Christmas Is Coming!

So, as you know, I lost my iPods--both my jaunty little green Mini, and my earlier generation behemoth, which felt like a brick, but did hold all my music. And geez, do I miss them, especially in the car, where I am now forced to listen to the radio.

So, since we are approaching a major gift giving opportunity, I thought I'd look into replacing them. Being a savvy shopper, I looked at some non-Apple devices, and suddenly, this isn't as easy as I thought it would be.

Microsoft has come out with this: the Zune. Look at that nice big screen! It looks so much bigger than the iPod's! It holds music and photos and videos, and can connect wirelessly so you can share your music with another Zune!

Ahem. It also has some bogus system of downloading music with "points" that you have to buy before going to the music site. Its screen resolution is lower than the iPod, it's apparently dimmer than the iPod, and Microsoft is promoting it based on features that they don't have ready yet.

Um...Vista anybody?

So, I'm not overwhelmed by the Zune. Plus, what a stupid name. So, a certified gadget geek tried to sell me on this: the Zen.

It's pretty small, with a bigger screen than even the Zune. But the controls are kind of clunky, and I'm not sure it's got the memory of the big iPod.

So, now what? Do I wait for Apple to upgrade the screen size of the iPod? Do I get something for now to save me from the horror that is radio? Do I just quit whining about it all? Okay, you know me too well--the whining stays.