Please don't buy.

I gave this product to my well wisher on his birthday. It has now gone wrong for the second time. I was expecting Sansa to be a good product but unfortunately(?) it is not. i was wrong.

Caveat Emptor

First off - I am an iPod fan: my 3G was a constant companion, and is still in use. I bought my wife an iPod Video, which we've enjoyed especially when travelling. When my 3G battery was now down to 90 minutes, I purchased the Classic 160.

What's good? I like the style, and I like"coverflow" (although as the Ipod is usually in a case it's not often seen!) And the music sounds great - at least as good as on the 3G, other reviews notwithstanding. At 160 GB, I can get all my 120GB of music on and let iTunes sort it out. And battery life is stunning in comparison with the 3G, even when new.

However, the volume cap is the bad news. The EU (as you will know) have imposed a maximum decibel level on all personal stereos. This is not new - I bought the iPod in the knowledge that maximum volume was limited. However, the limitation (that is in the firmware) has been encrypted. For the other two iPods I had used GoPod to remove the cap - GoPod does not recognise the new iPod, and as the creator of GoPod no longer has an iPod, it is unlikely that an upgrade will be forthcoming.

What does this mean? For me, the iPod works great with my ER6 earbud headphones - although I have the volume on full, as opposed to on half to three quarters for the 3Gs (I ran a comparison test.) However, when I use my Bose Noise Cancelling earphones, there is not enough volume to drive them. This is, you might imagine, rather annoying. I shall have to buy an amplifier if I want to use these. Again, on three quarter volume, the 3Gs have no problem.

Think car stereo too. If, like me, you connect to your car stereo through the headphone socket, the volume level is too quiet to be heard above ambient noise. A problem.

The good news here is that the PC connector at the bottom is unaffected - so if you use external speakers that slot here, you'll be fine. And a work around for headphone users is to buy a remote that plugs into this socket, and then connect the headphones here.

Overall, then, if your headphones work fine with the iPod this is a five star review. If not, it might not manage one star. I'd suggest trying out your phones on a store/friend's iPod, and making your mind up. Or buy a US model - no restrictions here. Buy across the pond and take it back with you - and save money too! - or purchase through a reputable US supplier. Even with duty, you'll be likely to save money = and avoid a crippled machine...

Great for the money

I bought this in March and have had no problems whatsoever. It is my first MP3 and I don't feel I need a screen at all. HOWEVER, the battery life is nothing like the advertised 10 hours - more like 3-4! and I don't play it that loud either. The battery life lost it one star, but apart from that a lovely little gadget.

Superb

The iPod 30GB is an amazing little gadget. Okay, so it's pretty big for a music player, but what are people really looking for these days? Gadgets are gradually getting smaller and smaller. But whats the need? This iPod has kept me company plenty of times since I bought it, you don't get exactly 30GB, its something around 28.7GB, I haven't even reached 20GB yet! Personally this is a must buy for all you people seeking a music player.

Impressed....but with some reservations

For the price this is a good piece of kit and I'd recommend it. I do have a couple of issues though:

> I purchased a 4GB SD card to use with it. However, it doesn't seem to be able to handle this size card. If this is the case it should have been highlighted. I've emailed the company querying this, will update when I hear back.

> I tend to listen to mix mp3's which can go on for hours. When you remove the device it doesn't remember where in the track you stopped it and restarts the track from the beginning. Bit of a shame when your 1 1/2 hours through a 2 hour mix and have to restart at the beginning.

Apart from those gripes, good value for money.

good, but one slight flaw

Great piece of equipment this - just be warned however. IT IS VERY VERY SMOOTH and I let it slip from my fingers on the first day I had it,landing on the stones on my patio. Result: many scratches on the screen and a chip out of the casing.

really comfy

I have issues with in ear headphones, i always used the beef burger DJ style ones when i was snowboarding etc - but then i got some sony ones, similar to these but a bit smaller - they were ace, but i went through about 3 pairs which cost on average 50quid each, they just kept breaking - (i am a bit rough with my headphones i guess), but then i saw these ones - much cheaper, super comfy, great sound, and the best bit - i've had them for over 6 months, and still taking the abuse - even wear them in work, and thats messy - i dont normally write reviews, but it's worth it for these....

Fantastic Sound and great compact size.

I have good news for all those hifi heads who like their music loud. Samsung has actually put a sound limiter option on these so that you can listen to your tracks above the"safe" level, and to me the safe level is way too low on most mp3 players out there. At last I can listen to my favourite tracks now without being frustrated by the lack volume.

The size is great and the dislay clear. The touch screen controls are very sensitive and easy to use. Sound reproduction is sharp and clear, and video crystal smooth.

The FM radio is great but Samsung could have improve upon the recorder which captures music at a low bit rate and is not that clear when played back. Overall an excellent MP3 player which is highly recommended.

Great all rounder

Wife bought me this for my 40th birthday to replace my 30gb video ipod which has been played to death.
Have to say what a fantastic piece of kit, worked effortlessly first time synching all my itunes stuff and selected photos. Bought some music on itunes via my ipod without any fuss. Only thing is like any ipod make sure you get a protector for it as it is a fingerprint magnet. And yes I am a Apple fan, always have been, everything just works effortlessly and the ipod works perfectly with my new imac (5 month old). Recommended.

Best sound quality pm3 !!!!!!

Great little device, unbelievable sound quality and the option to customise two sound equalizer modes is superb !!!!
A definate for music lovers, and the playtime is ridiculously long !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love it!

Bought this a few months ago and take it everywhere with me - knew up front extra costs for the accessories and plugins I wanted so it wasn't an unexpected shock. I use it all the time and would def recommend it to other gadget-lovers.

Pink iPod Nano Earphones

What a fantastic gift to go with the Nano. My granddaughter loved them.
The company it-surplus was fantastic.

Who needs an iPod?

I have purchased a number of Sony items over the years, including other Atrac CD/MD/ Network Walkman products, and had no reservations about buying this particular model. For the price, it is a superb performer, with a very clear and detailed sound, which belies the Atrac compression. To be able to get 30+ CD's worth of music on to one blank CD-R is a major bonus, particularly for motorists- obviously without the need to keep changing discs every few hours. It's far better than a CD auto changer in that respect. Coupled with a cassette adaptor kit and cigar lighter connection (or even using rechargable batteries) it couldn't be simpler to install and use.
Although many people have criticised Sony for the way that the Sonic Stage software works, I have to say that I have had no problems with it, ever since Version 1 came out and including subsequent updated versions. Yes, it can be a pain uploading all the original CD's to start with, but the Library soon fills up with albums and from there any number of compilations can be put together. I can't recommend this model enough and am well pleased with it. Excellent value for money and another winner from the Sony stable.

It's good but...

Well, as I said in the title, this is a good product & it is the first MP3 player I have owned so I can't comment on how it compares with other MP3 players. It does have more space on it than I really need, but more is better than less in this case. The main problem I have with it, is that it scratches very easily & this could be somewhat off putting to a buyer when I'm done with it, as it looks like it's had a lot of abuse & admittedly, I didn't exactly choose this.

I originally had a white Nano, but after a very minor accident the screen was broken (Most other things wouldn't have been damaged or damaged as badly as the nano) so I was actually planning to get a Zen, but then my bor brought me back a black Nano so I'm still using it & bieng a lot more careful with it. It is too fragile though for such an expensive product, I'm wondering how & when I'm gonna break this one.

My bro bought a Zen quite recently & he says it's really good, so maybe I'll get one like I intended in a short while. All in all, I'd say it's worth it's price tag, but I'd get a Mark II version as opposed to this one, much better value for money, or buy a Zen.