I am gravely troubled by the type of ipod I should purchase this saturday. I need one which has a reasonable amount of space, since I have over 300 songs. Not a lot, I know. But, well, I still need the extra space for possible future library expansion.

Of course, I will not be considering the 30/60 GB ipod because it is ridiculous for me to get that. I am merely using the portable MP3 player to entertain me during school breaks and on the journey home after school.

Plus, my budget is rather tight. You see -

1) I have not been doing very well academically for all this while.
2) I have not been saving because it is nearly impossible for me to do so. Unlike many of my friends who have fixed allowance every month, mine is only given when I need it. My mother checks my wallet.
3) No one in my family except my mother is willing to fork out the cash to purchase the little thing for me. I will be digging my own grave if I tell her that I wish to buy an expensive model.

Hence, my selection is significantly reduced to but a few according to my pathetic budget.

"Ooo, you can consider Samsung or Sony's portable MP3 players!"

I would love to, my dear. Sadly, I have been using iTunes all this while for managing my music library and most of the songs are in AAC format. It is only logical that I have to buy an Apple ipod as my MP3 player.

"Well, you can convert ACC back to MP3!"

I have to suffer data loss in my songs if I do that. Thank you, but no.

"Oh, alright. Very well."

So as I was saying, I only have a few models in the Apple market which I can purchase. That is the ipod Shuffle 1 GB or ipod Nano 2 GB. Besides the price of these two models, I have to consider buying some accessories like a case and the wall adapter.

To tell the truth, I do not understand why a wall adapter is not included in the package. It is rather retarded to ask the people to charge their ipods with the computer. You know, not everyone uses their computer for hours everyday.

Anyway, I did quite a lot of research on these two models.

Nano appealed to me because of its memory space - 2 GB is just right for me. However, it seems like a very fragile and delicate MP3 player. I am not exactly a very gentle person and I fear that I might break it within days.

From various reviews, I read that the Nano is prone to problems like crashing, freezing and lagging. Its surface is also very easily scratched. The battery life is extremely short if you use the backlight often.

It is so thin, I am afraid of breaking it when I sit with it in my pocket. Gee.

Including headphones of a considerable quality, wall adapter, a decent case and the ipod Nano itself, the total amount is SGD$455. This excludes GST. With the GST, it is around SGD$470+.

That is around half a thousand. I consulted my mother. She said it is a little too high, but she's willing to pay nevertheless. However, I am rather hesitant in getting a Nano because of its fragility. Not that I am complaining about its durability, but I am really not someone who can take care of their gadgets like treasures.

Ipod Shuffle, on the other hand, seems much more durable to me. Although the Shuffle has no screen, I do not mind. I am intending to use the shuffle mode when playing songs anyway. I do not like to listen to songs in order, for I like to arrange my songs with respect to the singers. Playing in order would mean listening to Ayumi Hamasaki sing for a good 1 hour or something.

Furthermore, no screen means you do not need care specially for the Shuffle just because you do not wish to damage the screen.

But, as you probably already know, the Shuffle only has 1 GB space max. I have to choose my songs carefully. I hate doing this, for I love every single song I have. It is really a pain to pick out what songs you wish to put inside. 240 songs don't sound like a lot, do they?

Including headphones of a considerable quality, wall adapter, a decent case and the ipod Shuffle itself, the total amount is SGD$305. This excludes GST. With the GST, it is around SGD$320+.

Considerably cheaper than the other set I calculated, but even so I am having a headache choosing which one to buy. I originally had my mind set on the Nano, but after feedback from classmates, my confidence swayed. Now, I think I should buy the ipod Shuffle.

... I wonder why am I writing such a long post about something I already decided. Hmmmm.