> Has anybody a recommendation with model names and/or a URL to read up on it?
> Any places that have good deals on these gadgets? The iPod seems to cost the
> same anywhere as long as the demand is so strong.

I recommend ones with SD memory card socket, from the vendors other than Apple.
Removable media allows you to change them when it would got broken. 

Try wandering around Akihabara (Tokyo) or Nipponbashi (Osaka).
And major cities have supermarkets of electricities, such as Yodobashi
Camera, Sakuraya, and Bic Camera in Kanto region.

========================================================================
(Mr.) IIJIMA Hiromitsu,                  mailto:delmonta@ht.sakura.ne.jp
           aka Delmonta            http://www.ht.sakura.ne.jp/~delmonta/