What's a tough and long lasting alternative to the iPod and the Zune?

Have you tried any of the Cowons?

^ or sansa?

Actually, the Sansa's have a non-replaceable battery as well. Don't know about the newer Cowons (J3, S9) but my old Cowon X5L keeps on going and going after almost 8 years now. I can keep replacing the battery (cheap fake Nintendo DS battery from Ebay gives me 24 hours of playback on 320kbps), upgrade the firmware with Rockbox and do small repairs since it's so easy to open up and find spare parts on Ebay. Mine is a bit of a Frankenstein player now but it proved virtually indestructible. :) Sounds pretty good too, has USB-OTG, remote, 30gb (can be replaced by a 80gb HD or CF card) and a metal housing. They're up for cheap as well since they're EOL. 

They have/had a very active community over at the iaudiophile forums. Lots of tutorials about how to mod it there. 

The Cowon J3. I heard the new one is good too! 

Actually the ones that have an easily replaceable battery are too large, like my old 30gb Zen. And it's actually easier to replace iPod batteries provided your unit is old enough; Google "iPod spare parts" and they either send you a battery with a non-marking tool (hard plastic spatula) to split the iPod case, or you send them the iPod and they'll install it for a fee.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hard of Hearing 

Too large is not a problem as long as it's not too thick and fits in a pocket.

It will be a problem when you take them for running/exercising. I used to think like that before my iPod Touch danced in my pocket (which is very annoying when jogging).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hard of Hearing 

I don't take my music player with me when I do sports because anything on me would probably end up being broken. 

 

I also don't think a touch screen is such a good idea, they break easily I think unless they're monkey glass or whatever it's called.

Then go with the sansa! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hard of Hearing 

Too large is not a problem as long as it's not too thick and fits in a pocket.

When I say "too large," I do mean it's too thick to fit in a pocket. That's all relative, though: Snoop Dogg might not think these players are too large for his baggy pants pockets, but Ricky Martin might think even the Touch is too large for his leather pants. My pants are closer to James Hetfield's pants though just to give you an idea what I consider "too thick." Meaning my pants are closer to "tight" than to "baggy," but not tight enough that they barely have space for my crotch let alone a DAP, like Ricky Martin's Livin' La Vida Loca pants. The 30gb HDD Zen doesn't fit in my pants pockets even if I'm not in them.

Personally, if you're concerned about battery durability, just use an iPod Video/Classic and replace the battery when it poops out. The replacement units come with the tool and instructions anyway. I have an S9 and a 5g Video but I don't know how I can replace the S9's battery (yet.) To be fair though, seems like it's usable performance life is longer. Bought it used for a year, so all in all it's almost 2 years old, but battery life is still decent, about 8-10 hours (if not more) on mostly FLAC at an average 20-25 volume level.

The Touch is a pretty rugged unit. All metal back with tough glass on front. Check this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WdxvwjARPk

The Cowon D2 (not the D2+) is metal I believe. You can always find used ones around.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hard of Hearing 

Well my biggest concern is general toughness. I'd like to avoid too much glass (unless it's tough gorilla glass) and plastic. Metal would be good, lots of tough metal!

One more point - plus there are more case choices available for iPod's than any other. I have the OtterBox Defender case for my Touch and it is one tough unit!