Are IPods the Only Way To Go? - Samsung YP-T9 Versus Apple IPod Nano

Chances are if you're in the market for a new mp3 player, your mindset is there's an iPod and then there's everything else. Even though the other contemporaries in the industry have caught up, there's still a certain level of comfort that the consumer feels with Apple's legendary product. Regardless of how much I know about mp3 players, I was still caught between two mid-size players when I looked for a replacement to my aging mp3 player. I could either stay in the iPod family with the Nano, which I was extremely familiar with or I could go for the new kid on the block in the Samsung YP-T9. Here's how I eventually went with the YP-T9:

Aesthetics Everyone knows (especially in the realm of mp3 players) that looks need to be backed up with substance and reliability. Luckily I happen to know that both players are exceptionally capable, which will be disclosed later. Everyone knows about the Nano with its sleek, just about a quarter of an inch thick body but the YP-T9 is pretty in its own right. Samsung has released a line of beautiful players and the YP-T9 is one of the best looking to date. It's just a bit thicker than the Nano but it's also noticeably shorter. Also key in my decision for appearance is that there's an over saturation of Apple's products, rendering my senses somewhat dull to their appearance. Almost from the outset, this category is a toss-up that ultimately led to me choosing the Samsung YP-T9.

Performance This wasn't as easy as putting them side-by-side and holding them to figure out which one I appreciated over the other. The Apple iPod Nano is undoubtedly reliable. Between friends urging me to go with the Nano and experience from using a Nano that belonged to a family member it came down to whether or not the YP-T9 could meet the standard. The Nano is known for having just about average battery life and because I really don't remember to charge things every so often the twenty-five plus hours of battery life for the YP-T9 is a definite winner. An in-store test proved it had sound quality just as good as the Nano, which ultimately lends the edge to the Samsung YP-T9.

Features The one Achilles heel of any iPod is the fact that they don't come with a built in FM tuner. While most people aren't purchasing an mp3 player to listen to the radio, I personally listen to all types of shows and it's great to simply listen to some of my favorite radio personalities for news and sports information rather than going through the trouble of getting a podcast. Samsung's YP-T9 has this and quite frankly it's something important that I was looking for. The fact that the Nano lacks this is probably what ultimately made me decide to go with not getting it, regardless of the nature of how easy it is to use with just about any computer you can mention.

Based mostly on those three categories and a few tugging and pulling here and there, I ultimately went with the Samsung YP-T9, because it's beautiful and is backed up with reliability. The aforementioned inclusion of an FM tuner was a big selling point for me, but for those who don't care much to listen to the radio anymore than there's really not that much difference between the two players and most will eventually go with the iPod because of its functionality. Price was never an issue because they are both priced at around $200 for 4 gigabytes. But for those willing to go away from the Apple addiction that the market is currently embraced in then I highly recommend the Samsung player over Apple's Nano.