I want a decent, high-ish capacity mp4 player for christmas. I have a budget of £100 max although i may be able to stretch a tiny (i mean a few pounds) bit further to pay for postage etc.

I need a capacity of at least 30gb and it will need to be able to play aac (itunes format) audio. I store most of my music in that format and i can't be assed to have to convert everything that i want to listen to. This second criteria isn't critical but highly desired.

So far I've come up with 2 choices: the Archos 404 and the Creative Zen.

To begin, the Archos 404 30Gb
Pros:

• Big screen
  
• USB host functionality
  
• Powerful in-built  headphone amp (will drive big headphones with ease)
  

Cons:

• Slightly over budget
  
• Some reliability issues
  
• Not as durable as it uses a hard drive instead of flash memory.
  

Creative Zen 16Gb
The model shown is only 16gb but i plan to buy a 16gb SD card with it.

Pros:

• Flash based - more durable
  
• Expandable through an SDHC slot
  
• FM radio
  

Cons:

• In-built amp not as powerful
  
• Uses MTP protocol to communicate with a computer (i hate)
  
• Inferior build quality - glossy plastic
  

Basically i can't decide between the two. at the moment the Archos is winning but it seems to change hourly. If anyone owns one of these could you give me a down to earth review of living with them. Also if anyone knows of anything else i might have missed could you point me towards it.

I've had an archos before (a gmini402 camcorder) and i loved it. its just a shame that the dog knocked it off my desk onto a wooden floor cracking the screen. the only thing i didnt like about it was the battery life. it would last about 3 hours on video, but then again it was second hand (not going there again)

The main problem i have with the Archos is the reliability issues. apparently with some models archos didnt fit the correct type of charge controller for the battery, meaning that they'd burst if you left them plugged in for a long time. Hopefuly i won't encounter that issue and even if i do i should be able  to get a replacement.

I've had 3 creatives in the past, 2 zen micro's (one broke, one 'borrowed') and a zen microphoto (broke). The current  zen apperently had loads of problems with firmware when they first came out but that's apparently been fixed now.

I'm not so worried about size. in fact i'd quite like a heavy, chunky piece of kit. That was one of my main considerations when i bought a camera in NY in October. I currently have a Sony NWZ-A818  but its 8gb capacity is just too small for storing films and the like. its screen as well is just too small. I may sell it on once i get probably-the-archos-after-your-recommendation. Its battery though lasts forever. I got it in march and i charge it so rarely i can actually remember most of the times I've put it onto charge. it just doesn't die. I may decide to hold onto it though if i find the Archos too big to take with me cycling/skiing (i like).

thanks a lot. (+rep on the way)

EDIT: just had a look at the Fuze, and i agree with you. i don't like the look of that GUI. overclomplicated. hell, i find the psp's XMB confusing sometimes. What's wrong with plain and simple icons in a grid?

...why not the ipod touch?

my mother has one and it's freaking awesome...

it has wifi and music and a bunch of other poo poo you would never ever need... (but is still really cool)

Slushba132 Wrote:...why not the ipod touch?

because I'm not a sheep. sheep buy ipods. they can't think for themselves so they just go with whatever everyone else does. No offense to you personally, but i enjoy my free will. I admit, it is a pretty decent piece of kit. A friend of mine has one and has jailbroken it. but he did start saving as soon as apple announced its release, and even then he was short. They're expensive, far too expensive and far too sheepish for me. I want to be different. I know it sounds sad but i enjoy standing out from the crowd.

Nacos Wrote:buy me something

No.

...So then your are still a sheep

that always pisses me off...
just because something is the popular opinion you won't do it...
your still not thinking for youself, your just thinking the exact opposite of what everyone else is...

it is like reverse peer pressure

you think for you don't let other peoples opinions decide or shape things for you...

i don't know how many times I'm gonna tell you this

BUY A FUCKING IPOD!!!!!

nd before you say anything rob you know I'm the most anti chav/ anti conformist person on earth..... ipods are really really good k......

you're in OneOfUsIsDead rob..... you'll stand out so much it'll hurt....

PSPkiller Wrote:

Slushba132 Wrote:...why not the ipod touch?

because I'm not a sheep. sheep buy ipods.

And i thought them learning to commando roll was impressive....