Good to know, Jessica. Luckily the photo book was good. The small prints were mostly bad because of my own issues, I think. And like I said, free. But I do think I'll send the other one back.

EDIT: Anyone have any online photo places they DO recommend?

I printed a couple pics at Costco and they came out great -- but you do have to go pick them up.

I've used Apple's service in iPhoto - the pictures turned out excellent.

How much are you wanting to spend? How much do you want it to hold?

As it's going to be his main Christmas present, I'm not setting a cap on the price. Price-for-functionality will be the determining factor of what I spend.

And of course, the more the better for what it holds, but not less than 1000 songs (what's that, about 512K?).

Cnet didn't give really good reviews to any, but I think the small form factor is just going to mean a difficult interface. Their top two included one that looks like an egg-shaped vibrator.

And of course, the more the better for what it holds, but not less than 1000 songs (what's that, about 512K?).

Heh. At about 4 mins per song and 1 MB/minute if you encode at 128Kbps, you'd want at least 4GB. More, if you want to be able to encode at a better quality. I'd look for at least 6GB.

See, this is exactly the kind of stuff I need to know. Thanks, Jon! (Back to searching, with new criteria)

Yeah, when they say 1000 songs, they're really talking about shit quality.

Does it have to be flash-based, or would a hard drive one work?

He specifically asked for flash rather than a hard drive one, I think because the tiny form factor is the main thing (he wants it to be very unnoticeable that he's listening to music)

And song quality is a factor, since he's kind of an audiophile.

You may want to have a little talk with him about that apple problem of his.

Right now, Apple kind of has a lock on the market for flash chips, so if you want to get a player with the kind of capacity you're talking about, you have to go with a Nano.