I'd like to conduct a survey about the kind of MP3 player you have:

-What MP3 player do you have (brand and model)?

-How long have you had your MP3 player?

-How much memory does your MP3 player hold?

-How much did your MP3 player cost you to purchase?

-How often does your MP3 player malfunction (e.g., freeze up, lose memory)?

-Does your MP3 player use an internal rechargeable battery?

-If your MP3 player has an internal rechargeable battery, how long does it last you? How long is it SUPPOSED to last you?

-What kind of mechanical user interface (scroll wheel, arrow buttons, touch pad, etc.) does your MP3 player use for you to make your selections?

-What software does your MP3 player use to support it, and how well does it work (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player, Creative Organizer, etc.)

-What special functions does your MP3 player have, that are unique to its model or brand, if any?

-When you bought your MP3 player, what helped you decide which one to purchase; what criteria did you use, if any, to make your judgment?

Yay! Survey time!

-What MP3 player do you have (brand and model)?

A Creative Zen Jukebox.

-How long have you had your MP3 player?

Almost 4 years now.

-How much memory does your MP3 player hold?

20GB

-How much did your MP3 player cost you to purchase?

299 Euros.

-How often does your MP3 player malfunction (e.g., freeze up, lose memory)?

It's never lost memory but it's frozen up numerous times. Haven't had any trouble lately though.

-Does your MP3 player use an internal rechargeable battery?

Yes.

-If your MP3 player has an internal rechargeable battery, how long does it last you? How long is it SUPPOSED to last you?

Hmmm...maybe 6 hours or so? 7 hours tops. I think it was supposed to last at least 10 or 12 or something, but there's no way it lasts that long.

-What kind of mechanical user interface (scroll wheel, arrow buttons, touch pad, etc.) does your MP3 player use for you to make your selections?

A scroll wheel which you have to press to make your decision.

-What software does your MP3 player use to support it, and how well does it work (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player, Creative Organizer, etc.)

Creative Organizer. Works about as well as it should.

-What special functions does your MP3 player have, that are unique to its model or brand, if any?

None that I know of.

-When you bought your MP3 player, what helped you decide which one to purchase; what criteria did you use, if any, to make your judgment?

It was the most affordable model for a 20GB Mp3 player at the time. The iPod was too expensive, and I knew I wanted at least 20GB.

If there's one complaint I have, it's that I need the Creative Organizer to input new music. I would have preferred a simple drag 'n' drop feature not using any software like most smaller Mp3 players have. Now, I can't use my Mp3 player on any other PC's but my own. And I lost the software that came with the player...

-What MP3 player do you have (brand and model)?

5th Gen iPod and a first gen Shuffle.

-How long have you had your MP3 player?

Almost 2 years for the 5th, year and a half for the Shuffle.

-How much memory does your MP3 player hold?

30 GB and 512 MB

-How much did your MP3 player cost you to purchase?

$299 and I believe $70.

-How often does your MP3 player malfunction (e.g., freeze up, lose memory)?

Maybe three times, twice being my fault for disconnecting when I shouldn't have. I just restore factory settings and it fixes it right up. My Shuffle sometimes isn't picked up when inserted into the USB, but that's nothing new for USB flash drives. A reinsertion fixes the problem.

-Does your MP3 player use an internal rechargeable battery?

Yes and yes.

-If your MP3 player has an internal rechargeable battery, how long does it last you? How long is it SUPPOSED to last you?

About 10 hours, mostly depending on how little I browse on it. Shuffle lasts longer, I think.

-What kind of mechanical user interface (scroll wheel, arrow buttons, touch pad, etc.) does your MP3 player use for you to make your selections?

Scroll-wheel for 5th, clicker wheel (or whatever) for the Shuffle.

-What software does your MP3 player use to support it, and how well does it work (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player, Creative Organizer, etc.)

iTunes for both. It's a fantastic program for organization, though it's the only program of the sort I've used. I also use it for tagging and converting files, since I use AAC a lot.

-What special functions does your MP3 player have, that are unique to its model or brand, if any?

The fifth gen can play a Breakout-type game, but it drains the battery and just flat-out sucks. The Shuffle doubles as a flash drive, which is a practical bonus and offers impressive sound for the size.

