My wife decided to lose some weight 6-7 years ago. By diet and walking alone she dropped 125 lbs and has kept it off. She started with a cd player and I wound up buying her an IPOD nano. She literally fell in love with it and in 40 years of marriage I believe it is the best present I have bought for her PERIOD !
Unfortunately some idiot at apple decided to do away with it and replace it with yor phone or their idea of a replacement the IPOD Touch. The problem is it is much larger and has features she will never use.
She has loaded the current one up with a lot of purchased music from Apple I tunes. I have been told by Apple that some of that music may not play properly on another brand of player without being converted. Maybe BS maybe not
i should also mention that she does not like change (good for me LOL), and that their are IPOD nanos still available (purportedly new ?) but some of the reviews are mixed.

So I am hoping someone here can steer me in the right direction as the current unit will need a battery replacement soon. She only needs a reliable small unit so she can listen to her music while walking. Any comments / suggestions ?
TIA
Tim

To your wife!

Would a simple mp3 player with a memory slot allow her to transfer the music files over?

I had one of the org. I pods and was able to load any mp3 file I had ripped from a cd.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sandisk-Clip-Sport-MP3-Player-Black-4GB-w-microsd-slot-expandable/203038233330?hash=item2f460592f2:g:xYgAAOSwPU1e~ouv

Just search mp3 player on ebay if one will fit the bill.

You won't be able to just drop the Itunes songs onto another MP3 player. MP3 uses MP3 format and Ipod uses AAC I believe. There are free converters to convert songs to MP3 format. I have Itunes for the Ipods and copy and save the songs to the desktop computer in a folder. Then I convert them into MP3 for the SD card in the vehicles. Works great, just a few extra steps.

if all that is wrong is the battery, you can or you can have someone replace it for less than a new one will cost.
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/ipod/ipod-troubleshooting-repair-faq/ipod-nano-how-to-replace-battery-instructions.html#:~:text=If%20it%20is%20out%20of,%2459%20plus%20US%246.95%20shipping.

I have a used 4 gb nano that I recently wiped clean. Give you a decent deal on it if you're interested. Battery life seems to be fine. And it comes with a charge cable (which are getting hard to find). Loading tunes on it is a piece of cake with the Itunes app on your pc.

My son gave it to me to play tunes on a Bose docking station in the shop but instead I bought a bluetooth adapter so I can play tunes from any device. Don't need the nano now. And then my wife claimed the whole thing to play tunes on the main floor (it hasn't been used in a month - whereas I'd be using it daily !!)

If she likes the nano, they can be had used relatively inexpensively.

What really P's me off is that I do not recall being mad aware of apples "special" format before I purchased 200 + songs through Itunes. Wonder if there'd be any grounds for a class action suit ? ( just venting)
IF I could buy a new nano just like she has that would be fine. BUT they have made the decision to go to the IPOD "touch" which is much larger and has features she will never use. Buying another Ipod of any kind keeps me "locked in" and somewhere down the road I'll have the same issue. I have considered buying another, and replacing the battery in hers so we have a back up but I would definitely prefer to get away from this type of corporate lock in.

So in order to convert these files, If I put them in a folder on a desk top, Can they all be done at once or do they have to be done individually ??

Again this type of corporate mentality makes me want to NUKE the CEO's office. She is a wonderful lady that asks for very little and she is so attached to this thing that i have to find an alternative that will be replaceable if needed in the future.
Thanks for all the input

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sandisk-Cl...-w-microsd-slot-expandable/203038233330?

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...ano-how-to-replace-battery-instructions.

I usually only convert when I put them onto the desktop computer. Generally one file at a time, but sure there is a way to do a batch. I may even have an ipod nano (or may be a touch) laying around the house. I will see if I can find it. Have you thought about the Ipod shuffle?

If you think she'll be good with the SanDisk, it does support .aac files, (I think .aac is what itunes foists on you?) so no conversion needed. Note, not an apple guy, never tried it.

Thanks to all that have replied so far.
I am seriously considering a Sony NW-A55/B Walkman NW-A55 on amazon for 218.00. Primarily for their reputation and longevity of previous products like the CD player she started using when she started this journey. Probably at least 20 years old and It still works. Sony offers their own conversion software for the Itunes that is purportedly pretty easy to use. and if not I've heard good things about a couple of free conversion programs. The above unit also has a 40 hour playback time and an easily replaceable battery ( WOW, What a concept) for 20.00. I hate to spend that much $$ but she doesn't ask for much (this included) but does do an awful lot.
Thanks again for all the support and I'll keep you posted.

Just find an "NOS" version of what she currently has, they're around. Heck, buy a couple of them.

Have an apple MD479LL sitting around the house. Wife uses her phone now pretty much. I can ask her if she wants to sell it. Give me a reasonable offer and I'll run it by her. Has been in a drawer for a couple years, but should work no issues. It uses the standard lightning cable to charge it.

https://www.portableone.com/Apple-iPod-Nano-16GB-Purple-MD479LL

Thanks for the suggestions / offers but I already bought the Sony for the above stated reasons. I have always had good service with their products including the shop camera which is over 20 years old (I did have to replace the battery charger) but I can't complain about that .

So assuming the above works out OK, where do you guys suggest to buy music online other than Itunes
thanks again

iTunes can convert to MP3 for you but if it's already MP3s you put into itunes it leaves them that way and If you are putting your CDs into it you can tell it what format you want it converted to. I think it only converts the files to AAC when it puts them on an ipod. I think it tells you AAC has better sound quality but I always set it to mp3 anyway because of that compatibility problem.

That would be nice, I'll be finding out soon

I'll toss it back in the drawer. If you change your mind, hit me up.

Will do and thanks for all your input