I have used ipod classic's since apple started using the scroll wheel on their models, this is the last model i purchased but i will be picking up a 160GB model soon as i love them so much.
If your a music fan than this gadget is definitely for you. Operation is simple, simply put the songs onto your PC through itunes and sync your ipod..done! You can choose from a mass of media formats aswell as the ipod classic plays just about every music format available, from MP3 to WAV or even apples own AAC.
With such a large amount of storage for your music, why bother with compressing at all and simply upload the songs in full CD quality. If you worry about space on your computer you can simply delete the files once uploaded to your ipod and leave the names on your itunes, this way you free up your computer space but syncing your ipod does not delete the track. Alternatively you can place itunes on a separate HDD or even an external drive.
The ipod classic is also capable of playing videos, however with the screen being as small as it is i dont use it often. Itunes will convert most saved videos into a format your ipod will play for you by right clicking the file and selecting "create ipod friendly version".
You can also select photo albums to sync to the ipod to show to your friends on the move and there are even a few basic games installed. None of these games are great but they can certainly pass a few hours should you be without a magazine or games device on the move.
The most important thing for such a gadget is the sound, and i can delightfully say that the sound is great. How apple how crammed such amazing preamps into such a small space is beyond me and it will even power the larger headphone drivers however this is at a slight cost to your battery life.
This being said battery life is amazing! I use my ipod around 3 hours a day and it lasts for just over a week with audio playback and can last almost all day using video playback.
The ipod itself looks and feels like a very expensive product, which you would hope so because its not exactly cheap. The scroll wheel is sensitive but takes some getting used to and the screen is crisp.
My only negative point about this gadget is that being hard drive based it should theoretically be fragile, however i have dropped this device many times many times and there has been no playback interruption or damage but i would not rely on it being a robust device.