So I have been using my iPod mini for a year now and although I have had the occasional problem with sound quality (which turned out to be a dodgy headphone connection) overall I am more than happy with it.
I tend to travel a lot and probably average around 10-15 hours minimum per week of iPod usage so I get through a lot of music. Like many I have played around with variations on how to fill my iPod with the music I reckon I want when I am travelling around.
This included the on-the-go playlist, manually rating tracks (1 star meant it would come off at next sync, 5 meant stay on), smart playlists of for example 1GB recently added etc
In the end it came down to two manual playlists for old and new stuff which I have to remember to edit, something I often forget to do which is annoying when you set off on a trip !
It all boils down to the iPod (and any other mp3 player) being a slave in the relationship with the PC where the library is stored, I would love to see this either reversed totally or at least that they are given equal standing.
The problem with reveersing it is the small screen and limited input of a portable device is not really the best place for total library management, however I am sure it can be totally in control of what gets put on it, all we need is a new UI and methadology in place on the device to allow this. The problem with that of course is the closed nature of all mp3 devices !