-When you bought your MP3 player, what helped you decide which one to purchase

I bought the 5th gen at Best Buy with a 3-year extended warranty, because I know iPods are notorious for breaking down. I bought it because I was happy with the interface and sound quality. I got the Shuffle at Wal-Mart because I don't always want to carry a relatively bulky $300 device around and it sounds better/fuller than the 5th Gen.

I do not own an MP3 player.  I have a PSP, which I guess can play MP3s, but I've never tried to use it for that purpose so I can't really answer the rest of the questions.

-What MP3 player do you have (brand and model)?
Cowon iAudio G3 (1GB)

-How long have you had your MP3 player?
About two years

-How much memory does your MP3 player hold?
1GB, flash memory

-How much did your MP3 player cost you to purchase?
I think it was $169 from Amazon.com

-How often does your MP3 player malfunction (e.g., freeze up, lose memory)?
Hasn't happened

-Does your MP3 player use an internal rechargeable battery?
Nope, single AA battery, although I use rechargeable batteries in it.

-If your MP3 player has an internal rechargeable battery, how long does it last you? How long is it SUPPOSED to last you?
N/A, but the batteries I use last for about twenty hours.  I think they are supposed to last thirty hours, but that's with fresh alkaline batteries as opposed to rechargeables.

-What kind of mechanical user interface (scroll wheel, arrow buttons, touch pad, etc.) does your MP3 player use for you to make your selections?
Four-way joystick; press down on the joystick to make selection.  I find that MUCH easier to deal with than the scroll wheel of the iPod; it gives me much more control.

-What software does your MP3 player use to support it, and how well does it work (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player, Creative Organizer, etc.)
Technically, Cowon uses JetAudio, but I never use it.  It uses a folder-based hierarchy, and I just copy folders that contain the music from my computer into the player.

-What special functions does your MP3 player have, that are unique to its model or brand, if any?
None that I can think of.  Maybe the equalizers are special.

-When you bought your MP3 player, what helped you decide which one to purchase; what criteria did you use, if any, to make your judgment?
www.dapreview.net.  Mainly, I was looking for a folder-based structure in a flash player.  I didn't want to deal with the iPod scroll wheel (I really hate that thing), or having to encode everything with Sony's ATRAC codec.  The one I got plays back MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV and OGG, has an input microphone and an FM tuner, and allows for MP3 direct recording.  I've never felt like I've needed more from it than what I got.

-What MP3 player do you have (brand and model)?

Creative Zen NOMAD Xtra (40GB)

-How long have you had your MP3 player?

Almost 3 years, December 2007 will be 3.

-How much memory does your MP3 player hold?

40 GB, internal

-How much did your MP3 player cost you to purchase?

Christmas gift, but they typically went for around $200~$250 then

-How often does your MP3 player malfunction (e.g., freeze up, lose memory)?

Rarely. A few times the machine has had to "recover" the harddrive which took several minutes but it never lost any data in the process. Sometimes when you bang it against something, it will lose short-term memory (but no real data loss). Also, the machine has constantly turned off/reset cycled under harsh/cold temperatures.

-Does your MP3 player use an internal rechargeable battery?

Yes, but it can be removed, replaced. I have not had to replace it yet.

-If your MP3 player has an internal rechargeable battery, how long does it last you? How long is it SUPPOSED to last you?

Lasts long enough even if probably not as long as it used to. After 3 years of much use through leaving it in my car under varying, harsh conditions it's still going strong. Excellent!

-What kind of mechanical user interface (scroll wheel, arrow buttons, touch pad, etc.) does your MP3 player use for you to make your selections?

A "scrolling" switcher on the side with an overall a bare-bones interface but basic and simple. The scrolling isn't entirely inviting though.

-What software does your MP3 player use to support it, and how well does it work (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player, Creative Organizer, etc.)

Creative Media Organizer. You can download a driver which skips this interface to use a barebones one.

-What special functions does your MP3 player have, that are unique to its model or brand, if any?

An "EAX" equalizer and custom four-band equalizer. It's made to play MP3s, and play them damn well.

-When you bought your MP3 player, what helped you decide which one to purchase; what criteria did you use, if any, to make your judgment?

Not iPod. Had one before and it was full of bugs, deleted my data three times (third time was a charm; I tossed it and broke it), hated iTunes and their stupid way of legit downloading/anti-MP3 file crap. Needless to say, I won't buy an iPod ever again -- I rail against the iPod-specific zombie generation.

