't want to buy something that won't last either. I am presuming that I would be best to get an Apple product as the boy has an iMac and my daughter uses the ipad so we are familiar with the layout of such products. Sorry for sounding like a dinosaur.

[Buenchico]

Hmmm.

I wouldn't claim any great expertise in such matters but there would seem to be a contradiction between Statement No 1:
>>>>I don't want to spend loads
and Statement No 2:
>>>>I am presuming that I would be best to get an Apple product

Anything from Apple won't come cheap! The only Apple iPod with a fairly low price tag is the iPod Shuffle, at £37.00 in Argos:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5190458.htm
It's available in 7 colours but it's only got a 2Gb memory (but, at around 500 tracks, that might be enough for an 8-year-old anyway).

Above that you're looking at spending quite a bit of money for a more advanced iPod. (Around £130 for an iPod Nano, £190 for an iPod Classic or between £250 and £330 for an iPod Touch, depending on the storage capacity).

If I was buying for an 8-year-old I'd be looking at something like this:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Search/searchTerms/9080210.htm
As well as holding far more tracks (around 1800) it's got far more 'play value' because of its built-in camera and video facility (together with an FM radio). If you scroll down to the customer reviews you'll see comments such as "Excellent purchase, bought for my 8 years old little girl, really easy to use, definitely worth the money."

[Stephen_G]

I would not recommend that you buy any of the iPod range... because of the prices Chris has quoted. If your daughter loses it, are you prepared to replace it with one of the same value? Personally, I'd be livid if a child of mine came home and said they've lost something of that value, and I'd point-blank refuse to replace it.

I think the second one Chris has recommended is perfectly adequate, and it does resemble the older model iPod Nano.

[sherrardk]

Thank you both - she won't be taking it far and she is hideously sensible and cautious for a (nearly) eight year old (due to having a bit of a demon for a younger sister). I will probably have to let her keep it locked away in a petty cash tin that we have anyway! I will have a good look at both the cheapy Apple thing and the other one. Have to ask boy#1 what he thinks (he's currently fulfilling the role of tech person).

[shoota]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ferguson-reel-to-reel-tape-recorder-with-BSR-deck-/111147460015?pt=UK_Consumer_VintageAudio_RL&hash=item19e0e7a5af

[Stephen_G]

Don't get me wrong, sherrard, I shunned the iPod route for years, but after a disastrous couple of months with a Sony MP3 player (It skipped when going over a bump in the road or over railway points), I bought the 32GB iPod Touch and I love it. I heard people saying "You can only use an iPod with iTunes" and it put me off.

I've got most of the storage full of music, but I've also got five or six games on it as well (Playing games will drain the battery a lot quicker than using the mp3 player). The only drawback to the Touch is the lack of a Radio - the Nano does have the FM Tuner, but a max 16GB memory. There's also hundreds of free apps on the iTunes store to keep your daughter entertained, but you'd be better off keeping a check on purchases.

[sherrardk]

Shoota - think it might be a bit complicated for her, but thanks :)

Stephen_G - one of my lovely little people down loaded a £69.99 game (that is broccoli), I am wise to how to stop that now (my fault, not theirs - on himself's card so not really my problem!)

To be fair, she won't know about the brand or how good it is perceived to be, I think she will love something music based that is just hers. I will have a good think about it.