iPod vs MP3 Player Recommendation

[Latrobe]

I have an idea I want to do for paintball, but I may need a little help. The idea is I want to hook a small portable speaker to my vest (already found a good speaker), and hook up either an iPod or MP3 player to it and play music throughout the battle   . The thing is I'm not sure which I should get. I hear that the newer iPod batteries only last 10 hours max before they need a recharge, but the older ones (like the one I USED to have) lasted 2-3 days. I'll only be playing music so I don't want to get an iPod if I don't have to, so I was looking for an MP3 player but I don't know how long the battery life on them are or how much space I should have on it.

So, how long does the battery life on a typical MP3 player usually last, and what size should I get? I'm guessing (not sure on exact number) I'll have over 150 songs on it so would a 4GB one be sufficient, or should I go for the 8GB?

EDIT: Found that the 4GB ones can hold up to 1000 songs! Perhaps I can get away with the 2GB one.

[Jayhawk]

Thank you for reminding me I need to charge my iPod. 

I have a second generation iPod nano, it's about four years old and has been through the washer and dryer.  I can't really give you a good time estimate because I'm constantly changing songs and turning it on and off but if I did just leave it to run I'd expect it to run 5-10 hours.  That's just an estimate but I know my battery life has declined significantly after those years of abuse.

[eagl]

If you think it might get abused, get an ipod shuffle, 4gb version ($79).  If you think you will use it for other music listening at times other than when you're getting shot at, get an ipod nano, the 16gb version.  I have a previous gen ipod nano and I love it, but it is an 8gb version and it filled up before I could get everything I wanted into it.

If I had to buy again, I'd get one of the large capacity ipod nanos.  But if you might crush the thing diving over a barrier because someone is shooting you, then an ipod shuffle would be a better idea since it is really small.  There is also a stainless steel 4GB ipod shuffle for $99, if you're really paranoid about crushing it.

For either of them, I wouldn't worry too much about battery life...  The shuffle has about 10 hrs playback, the nano has about 24 hrs audio playback, and they both charge fairly quickly so you can probably charge it enough just from plugging it into your car while driving around.

[Latrobe]

If you think it might get abused, get an ipod shuffle, 4gb version ($79).  If you think you will use it for other music listening at times other than when you're getting shot at, get an ipod nano, the 16gb version.  I have a previous gen ipod nano and I love it, but it is an 8gb version and it filled up before I could get everything I wanted into it.

If I had to buy again, I'd get one of the large capacity ipod nanos.  But if you might crush the thing diving over a barrier because someone is shooting you, then an ipod shuffle would be a better idea since it is really small.  There is also a stainless steel 4GB ipod shuffle for $99, if you're really paranoid about crushing it.

For either of them, I wouldn't worry too much about battery life...  The shuffle has about 10 hrs playback, the nano has about 24 hrs audio playback, and they both charge fairly quickly so you can probably charge it enough just from plugging it into your car while driving around.

I'm not really planning on using it any other time other than paintball battle theme music  . Not too worried about crushing it either. I'm not like the extreme, bloodthirsty, crazed players who would climb a tree if they could. I mainly stay behind our frontlines on defense and tell our whole team what's going on, or flanking with friends when on the attack. Not many people do these 2 things, so I make it a point to always do it for my team. We usually win.


I'm a little skeptical about getting an iPod (or MP3) that will only have a 10 hour battery life since most paintball games last whole days (and some events take 2 days). So, even if I did turn it off and only play it a little, it may still go dead. Plus, my sisters iPod turns itself on from time to time if you don't turn it on hold, and with me running around fighting that might happen. So, a good long battery life is a necessity.