small, light , easy to put tracks on in all formats (rules out ipod) so far looked at creative zen stone plus and sandisk clip

or you could except that the nano is way ahead of the competition and sort your formats out?

I can recommend Sansa ones as I have the Fuze, and really like it. The most important thing though is the headphones. You will need to get some new ones as the supplied ones are not very good (which is the same for the majority of players). I am currently using some Klipsch Image S4s at the moment, but can't comment on how good they are for running or cycling as I don't use them for that.

or you could except that the nano is way ahead of the competition

nothing could be further from the truth.

oh c'mon!

I use a stone plus for running and riding. Its cheap, easy to use has a stopwatch built in and has no problem with wav, mp3 or wma files.

oh c'mon!

There are plenty of other players out there (the Sansa ones included) that have better battery life, aren't tied to I-Tunes, can use multiple file formats, cheaper, better quality…need I go on?

Iphone

I use the clip, I like it. Cheap, decent quality and nice to use. Don't really see the need to spend more money and get a nano tbh.

Oh – I agree on buying a seperate set of earphones too, that goes with most mp3 players I've ever bought though

8gB sony on cdiscount for £47 vs £65 atm

i've got one of these

http://www.hyperfi.co.uk/default.aspx?ItemId=Samsung_YPU2R_Facotry_Sealed

cheap, small holds enough songs, built in radio, battery last forever, built in usb so i can use it in the car and at work without needing to carry leads everywhere

I've had mine about 2 years and still going strong

Sansa clip+ better than the one i have as it accepts micro sd cards, handy for those varying collections.

Good sq, supports nearly all formats, drag and drop your music straight in 15 hrs battery life.

I've been using mine quite a lot as my cowon s9 is off to repair a cracked screen when i broke it, the clip is a little cracker and highly regarded on head-fi forums.

I have a nano, this little thing trumps it and sq wise isn't far off my £200 cowon which is regarded as one of the best for sound.

if my creative zen stone plus would hurry up and break i'd be looking very closely at the sansa clip.
the creative's been great though. only thing i don't like about these little bu66ers is i can't carry a spare battery for when i forget to charge it.

Zen Stone here, coupled with a short earphone lead, and using the clip that you get with mobile headphones, means it hangs about nipple height so you can change volume, track etc., with one hand through your top.

Ipods? get outta town; my stone has been through the washer twice, still working, and I don't feel like Steve Jobs has looked at my underwear drawer everytime I want to change the tracks on it. Drag and Drop, no DRM..

my 6 year old creative MuVo is still going strong – 1GB storage, runs off AAAs so i never need to find somewhere to charge it – good for touring etc.

currently held together with parcel tape, and will hopefully last quite a while longer…

definitely recommended thoguh!

Gotta say I'm another one for the stone.

I-pods – style over substance! 😉