I was just reading yahoo news and found this...

its made of rubber and it is waterproof

http://news.yahoo.com/s/gizmodo/20051116/tc_gizmodo/jensofswedenmpxrubbery;_ylt=Ag7HcS82XS_Kca01mzmKeicUycsF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

---

__________________________________________________

I'm on my second Iriver and it's almost done. The toggle knob thingee no longer wants to work correctly. Same problem as the last one. So, no, don't go with the Iriver 190 series.

I'm eyeing the Nano too and would love to hear pros and cons.

---

~~~~
Nancy
~~~~

that thing is cool. The problem is that they appear to charge $65 to ship to the US. And I can't tell what type of battery it uses - but the battery costs $18. No clue if it is rechargeable or not, either. Otherwise, we would have had a winner

Nano with a toughskin or skin tight: http://www.speckproducts.com/nano-toughskin.html

My buddy, who is also a triathlete, started a company creating interval MP3's for triathletes. They are in the process of developing a prototype MP3 player. I saw it and it is pretty sweet... you can run with it in your hand or stick it in your wast-band and won't even know its there...

Check out for more info...

www.fitbeats.com

Sorry, had to plug his company when the opportunity presented itself...

is that thing available, or still in production? any idea of some specs?

I agree, best setup is a nano with a skintight armband from speckproducts.com. Get the one that holds the nano in a rubber skin. Lightweight and the best design out there.

I also had a iriver 190. I didnt have any problems with it until i started dropping it. I dropped it a lot, while running, out of the car, in to the dirt and on to concrete. I use to run in a sleeveless bike jersey and just throw it in the back pocket. When I was done running the thing would be soaked in sweat. I did finally have to use tape to keep the battery in because of a real good drop, but it continued to work for 6 more months until I lost it. I bought the 899 a couple months ago and have had no problems.

Oh yea: the single AA battery weighs more than the player and the player lasts pretty long on the one battery.

---

_______________________________________________________
Yes

Ipod Shuffle in an Otter Box. Rain, sweat.... flat out waterproof. Get a waterproof headset and you can swim with it.

www.otterbox.com

www.ipod.com

Either the iPod Shuffle or the Nano. Can't go wrong. Lots of skins and accessories.

---

"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live."
-H.D.Thoreau

I think it is still in production but should be available very soon. As for specs, not quite sure but you can contact them and they will let you know.

If I had to guess it was about 2.5 in X 1 in X .5 in.

I had a Nano and returned it because sweat from my hand was causing the headphone jack to corrode. After two weeks of use the headphone jack was so crusty and corroded that it was causing crackling and static and the male end of the headphone connector was nearly stuck to the nano. The Nano is designed so the headphones plug in at the bottom, and I suppose sweat was running down and getting around the headhphone jack. Maybe a case would have helped things, but they weren't available at the time.

that would definitely be a concern. thanks. I am assuming it was covered by your warranty? Also, will any aftermarket headphones work, or are you limited to the Apple earbuds? I am not a big fan of those, but want to be sure i could swap them out.

Obviously, it doesn't have the same capacity as the ipods, but the Nike/Phillips mp3s are very durable and water resistant. I have a 128mb version that holds a bit over 2 hours of music, and I use this one for riding as i don't have to worry about messing up my ipod. you can find em cheap on the ol' ebay- I think I paid about $65 for mine new.

Any headphones will work. On really long runs my earbuds get a little sloshy, but not to the extent that I've looked for an alternative.

I went through 2 mp3 players before I found the elegant solution:

Trojan.

Plain, unlubricated, Trojan condom. Roll it on over that puppy, twist it so it winds up around the headphone cord, and secure it with tape or just a twisty-tie. Cheap, durable, and thin enough so you can see the display and work the controls.

As the package states, however, no method of birth control is 100% effective. If you are too rough with it it will tear and need to be replaced.

Trim the ring off the open end if you don't want to be too obvious, otherwise it is a great conversation starter too.

Ladies may prefer the ribbed version.

you, sir, have some unresolved issues (smiley face thingy)

Guys,

What about working out in cold weather??? My Ipod battery "drains" fast even when inside my jacket/vest. The battery doesn't really drain any faster, but do to slight drop in temp, it won't work--ran today at 40 degrees F, and my ipod only lasted about 60 minutes. I like the IPOD Nano but am afraid of the same problem with battery technology, except the nano has flash memory vs a hard drive.
--Brian

---

"We don't inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." --Chief Seattle