iAudio 7 crash -- new player advice needed

[gijsvs]

My beloved i7 crashed, as in, I physically dropped it. The on/off button is wobbly and it will not switch on anymore. Opened it and it looks like beyond redemption.
Now I found myself on the i9/J3 divide. I use the player mainly while riding my bike, so lightness and smallness count, budget counts too, I do not care for a swanky screen, and I can get by with 16 Gb. However, the one thing I would change on the i7 are the maddening touch controls. How well do these work on the i9 compared to the i7? Also, track skipping _and_ volume controls w/o taking the player out of my pocket would be a big plus.
What are your thoughts here?

[CrowdAds]

[dfkt]

Well, the S9 and J3 (and D3) are the only ones with five tactile buttons.

As for the three-button Cowons, I personally prefer the C2 over the i9 by a bit, as far as controls go. A real touch screen just makes more sense than a touch pad. But the J3/S9 would be a much better choice for usability in any case.

Either way, for riding my bike I generally grab a Sansa Clip+ (nine buttons and a shirt clip) and be done with.

[gijsvs]

Dfkt, thanks for your input. My bike rides total 1.5 hrs/day, 4-5 days/week, so I prefer some storage space on the go so I don't have to reload the player every other day.

I was somewhat put off by the C2's my-little-pony interface, which is why I'm not considering that one. I'll start hunting for a good deal on a J3 I guess.

[dfkt]

The Clip+ comes with 8GB internal, and you can add a 32GB SDHC card for a whopping 40GB total.

[gijsvs]

OK OK, I also want battery life for travel, and BBE.
I'm discovering that the J3 is pretty hard to come by in my neck of the woods (NL). Anyone knows a reliable store that carries it?

[dfkt]

Amazon Germany or UK, AMP3 UK, mp3-player.de, or Export Prive would be some of the usual choices for Europe.