The one sticking point is that it doesn't read WMA files, and iTunes will convert those happily to AAC (though this uses up twice the amount of space on your hard drive, since then you end up with duplicates of each music file), but if you have MP3s, or MP4s, you won't have any problems.5

The only real major that I can see from the 5g is the new hard drive capacity

Useless if I switch computers or hard-drives, or if I want to transfer those files to a data disc

I guess what I am really trying to say is this: until Apple comes out with an iPod with a more reliable hard drive, stick to the ones with flash memory.

Since they are a hard drive as opposed to flash drive they must be treated a little differently than the shuffles and nanos that they been using, but I anticipate no problems

It's just a very cool 80gig hard-drive.

I took the unit down to my local Apple store, waited in line for about 1 hour and was told that the hard drive was defective

I have had this since 2007, and it is my music repertory backup - if the battery does eventually wear out - I still have a hard drive for storage

For price and hard drive space, the iPod classic is the best

Still using it, four years after I bought it, and still have over half the space left on the hard drive

It's just a very cool 80gig hard-drive.

I guess what I am really trying to say is this: until Apple comes out with an iPod with a more reliable hard drive, stick to the ones with flash memory.

This is without a doubt the most completely non-user-engineered downgrade to an otherwise sterling product line that I've ever seen!If you need a stylish 80GB or 160GB external hard drive this may be the product for you.

Upon plugging this ipod in to my computer I was immediately notified that the drive had some errors

The iPod's hard drive started making clicking noises and iTunes claimed that the iPod was corrupted and must be restored to factory settings.

The hard drive had crashed

The biggest downsides of the iPod are cost and the use of a hard drive, a much more fragile storage method than a chip.

This is a sign of impending drive failure, and my solution was to throw a replacement iPod-compatible drive that I happened to have lying around, because I'm a geek like that

After 5 months the hard drive died.

I had an iPod Nano and loved it, but quickly ran out of hard drive space.

This refurbished (new hard drive and new battery

I call it a electronic device b/c it bundles a high quality mp3 player,a photo viewer, video viewer, great screen for all your viewing, a great organized software interface to access everything,sleek,thin casing that fits in my back pocket unnoticeable,and last but not least an 80-160 GB Hard drive to hold all of my growing music (now 10 GB) and video, photo, and audiobook library (20 GB)

I took it to the Apple store and they ran it through several tests before finally determining that it had a failed hard drive.

When I first started using my Ipod, I just wanted to use the hard drive as a device to upload music, where I could search for what I wanted in folders, and play my music

I just bought it for a music hard drive for my car

My guess is that the hard drive is busy.

I was given an iPod with an extremely old and used hard drive

True, it could have more functions (my last mp3, a Sansa 8GB, had a FM radio and a voice recorder, plus a micro SD slot if I needed more space), and though pretty I still do think that Cover Flow is really quite useless.

This is a great i pod it holds way more than the other versions except 160gb though the i