I have not yet caught up with the technological boom that has seen personal music devices increase in capacity while reducing in size. Moore's Law is leaving me trailing in it's wake!

Ten years ago, I was still listening to mix tapes in my old Sony Walkman.

Three years ago I was still trying to figure out how to make my CD player stop skipping while I was out jogging.

So, it was with some trepidation that I decided to upgrade to one of the new wave of MP3 players. I could have gone with an iPod touch, but I figured it would be a bit too much technology for me and I needed to take baby-steps first. Walk before you run, boy!

With this in mind, I also wanted to make sure that I was guaranteeing value for money - so I chose the 80gb iPod classic.

While it isn't as flashy as the iPod touch, it does boast a HUGE capacity, enabling you to store the entirety of your music collection and still have room for an entire season of '24'.

The quality of sound is exceptional, limited only by the quality of the tracks you load onto it, and the earphones provided are comfortable and well built.

The availability of other features such as games and music videos is maybe not as wide as for more up market players, but iTunes offers a substantial amount of extras to keep you happy, and at reasonable prices too.

The touch pad is pretty sensitive and takes a little getting used to - but if my 70 year old father can do it, I am sure anyone can!

The player is also sturdy and can take a bit of a pounding, although I have heard several stories of players that stopped working after being left in the hot sun.

The screen size is perfect for the music player, but comes across a little too small for watching movies - clipping parts of the picture in order to fit it to the screen ratio.

I use my iPod classic with a cassette adaptor, enabling me to use it in the car. Whether I am listening to my music playlists or a spoken word book, the sound comes across perfectly, with only a little adjustment of the car stereo volume required.

The down side to using your iPod in your car (and this is the same regardless of which player you pick) is that you occasionally have to look at what you're doing - and the Police WILL pull you over if they catch you fiddling with it!

Aside from that, this is a solid MP3 player which is great for adults and kids alike. If you want to show off that you're keeping up with the tech-race, go for an iPod touch - but for sheer volume of music, this is the player for me.