Microsoft Zune 30GB

A good basic device – 3 years ago I decided to by a Pod, but did not want to invest the money in an Apple iPod because I was worried about it getting stolen or lost. Apple's are a desireable product and it seemed like a lot of money to invest in something so easily misplaced or appealing to the thiefs eye. The Zune 30gb ended up the logical purchase. 30gb of storage, reasonable battery life, video and audio with a few basic fun games all for AU$80. Yes, Eighty Dollars!

I still use the Zune a few days a week for probably 10 hours so after 3 years and around 1,500 hours of use it has developed a small problem with the LCD display - there is a dead line of pixels. That said, the audio still works well and the line of pixels is not too distracting.

I bought a second one for my father, a man very unfamiliar with the digital age. He found it very easy to use once I put his music on it for him and gets a lot of use from it.

A peculiar feature I like is that I can swap songs with him via WiFi. He can only play them three times due to digital rights management but it means he can listen to a song a few times then decide if he wants to buy it on CD which is perfect for meeting his needs. Wifi, good battery life, price and ease of use more storage would be good. Screen experienced issues after about 30 months of heavy use.