Unappealing song user interface - On an iPod, when you browse songs, it shows a beautiful screen with the album cover and a white background. On a generic player, most likely it will have a dark blue background with the title and artist of the song scrolling past.

Movies must be converted - Most generic players have to play movies in the AMV format. In small screens, the format doesn't matter too much for quality, but it is a hassle to convert. Also, AMV converters are available for free online. However, iPods require their own special format too, and they offer this format only from their own move database online (though it isn't free).

Pros

In conclusion, I believe that generics actually are a better deal. They offer a bulk of the same features, as well as some additions, for some minor sacrifices. In addition, they are half the price. When you're shopping, check to see what quality of mp3 is being sold. Some helpful clues are;
- If they use stock photos of actual iPod nanos, they are probably low quality
- If they advertise as an iPod nano and not as a generic, they are probably low quality.

That said, there are many unscrupulous buyers out there. Always use a safe payment method like PayPal and look for any proof you can find that these mp3s are the best value for your money. Also important is to look for a reliable warranty, which some companies now offer. I, myself, offer a free one year warranty and will be adding a video going through all the features of the Dopple, my china manufactured player, on my website www.inspirebolt.com. I've tried to be as honest as possible during this article about the advantages and disadvantages of each, so I advise you to ask yourself what you want in an mp3 player, and get exactly what you want.