Having always been a fan of iPods, this review might be a little biased, but I would say that Apple have come up trumps yet again with this little beauty.
I think anyone who would say this was less than beautiful would either be lying or would have seriously bad taste! Everything, from the smooth, stylish casing to the gorgeous (if a little small) screen, oozes class and adds to the 'presence' of this iPod. It is miniscule in size, and does feel a bit fragile, but it is surprisingly hard-wearing, and, although I have heard numerous complaints about how easily it scratches, I haven't had any problems. Mine is now about 3 months old and doesn't have a single noticeable scratch on it.
OK now I've got the gorgeous looks out of the way, I'll move onto the capabilities.
Firstly, even though I had heard from friends about the joys of the UI (user interface) and seamless iTunes integration, the ease of use surprised me. I had already been using iTunes for some time, which probably did help, as it meant it was just a case of plugging the iPod in, clikcing a few buttons, and letting it do the rest for me.
The capacity of this is obviously not huge, 1GB being enough for about 240 songs, but it adequate for many things. For example I know plenty of people who use this as a running companion, and they especially like the fact that it uses flash memory rather than a hard drive, as it means it is skip free, and less likely to break if dropped.
This player has a lot of features: photo capabilities, a notes section for reading word documents, a stopwatch, a world clock etc, which, as well as the fact it has a colour screen, add to the price. 109 pounds for 1GB of storage space is fairly expensive, as you can get the same amount of storage space on a tiny player with no screen for about 60 pounds. Indeed the 1GB shuffle, which is the less advanced alternative from apple, costs more in the 60 pound price range than the 110. But you are paying for the fact that it has a colour creen alongside the quality, the reputation and the branding above anything. If you don't take into account Apples amazing marketing, this product seems to be worth significantly less than its asking price, despite its features.
The price is probably the factor that would put me off most about this gadget, and not the lack of FM radio or non-removeable battery, which seem to be common complaining points for other users.
Nevertheless, I think this is a fantastic addition to anyones electronics collection, and the ease of use, advanced technology and (I think most importantly) amazing looks and cool factor, do justify its slightly steep asking price.
If anyone is unsure of whether to buy an iPod or not, I would advise them to get one, as it was one of the best decisions i made, and most of my friends say the same.