My BC is pretty old, and has provided years of heavy use. It has lost its battery door, the keys don't always function properly, but it is so valuable to me that I'll try to rescue it as often as they provide the tune up. Maybe someday when I have lots of discretionary income I'll buy a Stream or a Port, but for right now, I'm going to try to figure when I can let the BC go for long enough to get it spiff up. The new BC would have been interesting, but I can't say I'm so disappointed that I would give up on a really handy and versatile way to read. I use it for both work and pleasure reading and it is such a vast improvement over cassette recorders that I'm still grateful even after all these years. Jeanette Sharp Jeanette Sharp