Just seen this thread. I'm interested in getting an mp3 player, mainly for listening to music while on the train etc., but if it would record as well that would be good. Using SD cards or similar would be my preference, if such a player exists? Physical size isn't the most important factor to me, but the capacity in terms of memory size is (if you can use SD-type cards you should be able to swap them in and out anyway (?)).

Also I gather that if you use ipods you get locked into itunes in some way (?) I'm not interested in downloading software from the web (not normally anyway) - I mainly want to create mp3s from CDs or vinyl records I already own (I can do all this so I don't need advice on that, thanks).

I just thought that things might have moved on since the above thread was last updated in Jan this year, and wonder if anyone has any current recommendations? With the festive season approaching, I might drop a few appropriate hints ;-)