Expect for one of these to last you a couple years or so, but for the price, you can always buy a new several times over for what you will pay for an ipod. I love that I can rockbox this player and that it accepts .flac and so many other file formats. The sounds quality is excellent and I wouldn't want a player smaller than this. If you add a 32gb microsd card, then you have a 36 gigabyte mp3 player that's the size of a matchbox for 1/3 the price of most players. I love this little guy. The only real gripe is that it might not have the durability of some of the other players out there and the screen is tiny. Other than that, i'm in love! 

Question: How is screen?
Answer: the screen is tiny