-What MP3 player do you have (brand and model)?
Creative MuVo TX FM

-How long have you had your MP3 player?
I bought it on 09/24/05 so over two years

-How much memory does your MP3 player hold?
256 MB (quite laughable now I know)

-How much did your MP3 player cost you to purchase?
$64.93 + tax

-How often does your MP3 player malfunction (e.g., freeze up, lose memory)?
Since its getting on in years it does freeze up every so often... but it's always at work when I'm in the cold back room so its not bad. The other thing is I had to tape part of the player back together because the casing started to come loose and - of course - I cracked display window despite it's small size a few days after I got it <grumblecakes>

-Does your MP3 player use an internal rechargeable battery?
No, I wanted something without an internal battery, though I should note whatever player I get next may indeed have one.

-What kind of mechanical user interface (scroll wheel, arrow buttons, touch pad, etc.) does your MP3 player use for you to make your selections?
Scroll wheel

-What software does your MP3 player use to support it, and how well does it work (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player, Creative Organizer, etc.)
I don't use software to allocate files onto my player since I can just copy & paste once my computer recognizes it. I wanted it this way because I use to have a Sony Mini Disc player - which I actually liked in most respects - but the software was BALLS, f--- Sony's arctic3 format and it had no AC adapter so you blew a TON of battery power when burning (you did get a lot of playing time off one AA though.) I will say I do like iTunes a lot now and use it as my default player so wouldn't mind getting an Apple player next since I'm not to worried about internal batteries as I once was.

-What special functions does your MP3 player have, that are unique to its model or brand, if any?
Really don't know, as long as it plays the mp3's I put on it I'm good.

-When you bought your MP3 player, what helped you decide which one to purchase; what criteria did you use, if any, to make your judgment?
- Didn't want to go through a piece of software to place files on the player (sony's software was a painful experience)
- Didn't want anything with an internal battery
- Didn't want to pay beyond $100 for a player, rather spend the money on actual CD's and what if I lost or broke it? Didn't want to be out THAT much money
- Didn't need that much space, I can be happy with having a few albums worth of music on hand at a time although to be fair 256MB does seem smaller in today's world.
- Size, but most players are small as it is anyway.

Anyway, I've thought of buying another player but basically, I'm waiting for this one to break... when it does I was thinking of getting a 1GB iPod Shuffle or something.

Wow, more love for Creative in this thread than I thought possible.
I may eventually get one of those Cowon things that plays FLAC, but I have little need currently for a portable music player.

XISMZERO,

I envy you so much; we got the same MP3 player, and around the same time, but mine crapped out last year around this time; between the hard drive and the battery, I don't know what went wrong, but they say you shouldn't expose it to magnetic waves, and I think that's wht hppened.

Interesting to note how many other electronics or devices actually use magnetic waves, and how other electronics or devices are adversely affected by them; hlf of my house's worth of electronics is t wr with the other hlf (guess which key on my keybord just crpped out?)

I currently have a 4th Gen iPod "classic", 40GB. This was the last model that had the older, low-res LCD screen without that fancy video/color stuff, and in my opinion is the last really reliable iPod (relatively speaking, of course). I've noticed that it takes a lot less time to scroll through the lists of albums and songs on the older model like mine; the newer ones lag when scrolling down.

I initially bought my first iPod over three years ago during the summer of 2004. It cost me whatever they were running at the time, about $400 or so. I had a TON of problems with it; random crashes, bad hard drives, bad click wheels... you name it, I had to deal with it. After eight replacements within a year and a half, I just gave up and went back to my Discman. It was really inconvenient for me to carry my VGM around with me, so I eventually bought another iPod (4G, 40GB, same model as before) off eBay for $200 a year and a half ago or so and I haven't had any problems with it. I routinely "restore" it to factory settings and reload my songs to keep things clean, maybe once a month or so.

The internal battery lasts about a full work day without shuffling around for me - say 7 hours or so. If I skip around a lot or use the backlight, it lasts less, but I usually just put on one album now at a time let it loop all day. Today is Lostchild Side-B in case anyone cares. I don't know how long the battery is supposed to last, but I've heard horror stories about them lasting only a half hour or so after repeated use, so I've been really lucky. I should also note that I charge my iPod in its dock every night when I go to bed. It's the only way I can keep my music going all night while I sleep.

