Until owning my iPod classic I had always, un-rationally so, been an Apple hater primarily due to the cult like status the brand holds with it's fans. It was for this reason I, who usually always has to have the latest technology, was a very late adopter of the iPod.

I caved in when it finally became impractical to carry my hold music collection around of either CD or mini-disc and I was booked for a two week holiday. I just HAD to invest. I'm delighted I did as well.

The iPod itself is a delight to use, easy to get the music on to, easy to navigate once it's there and easy to slip into your pocket to carry around - everything you could want from a portable player with the bonus of, unlike the iPod touch, having enough storage to hold my entire music collection which I consider to be pretty extensive!

The one down side is the ear-buds that are supplied with the iPod, they are shocking! Some people may not notice how bad they are but as a self confessed audiophile I was appalled which did require a trip straight back to the shops for a better, non-apple, pair. Once a decent set of headphones were attached the sound quality was as good as could be expected from any other MP3 player.

I've yet to find reason to use the video playback option (screen is too small for video watching in my opinion) or the games (I want a music player, not a games console) but these are both little extras that some may like.

The genius playback option is indeed just that - genius! It's ability to pick out songs that make a good play list together at the touch of a button is black magic as far as I can tell but it works. Very impressed.