I'm currently in the market for an IPod for my 16 year old step-daughter. Looking to next year she will be taking some college level courses *at a local university* as part of her junior year of highschool curriculum, so WiFi will be available to her. I know nothing about Ipods or MP3 players, but I want to give her something more versatile than just a music player.

I have an iPod touch, and it is indeed pretty sweet, It is way easier to navigate through somgs. It also has some really nifty features such as wireless internet, weather updates, google earth and youtube! since you are at uni, you should have free access to wireless internet, its sooo sweet.
^^^This intrigues me, and is what I've been considering. From what I have been reading online an IPod Touch seems to have all the functions of an IPhone minus the phone. Is 16GB big enough? That's more space than my first PC had. How is the battery life? They state 36 hours between recharges, but is that accurate? Ease of use?

The price isn't cheap, $300, but that's not a real concern for me as long as you get the quality, versatility, and usefulness you're paying for.