My iPod has a touch/click wheel interface, and it works just fine. I use iTunes to sync it up, which is worlds easier for me than manually managing my MP3s. I just plug it in, give it several seconds to adjust if it needs to, then go. When I restore my iPod and reload all my songs it takes about 25-30 minutes to carry everything over via a USB cord (I have about 2,600 songs currently loaded of various lengths/sizes).

I bought an iPod simply because I wanted one. I didn't do much research beforehand - I just wanted all my stuff in one place, so I got the larger sized model at the time (they were only offering 20 and 40GB models back then). I think this was right around the first iPod craze when everyone in the world had those white earplugs in all the time.

I strongly dislike the new iPods. I'm a traditionalist, so I would rather have an MP3 player that has less functions and more refined stability than something that can do more stuff and have more room for error. I think the iPod Touch is flimsy and the more recent model iPod Video (or whatever they're called now) are cheaply (er, cheaplier?) made and aren't as efficient as the older 3G/4G models. I don't want a "Movies" or "Ringtones" section in my iTunes, or on my MP3 player the same way I don't want an MP3 player in my cell phone. All I want on my iPod interface are MP3s.

That being said, I should say that I purposely downgraded my iPod software and iTunes to earlier versions to have the most streamlined and crap-less interface possible. I have my Library and Party Shuffle on the side, and that's it. The only downside is I have to load the iPod software on my computer whenever I restore the iPod, but it's not that big of a deal considering the peace of mind and lack of clutter on my computer.

WooT! Side B!

-What MP3 player do you have (brand and model)?

A Philips GoGear Jukebox and a Sony NWZ-B105f Walkman.

-How long have you had your MP3 player?

The GoGear, about a year and a half. The Walkman, a few weeks.

-How much memory does your MP3 player hold?

GoGear - 30GB
Walkman - 2GB

-How much did your MP3 player cost you to purchase?

GoGear - B-day gift (retails for around $200)
Walkman - around $80

-How often does your MP3 player malfunction (e.g., freeze up, lose memory)?

GoGear - often. I have it almost full so maybe that contributes to the increased freezes.
Walkman - no problems yet

-Does your MP3 player use an internal rechargeable battery?

Yes, both of them.

-If your MP3 player has an internal rechargeable battery, how long does it last you? How long is it SUPPOSED to last you?

They last me as long as I need them to, thankfully.

-What kind of mechanical user interface (scroll wheel, arrow buttons, touch pad, etc.) does your MP3 player use for you to make your selections?

The GoGear has a killer touch-sensitive panel. The face of the player is completely smooth. Apple can keep their touch screens. The GoGear's interface is much more practical. I hope Philips introduces a new model soon.

-What software does your MP3 player use to support it, and how well does it work (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player, Creative Organizer, etc.)

Both are compatible with Windows Media Player.

-What special functions does your MP3 player have, that are unique to its model or brand, if any?

No special features on either of them.

-When you bought your MP3 player, what helped you decide which one to purchase; what criteria did you use, if any, to make your judgment?

Philips and Sony make good quality stuff. They each have ample memory for when and how long I use them. They look great. They aren't Apple products

-What MP3 player do you have (brand and model)?

Creative Zen Vision M

-How long have you had your MP3 player?

Almost a year now.

-How much memory does your MP3 player hold?

60GB

-How much did your MP3 player cost you to purchase?

$450 CAD (after tax)

-How often does your MP3 player malfunction (e.g., freeze up, lose memory)?

It's never lost its memory and has frozen perhaps 5 times.

-Does your MP3 player use an internal rechargeable battery?

Yes

-If your MP3 player has an internal rechargeable battery, how long does it last you? How long is it SUPPOSED to last you?

It lasted approximately 18 hours (as long as it was supposed to) when I was in North America.  I think it lasts about 13 now that I've moved to Europe and needed some funky adapters to keep it charged.

-What kind of mechanical user interface (scroll wheel, arrow buttons, touch pad, etc.) does your MP3 player use for you to make your selections?

Touch pad.

-What software does your MP3 player use to support it, and how well does it work (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player, Creative Organizer, etc.)

Creative Organizer.  But one can use Winamp or even Windows Explorer.  It works okay, I suppose.

-What special functions does your MP3 player have, that are unique to its model or brand, if any?

