Look guys, the bottom line is, no matter what player you get it's still gonna run on a lithium ion rechargeable. Sooner or later it'll run out...especially for you pdiggs, you with your solitary job, you can say goodbye to your battery sooner than the average MP3-er.
iPods are expensive, yes (altho prices have dropped recently), but if you purchase your iPod from an Apple store, you can get a 3 year warrantly for like $30. I'll shut my mouth if other manufacturers do that, becuz I don't really know since I have no exp. with them. Think about it, three years, replace your batteries 3 times for $30, instead of $100 each time without the warranty.
A plus, any iPod purchase comes with a 1 year manufacturer warranty. This has held up pretty nice for me twice already, two new iPods for the price of just one
(think draining 1 battery unnecessarily, and "dropped" the other)...
the current iPod video software is shit, I go through hell trying to upload videos for my dad onto his iPod. Rumors are they're coming out with a pure video iPod, meaning bigger/clearer (as if the current one isn't clear enough), mroe memory and better uploading.