I have the Rio Cali and think it's great for the gym and running. Meets all your requirements, too. Here's a link to the 256 meg version (expandable with secure digital memory cards) at Buy.com...

http://www.buy.com/...oc/101/90139113.html

Sandisk 512 or 1gb. About the same size as a shuffle but has a display. Comes with a plastic snap on raincoat. Despite my efforts I have not killed it after almost 1 year of abuse. Fm, 1aaa battery gets about 15 hours. You should be able to get the 512 for about 80 on sale.

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Jim

I would have to 2nd the Rio family for durability and bang for buck. Plus it is memory upgradeable. I beat the tar out of mine, and it is just now starting to show signs of giving up after 2+ years of constant abuse. Here is another link to the forge for cheaper than at Buy.com (especially if you don't mind refurbished)

http://www.overstock.com/...&IID=PRO:1415246

Hey Josef, I have a Rio something or the other, same as the Cali posted but a yellow sports version case (rubber grips, etc) upgraded to 700 something (I'll check later) mb of memory that I'll sell to you used for $50 if you'd like. It takes 1 AAA battery, has an FM radio, backlight, and my favorite part is that the little navigation joystick thingy is usable without looking at it so you can skip songs while it's clipped on your waistband or whatever without looking. Same with Volume, no look something I miss on my Ipod Shuffle. It's around a year old but has been sitting in a drawer for the last 6 months. I have the earphones(used maybe 2x), the belt clip (I think) and the software is somewhere around. Great condition other than a little rust on the belt clip. Don't honestly know why I don't use it, I just got used to using Itunes and got a free Shuffle so I switched. If you are interested, I'll take a look to make sure I have all the accessories. If not, it's going on Ebay eventually.

tai@taigraphx.com or PM me

I am in the market for an mp3 player and right now my front runner is the Creative Muvo TX FM. Pretty much the same bells and whistles as the others. Transferring songs is easy. You stick the unit right into the USB port and drag 'n' drop songs. Very simple. The 512 MB version is around the $100. Probably less if you shop around...good luck...

http://www.creative.com/...oduct=9771&nav=1

The reason I will be buying a Shuffle is size. At 3 x 1 x 0.3, and weighing in well under an ounce (0.78) you'll be hard-pressed to find something close.

just picked the creative txfm up off of ebay for $90C including shipping.

extremely easy to load up. small & light enough too

k

Before I switched to iPods about a year ago, I used the Rio Cali unit. Still have it and all its stuff if you are interested.

have you checked out iRivers? I'm looking at the iFP-799, and it looks pretty nice.

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Josef
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blog

I'll second the SanDisk...as long as you have a PC. I bought one last year for my wife. She has a Mac and I have a PC. It doesn't work with Mac so when she wants music, I have to get off my computer. I'm taking over the SanDisk and she has an iPod coming for Christmas.

Just to warn you tyler_durden, Creative's customer support is TERRIBLE. It is next to impossible to get product updates that work, or to figure out which updates you need and you can't call them up past a certain amount of time. I would strongly recommend against getting a Creative player.