Well, I guess everyone chooses according to their lights. I am delighted with my iPod anfd have never had a moment's trouble with it. I know some folks who had problems with early batteries, and the recent nanos had a screen fragility issue, both generously remedied and put right by the manufacturer with minimal fuss.

iPods also work very well with iTunes, which is a big plus.

You can coordinate your whole hard disk worth of music through it.

All very easy and a delight to listen to when on walks, in boring meetings, lying on the beach, or sunbathing in the back yard. :D

Oh, sorry....forgot about the winter thing.

A