FM Radio and Audio Recorder.  Both are pretty neat.

-When you bought your MP3 player, what helped you decide which one to purchase; what criteria did you use, if any, to make your judgment?

I had an iPod and it died 2 months after the 1 year warranty and it was the only affordable model above 30GB.

On one of the newer updates, they've implemented a feature where it starts jumping by letter, so it's really easy to get to the bottom with just a few spins. Very nice if you have a lot of album/artist entries to scroll through. If mine lags, I haven't noticed it...Only lag is sometimes when I go to pause it and it takes a second to register.

Ipod Touch is a joke and unnecessary (though it is nice they've gotten up to 16GB flash storage...Rather go for 160GB on a HD though). My 5th Gen has been nothing but quality (and I beat it up pretty good on a daily basis), but I still see plenty of 4th Gen ones alive and kicking around work. Most of the horror stories I hear seem to be with Nanos/Minis more than anything.

Bernhardt: An online buddy of mine compelled me to try the Creative Zen Nomad out as I was seeking refuge from Apple. I'm very satisfied with it, it's been a good companion of mine for much longer than I had expected. My only real complaint is it's brick-like size and sometimes gapped volume increments which can cause some files to jump from too low to too high. Sad to hear yours died only after a year -- I'd say mine has survived the elements and a whole bunch of drops on various terrains.

Zane: I am also a "traditionalist" in that I don't give a damn about color screens, video functions or anything else beside a screen, indiglo back-lighting, low-res menus -- just want it to play the music and play it well. This is probably why I have not sought replacements and if I do, whenever my Nomad Xtra dies, I will likely invest in another throwback, pre-multifunctional Creative product.

To more Apple bashing, my mom's iPod Nano froze on the 2.5 hour plane ride home from Florida this summer -- yep we tried everything and could_not_restart the damn thing. Why? The junk internalized battery nonsense made it impossible to do anything. It's not that I'd buy a new battery (they're probably costly if you can find them), it's that if the machine ever froze I could manually reset the machine without knowing some button configuration nonsense. Oh yeah, and there's the option of buying that new or additional battery. Apple just wants you to buy their crap, their crap non-MP3 files from their stupid store and use it until you go deaf which is probably why they make their junk so junky and dim-witted simplistic.

Goddamn, I hate Apple iPod.

Hows iRiver? I've heard nothing but good (albeit expensive) about them.

Fair enough.

-What MP3 player do you have (brand and model)?

Creative Zen W

-How long have you had your MP3 player?

I'd say about nine months now.

-How much memory does your MP3 player hold?

60 gigs.

-How much did your MP3 player cost you to purchase?

It was almost $400, after accessories (of which there weren't many).

-How often does your MP3 player malfunction (e.g., freeze up, lose memory)?

I haven't had any problems with it yet.

-Does your MP3 player use an internal rechargeable battery?

Yup.

-If your MP3 player has an internal rechargeable battery, how long does it last you? How long is it SUPPOSED to last you?

Well, for movies, it lasts about five hours, give or take thirty minutes. I haven't actually used enough music in one setting to judge how long it lasts there.

-What kind of mechanical user interface (scroll wheel, arrow buttons, touch pad, etc.) does your MP3 player use for you to make your selections?

Arrow buttons.

-What software does your MP3 player use to support it, and how well does it work (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player, Creative Organizer, etc.)

It uses Creative Organizer and it's okay. It gets the job done.

-What special functions does your MP3 player have, that are unique to its model or brand, if any?

It has a terrific widescreen. That's the main reason I got it and not the M model.

-When you bought your MP3 player, what helped you decide which one to purchase; what criteria did you use, if any, to make your judgment?

Just read a lot of reviews.

In order of acquisition:

-tiny Toshiba Japanese SD player with poor battery life and absurdly strict copyright protection
-iRiver HP-140 (40GB)
-4th generation iPod (20GB, black & white)
-1st generation iPod nano (4GB)

I started with the iRiver because it had high storage capacity and I wanted to avoid jumping on the iPod bandwagon.

Eventually moved to the 4G iPod because it offered to best combination of storage and portability.  Later supplemented that with the nano for use at the gym.

Since the hard drive on my 4G iPod died (after between 1 and 2 years use) I've resorted to using solely the nano.  It doesn't have enough room to sync all my 4/5-star tracks to it but I've made due with using smart playlists (via J River Media Center software; not a fan of iTunes).

