Yes, forgetting about all the other completely irrelevant things you've brought up (including insulting my children and my parenting methods), let's get back to the meat of the issue.
I recommended the Creative Zen Vision W over the iPod Video and you recommend the opposite (even going so far as to recommend it over the Epson P-series), so let's compare the solutions, to see if what you're saying above about the iPod being a cheaper solution than other branded devices is true. Note that the following prices are fairly accurate street price for all products mentioned, using PriceGrabber and other similar sites to get the lowest legitimate retail price. Sorry for those across the pond(s), but the prices are in US$.
The Vision W is $260 for a 30GB model and $360 for a 60GB, and doesn't require a 3rd party adapter because it has a built-in CF card slot. It also has a MUCH bigger screen for viewing the photos, which also comes in handy for watching videos. The video formats supported WITHOUT SYNCING/CONVERTING/ETC. are AVI, WMV9, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4-SP, MJPEG, DivX 4.x/ 5.x, XviD-SP. The audio formats supported WITHOUT SYNCING/CONVERTING/ETC. are MP3, WMA, WAV. The audio and video formats listed can be copied directly to the hard drive from a CF card or via cable with the device in USB drive mode. The video battery life is 4.5 hours and the audio battery life is 13 hours.
The iPod Video is $240 for the 30GB model and $340 for the 80GB model. To use it as a PSD, you need either the Apple or Belkin camera connector, which is roughly $30 for either (the Belkin version used to be significantly higher priced). If you don't want to (or can't due to compatibility issues) connect your camera directly to the camera connector, you will need a card reader, and it is advisable on most 3rd-party tech sites to buy a specific few models of card reader to ensure the best compatibility the iPod camera connector. Another $20 for a card reader. The screen (even on the 5.5 gen) is very small, although it is admittedly bright and "pixel dense" (so it displays small dimensioned but very sharp video/photos). The only video formats supported are H.264 and MPEG4. The audio formats supported are AAC. If you want to put any other format of audio or video on your iPod, you have to use iTunes to convert it and sync it over. The iPod does not support drive mode for copying music, video, and photo files over. That is to say that you can copy them over, but they will not play or display on the iPod. All files must be sync'ed over to the iPod via iTunes. The video battery life is up to 3.5 hours for the 30GB model and up to 6.5 hours for the 80GB model. The audio battery life is up to 14 hours for the 30GB model and up to 20 hours for the 80GB model.
Now. Why is the iPod a bettery PSD solution than other branded devices? In my opinion and using the above specs, it's not.
It costs more money because you have to buy a camera connector and card reader for it, which also convolutes the system by having to attach extra devices, wires, etc., and increases the potential points of failure and subsequent troubleshooting. Not only is it using up the iPod's battery, but if you're connecting your camera to it instead of using a card reader, you're also using up the camera's battery, too. The battery ratings listed on the Apple website for the new 5.5 gen 80GB model are impressive, but most of the 3rd-party review sites do not agree with those figures, and put them at something less -- not much less, but less. Most review sites also state that camera connector related battery life is not great with most claiming you can only copy one 2GB card per battery charge, and that process is S-L-O-W as a dog.
The Creative Zen Vision W has a built-in CF card slot. If your camera of choice does not use CF cards, you can buy an adapter to use your SD, XD, Memory Stick, etc. card in the CF card slot for as cheap as $12 and up to $20 for a reputable, namebrand adapter. Most people looking for a PSD solution have a camera that uses CF cards. Because you're using the CF card slot, you're not using your camera's battery at all. The battery life for the Vision W seems to be accurately rated on the Creative website, as most 3rd-party reviews put the video battery life at 4 hours 30 minutes and 12-14 hours of audio battery life. All real world reports put the time to copy a 1GB CF card to the Vision W at no more than 5 minutes, and most quoted significantly less time per 1GB CF card.
Sorry, but I'm just not seeing the iPod as even a remotely good solution for anything other than audio, and even that comes with some "buts" that will only increase as more and more sources for cheaper WMA format songs come out of the woodwork due to the Zune. I understand that you're speaking from the perspective of someone who already owns the iPod, and in truth I feel your pain. Looking with disatisfaction at two 30GB iPod video devices in my house is rather annoying, and I wish it offered better PSD features so that, if nothing else, I could use them for that purpose. Unfortunately, it does not. So even looking beyond my personal dislike of the iPod as multimedia device, it's even less acceptable for use as a PSD.
Before you get your undergarments in another wad though, I will tell you that I had high hopes for the Zune. Unfortunately, these hopes were completely dashed as it does not include a built-in memory card slot of any type, does not support USB drive mode at all, and even its fancy Wi-Fi functionality is limiited to the point of being worthless.
In summary, most multimedia players do not make good PSDs. However, I feel the Creative Zen Vision W comes closer and at a lower price point than anything else currently out there.
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and robust. It is wonderful gadget which ALSO could take not say 1 GB of pictures in one session but it takes half of this .