Rick Steves' Audio Tour Downloads

I have a couple of iPods (can't speak for other MP3 players). Yes, you can charge an iPod by connecting it (via its USB cable) either to a wall outlet or, if you are carrying your computer, to one of the computer's USB ports.

However, last time we were in Europe I used my iPhone (which is an iPod-plus). That way I didn't need to carry multiple devices. And I could play Rick's podcasts and/or videos on the phone. Plus, I understand there are now some RS apps that are travel guides.

I am not interested in an iphone... I strictly want something for music and RS Audio tours.

It looks like it'll have to have a good amount of space. The audio tours average 3 - 4 megs each.

Hi Sally. My husband and I each got an Itouch for our trip to Italy last year. We used them for the Rick Steves audio tours but also to watch movies on them (on the plane or while waiting for trains, etc). We each had a back-up battery source that we used on the plane which gave us many more hours of use without having to plug the Itouch into an outlet. Without the battery back-up source, the battery life would not have lasted through our flight.

I also have an Ipod Nano that I use at the gym, so I'm partial to Apple products. We took the wall charger for our Itouch and had no problems recharging them. I've had no experience with other brands/mp3 players but I understand that they're less expensive than Apple products.

The iPods run in gigs, so size (megs) shouldn't be a problem.

The iPod Touch gives you a bigger screen than the nano (plus WiFi) and the lowest-end Touch model isn't that much more expensive than the nano. Also, the Touch will run the RS travel apps (that Steve mentioned). So you might not want to rule out the benefit of having video, in addition to audio.

You can see a good recap of the models/features/prices here:
http://www.apple.com/ipod/compare-ipod-models/

Thanks Steve! Those links are great!

Here's a link to the battery back-up that I used, for anyone that's interested:

http://www.handhelditems.com/mybat-3200mah-backup-battery-iphone-ipod-black-p-4790.html

Sally, I also agree that the Itouch is great because of all the apps you can run on it. I'm a fan of Tripit.com & I created my itinerary on Tripit & then used their app to access my itinerary on my Itouch. I downloaded it onto both of our Itouch's so that my husband and I always had pertinent information at our fingertips (phone numbers for hotels, addresses, train information, tour confirmation information, etc.)

I also downloaded all of my contacts from Outlook into my Itouch & had everyone's addresses handy for sending postcards. I downloaded several games onto my Itouch prior to our trip and often played games while waiting in lines, on the plane, etc. I also forwarded all of my trip-planning confirmation e-mails to myself via my Itouch & that way, I didn't have to carry a stack of printed e-mails with me. We also scanned our passports & e-mailed them to ourselves so we could access them on our Itouch if we lost ours. There are just countless ways that the Itouch made our trip easier! I don't mean to sound like an advertisement for the Itouch but it really did come in handy. Have a wonderful trip!!

I have the Ipod Touch and I love it. The earbuds that come with it don't fit my ears, so I had to buy another pair that weren't so big.

You guys are horible! Since our phones are thru AT&T, I am now going to have to go do research on these things, to see if I can justify the expense for one for our Italy trip this May.

The really bad thing is that I am a Luddite, but my Nieces husband is an Applehead, and he would just love teaching me all the aps.

I still like my small laptop, but having a phone, and WiFi, in my pocket sure would be nice...........