Now my nano refuses to shut down either automatically or manually, making it severely less convenient to use.  Conveniently for Apple though, just past the one year mark and thus past the warranty.

As I am now again in the market for a portable MP3 player, I'm looking forward to getting a non-Apple product that
A) doesn't break consistently
B) isn't controlled by that silly scroll wheel and
C) isn't limited to use with iTunes

Whereas the nano once had the best combination of storage and portability, with products like Creative's new Zen and Sandisk's Sansa View, that no longer seems to be the case.

Two bonus points for using the word "indiglo". I still have a watch that has that. That bright green "light" is absolutely beautiful, hahaha.

I too have the brick, and I couldn't be happier. It's too bad that Creative now tries to just copy Apple with its Zen line.

I agree; I have the Zen Vision M (40GB) and that Touch Pad, along with the buttons on the front side, are so WEAK.

Holsters are hard to make for the thing, because the holster has to cover up those front side buttons to hold it, and then you can't press them; I had to cut away at my holster to expose those buttons; it's essentially a piece of cloth with a belt clip on the back now, holding onto the Zen by some bizarre miracle.

It'd be easier if they just put the belt clip right on the back of the device itself; Creative no longer makes holsters, and I doubt that the other people who do get any money, or pay royalties to Creative, so what's the point?

They just don't make 'em like they used to...

If only my Zen Xtra was still ticking...tried replacing the Firmware, but my computer froze up during the transfer, leaving it without a Firmware, or a way to communicate (via USB) with it anymore...y'know, 'cuz it doesn't have Firmware anymore.

I couldn't agree more.  I also had the aforementioned brick until I sent about 20 volts into it (college project) and had to exchange it at Best Buy.  By that time, the Zen NOMAD was obsolete, so I just bit the bullet and got an ipod.  I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.  The organization is hands and shoulders above Creative's software (organizes by album, artist, whatever, but even then they're organized by track number).  Sure I'm part of the problem and not the solution, but it works for me.

Eh? Whatchoo talkin' 'bout? Creative does just the same!

Last time I had organized my mp3s, it didn't do it by track number.  I had to rename the .mp3 files - 01 - xxxxx, 02 - xxxxx and then they were organized.  Maybe they changed something lately?

-What MP3 player do you have (brand and model)?
Sansa Sandisk m230
-How long have you had your MP3 player?
From 2006
-How much memory does your MP3 player hold?
512 mb
-How much did your MP3 player cost you to purchase?
~$60
-How often does your MP3 player malfunction (e.g., freeze up, lose memory)?
Never. Even works after being submerged in water.
-Does your MP3 player use an internal rechargeable battery?
No, but I mainly use rechargeable batteries for it.
If your MP3 player has an internal rechargeable battery, how long does it last you? How long is it SUPPOSED to last you?
See above answer.
-What kind of mechanical user interface (scroll wheel, arrow buttons, touch pad, etc.) does your MP3 player use for you to make your selections?
Arrow buttons.
-What software does your MP3 player use to support it, and how well does it work (e.g., iTunes, Windows Media Player, Creative Organizer, etc.)
I don't have special software installed on it; It allows for wma files, mp3 files, wav files, and other non-music files to be stored on it.
-What special functions does your MP3 player have, that are unique to its model or brand, if any?
Small size, intuitive design, indestructible, fast transfer of files to and from computer, etc.
-When you bought your MP3 player, what helped you decide which one to purchase; what criteria did you use, if any, to make your judgment?
It was my first mp3 player and I liked the design of it. I prefer it to the iPod I used to own.

Yesterday when I was driving to work I discovered something about the iPod shuffle. I have two shuffles, one that's new and one that's maybe a year and a half old.

I was using the new one and I got a low battery warning, and then the weirdest thing happened. I noticed that the pitch of the song slowed down. Ironically, I was listening to "Battle 1" from Final Fantasy IX and damn, it was very noticeable. I know that some don't consider that a particularity great battle theme, but I like it even though it doesn't do anything special. I like the sense of energy it has even though it's far from breathtaking.

All that said, the old one doesn't do this and all I could think was that really makes your product look horrible. I'd rather the thing shut off than try to squeeze the last bit of juice out of the thing in a pathetic charade,