Help for the Electronically Challenged....

I got my son an MP3 player over a year ago for his birthday. The Ipod was too pricey for me :) I wound up getting him an MP3 made by scandisk - the same people that make memory cards for cameras. It has a video screen so he can actually download and play video on it, it connects to radio, and holds more songs than I can remember. He can just plug it in to the computer and drag and drop music files to it. Easy peasy. It was also under $100 dollars.

Shop around - I did an internet search first, then checked the stores.

Personally, at 11, I would get her an iPod Touch. It can be for her music, games, apps, internet--basically like an iPhone but no phone.

HONESTLY... I'd either get her an ipod touch OR an iPhone and just NOT connect the phone service (you can use an iPhone for the
- iPod
- Calendar
- Camera
- Video
- Recording (sound)
- Alarm
and if you hook it up online... all the other stuff like Maps

An iPhone 3gs is $50, and the 4 either already is, or will be soon. I can upgrade my 3gs to a 4 for $50, but I'm not sure if you can buy the 4 for $50 just yet. But a 3gs is what my son has. Flat $50 fee last xmas, and $10 a month that he pays for for his phone service (added to our plan). He's lost his phone privileges though from time to time, and we've suspended the service, and then it's "just" the ipod, camera, video, calendar, etc.

Older Nano's aren't all that small, about the size of a cell phone, and have alot more flexability than a zune. You can fond referbished at Hasting's (if you have tham in your area). They are also ALOT cheaper than an Itouch or Iphone so you are less likely to panic if and when she loses it.

I've never had an iPod, but I've had MP3 players ... namely, one by magnavox (which I didn't love) and different versions of the Sansa by Sandisk (which I loved!).

The main difference is that with an iPod, you can download directly from iTunes. If you have another brand MP3 player, you can still get songs from iTunes, it's just a two-step process instead of one.

But you can download music files from so many other places these days, even Amazon.com. So easy. And my Sansa has other features including a radio which I appreciate.

Good luck!

We had the Zune when they first came out. They were the thicker ones. My adult, teen and young teen children loved them.I had to buy 4 of them. I was afraid of the Ipods as I didn't want to have to pay for every song. We put their cds on them and it was easy. You may be able to do that now with the Ipods. I am not sure. What I really liked about the Zune is that it had a radio on it and the Ipod did not. They have held up very well. I would do it again if I had money to buy them for my grandkids!

I bought my daughter the nano for Christmas last year and for her bday this weekend she is getting the ipod touch!
Kids really want the apps,they can sort of text, have music games, etc. We also got her the 32 gig,so there would be plenty of storage. The best part. . . I got a used one on craigslist. Just search for a 4th generation so you can have a camera.