Ditching my ipod

- I try to jog a few times a week, which I suppose favours the nano (flash) over the video (hard-drive). But is it because a HD-based player wont work when running, or is it just a precautionary measure in case you'd drop it (flash would be ok, but hd would die)?

The video is fine to run with, I've dropped mine a bunch of times and it hasn't skipped a beat.

- On the 4gig nano and the 30gig video, how much actually free memory is there (I'm thinking that the software and such hogs some space)?

I think it's like 29 or 28 on the video, not 100% but it doesn't take up much.

- What 'protection' would you recommend for it? I heard something about a transparent shell or something like that.

Edit: Ignore that link, it sucks. But if you Google there's plenty of options.

If battery life is an issue, try the Cowon A2.

"The ultra power-saving circuit of COWON A2 enables up to 10 hours of video and 18 hours of audio continuous playback with its built-in, fully charged, 4300 mAh lithium ion battery. (Based on company tested research)"

http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/cowon/a2/

It plays xvid, divx, windows media, mp4, you can record video from a tv/vcr/camcorder. Built in microphone can record your voice, record directly from a cd player or any analog sound source. View text files and jpg/bmp/png images. 4 inch 16:9 widescreen LCD, 480x727 resolution. It can playback MP3, WMA(ASF), OGG, FLAC, and WAV audio files. You can listen to FM radio and record FM radio on it. Supports high resolution (800x450) DivX/XviD video. Supports avi's with AC3 5.1 surround sound, but it downmixes to stereo.

Reviews - http://reviews.cnet.com/Cowon_A2_20GB/4 ... 63858.html

Wow, that thing is cool! Supports basically everything... Is it better than a PSP?
Too bad the name is weird, Cow-On?

Well, PSP is more of a game device, but I'm gonna say yes anyways.

If you wanna play DVD's/Xvid's/Divx's just buy a 8/10 inch portable DVD player. (I think most of the players support all the codecs, even AC3)
It has a bigger screen and a better resolution. My sister has one of those and always watch movies on it.....at work

I have a black Ipod Nano...it pwns. I have a neat plastic case I bought for $20 that came with a clip. I use it to listen to my Ipod while I play basketball (just shooting around). Probably the best combined $240 I ever spent.