Gaming mp3 player?

[mommydama]

I need some techie/gaming/music lover advice...

Maria has in recent months, seriously tried my patience with her music obsessions. She is constantly, at home and in the car, requesting certain artists and tracks, and asking me to play the same songs over and over and over. I jokingly said to Brad that I thought we should buy her her own ipod or mp3 player for her "half"-birthday this year (7 1/2) so she could listen to whatever she wanted to her hearts content. Now we are seriously thinking it might be a good idea. But I've also been considering a Nintendo DS or some other hand held gaming thing for a long time too, as we seem to be in situations where something like that would come in handy a lot. It could be educational, right? Heh. Anyway it would be great for super long car trips and waiting at sisters' practices and events, etc. Okay, so here is my question...is there anything that does all of this? Gaming, videos, music, etc? I THINK I understand what I'm reading to say that the PSP is the only device that does it all. But I am also seeming to read that the PSP isn't all that great for kids, especially young ones. There aren't as many kid friendly games for the PSP, it is more fragile and more expensive. The Nintendo DS seems to be better, but it doesn't do much else but gaming. Any ideas? Anything specifically made for this niche? Just seems like if we can streamline it all into one it would make a lot of sense. I wonder why no one is making things like this?

Comments

[viggorlijah.livejournal.com]

The ipod shuffle is really hard to break and if you have a Mac, super easy to run. There's a couple of cute easy options targeted at children, and the Sansa brand is good. Because they're small and light, get a big fluffy keychain thing so she can find it!

Do not not not get her a PSP. They are totally awesome but at 7 and a half she won't have the personal control to put it away. My boys would love one, but then they would be on it 24/7. You would need to monitor it, jealousy from the others etc.

She doesn't need to be constantly entertained! Getting her into music at this point, encouraging her with it - she could get an iTunes song every week or you could look into some music blogs that post free interesting songs - is awesome. The games are just crack though. Beautiful gorgeous crack, but I think too much for a kid.

[dan111174.livejournal.com]

No real insight here. As much of a Mac-fan as I am I have yet to get an iPod or anything similar. For what it is worth musically, there is a Christian pop band from Baylor making the rounds. Not a big fan of Christian pop personally, but it seems like something a young girl would like.
Here's the link:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=275877004&s=143441

[dan111174.livejournal.com]

Ironically posted as I import some Type O Negative into iTunes! Good Times...good times. :)

Oh...cousin's 8 year old has a DS. He never puts it down. Never.

[mommydama.livejournal.com]

I'm listening to them right now and actually that does sound like something she would like. Not my thing either really, but then again neither is Miley Cyrus. Heh. Hence the need for a player of her own. I simply must be rescued from Hannah Montana hell.

[aelf.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest two different devices, unless there's no chance you'd expect her to share them with the other girls.

If she gets into the music device, she's probably going to want reasonable space quickly. Zoe has my hand-me-down Palm for music (I'm not yet comfortable with her wearing ear phones, it has a speaker), and it's kind of scary how quickly you can fill up memory cards, just with music and books on CD.

We have a DS, and have since Zoe was 2. I bought it for the plane trips. My husband now has more games for it than Zoe does (she mostly plays nintendogs). There are times when I'm fine with her having her game where I wouldn't want her to listen to her music. Partly this is because most of her games are communal. Music, with ear phones, would be more isolating. So I'm fine with us playing candyland on the DS while we're waiting in a restaurant, but I'd not be ok with her hanging out with earphones on. That might not even make sense. *grin*

iPods do videos nicely. We've used my husband's iPod as music + books on cd + movies on trips. I don't know that you could get away with that with 3 girls, since the screen's so small, but it definitely works for an individual.

I admit I tend not to like the "all in one" devices anyway. Our DS, for instance, is 3 years old and fulfilling its duties just fine. My husband's iPod is only 2 years old, and he wouldn't mind a new one. It's reasonable to want to replace/upgrade devices on a different schedule, or you'll find that the device is wonderful at X, but only mediocre at Y.

FWIW, Zoe has no "over use" problems with the DS; she tends not to play it for more than several minutes. She really doesn't seek it out to play with it unless I bring it out. It's almost exclusively used for trips and doctors offices. So my husband plays it between times.

[mommydama.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the input. I do think just getting her an mp3 player is the best way to go at this point. I'm looking into all the options now...a little overwhelming.

[sistersunshine.livejournal.com]

I have a DS, and love it. My dh bought me it for long car trips. I don't use it often, but it is worth it when I do (long plane trips/car trips/when my dh is out of town). They really should make an all in one thing, that would be a great idea.