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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jim M." data-source="post: 1274297" data-attributes="member: 60675">Hi Lew,I have an Apple nano iPod (the least expensive one Apple sells now that has a screen -- but certainly not cheap at $150), coupled with the imaingo speaker.  I do not know of anything better for my needs, but I do not consider it a perfect arrangement.  Here are a few things to consider  from my experience:1.  Birdjam is rather pricey.  I paid considerably less by simply buying my iPod and speaker separately.  I use Thayer birding software, and it has a quick utility that converts all North American Bird songs into a format for loading on an iPod or similar device.  All this was much cheaper than birdjam.2.  When everything is going well, this configuration does pretty much everything I want.  I can quickly locate any song, and it takes very little memory on the iPod.  If all you want is bird songs, get the minimum amount of memory you can buy.3.  But I have encountered several problems.  First, the iTunes software, which is what you typically use to load audio files on the iPod, has a well-known glitch in it that disabled the DVD/CD-ROM drive on my computer.  After loading the files, I had to completely uninstall all the Apple software on my computer to get the functionality of my DVD drive back.  Second, the plastic window on the iMainGo speaker was so thick that it made it almost impossible to access the touch controls on the iPod, so I had to cut a window in the plastic so I can actually control the iPod.  Third, since simply touching the front of the iPod can activate it, you have to use the difficult to access switch on the bottom of the iPod to turn it completely off if you want to preserve enough battery power to use it when you need it.  Unfortunately, this switch can be very difficult to reach when the iPod is installed in the iMainGo speaker.  Finally, charging the iPod never seems to work properly on my computer.  I have to reboot the computer in order for charging to begin.4.  I do not know of a better solution, unfortunately.  I have definitely been unimpressed with Apple technology and ease-of-use, but my configuration is compact and powerful.5.  An iPod touch might be better in some respects (I never tried one).  But I believe it has a much less robust speaker than the iMainGo, so it would be pretty useless if you want to try to draw a bird in.  (I know this is controversial but believe it is fine in appropriate circumstances, which are spelled out under the ethical code of the American Birding Association).My two cents,Jim</blockquote>

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