Thinking of Digital Music as a Gift This Christmas?

As Christmas looms, we are inevitably bombarded with sales pitches from the various electronics manufacturers who tell us about their new fantastic gadget - why it's better than competing products, and more importantly, why you need to get one in time for Christmas. For many portable players in particular, the list of features that are sometimes reeled off to impress, can end up as 'information overload' for non-savvy gadget buyers, and lead them to believe that the device is more suited for a crew member of the Starship Enterprise. Is there really the need for all this techno-babble?

Then there's the question of digital music services. Once you have finally worked out what MP3/media player to buy for yourself, friend, or family member, how do you go about choosing a suitable service? There are many online digital music services that cater for different requirements, but not all of them can be compatible with certain portable players. If for example, you buy (or receive) a digital music player that isn't an iPod, then most of the music from the iTunes Store will be incompatible due to DRM. However, if you've got an iPod then using the iTunes Store will give you seamless integration and is a more suitable service - but this is not your only option! So, choosing the right digital music service in combination with an MP3/media player is an important marriage to consider.

For more information on the subject of digital music as a gift, be sure to read the following guides:

• What to consider before choosing a digital music service.
• Before you buy an MP3, or media player.