I'll be the first to admit it; I've got a trendwhore streak a mile wide running through me. As such, I've lusted after iPods ever since they were first released. They weren't the first hard drive based MP3 players, but they got it right. However, being a poor art student who can't even afford the Xbox certain nameless people keep badgering me to get (get new computers and learn the joys of fragging with a mouse, bitches), I haven't been able to actually fall into the fold yet.

Last week the iPod Mini fell to the $200 pricepoint, and suddenly things seem like they just might come together.

Here's the thing; as much as I like iPods, I'd rather get a non-iPod player. iPods are slick, but the clones have across the board standard features that iPods don't. Things like FM tuners and voice recording. The thing is that for each HD-based non-Apple player a find, there's some serious flaw. The top contender (in my mind) is the new iRiver H10, apparently has massive firmware problems (like random crashing) that have yet to be solved. Creative Nomads have horrible software support. The old Rios are ugly as sin. The new ones, just announced, are better, and I'll be giving them a good, hard look.

Course, Apple seems to have locked me in pretty effectively already. I've got all of my tunes locked, loaded, sorted, and rated in iTunes. iTunes doesn't sync up with anything except for iPods, and iPods don't sync with anything else (without help).

Now, I hate being locked into software. One of my requirements when shopping for an mp3 player is that it must be able to mount as a HD on any computer, without drivers. That rules most Creative players out. But iTunes now owns my soul, I've just gotten way too used to how it works. On Tom's recommendation, I tried out the new MusicMatch 10, and I must say the technology's come a LONG way from the POS that was bundled with my ancient (and long-gone) Diamond Rio 500 64mb. It's a decent software suite now, and if I were just now making the transition off of WinAmp, I might go to it. However, I've grown too comfortable with iTunes' methods of shuffling, party shuffling, and play-listing, and I don't want to go ripping myself out of there. I could still use another player, assuming it would allow me to drag mp3s onto it without some annoying 3rd party program. Some of them do; most of them don't.

Which brings us back to the iPod. It's small, it's cute, and it's 4gb for $200. And it's tempting. Real tempting. I haven't had mobile music in years, and I think it's time.

So there it is: to iPod or not to iPod. Really, the new Rio Carbon is the only thing that seems to match it, and it's brand-spankin new, so there isn't a lot of information out there on it yet. Does anyone out there with any of these devices care to give a bit of advice?

Oh, and I didn't mention the various online Music Stores locking you into iPod or non-iPod players. That's because I don't use them. What, do I look like I'm made out of e-money?