Iriver's pricey but innovative Spinn portable media player sports a cool new user interface and offers stereo Bluetooth for rocking out wirelessly.

Built-in Bluetooth, Large touchscreen with haptic feedback, Very good sound with SRS WOW HD, Supports drag-and-drop in Windows and Mac OS

Spinn wheel can be imprecise, Bundled software is clunky and Windows-only, Expensive given limited storage, FLAC files won't play over Bluetooth

We also like the broad feature set and inclusion of high-res FLAC support, but we wish the software were a little better organized. Also disappointing is that a video-oriented device like this doesn't come in a 16GB model. The Spinn is pricier than ...

The fourth-gen nano takes some cues from the iPod touch while offering an improved design.

Slim and curvy design, Very good sound, Accelerometer enhances many features, Sharp and bright screen

Average battery life, No wireless feature

While the $149 iPod nano 4G doesn't incorporate wireless features like the similarly priced, flash-based Zune, it has a more compelling design. We like the accelerometer and the Genius feature; iTunes is an easier service to use in regard to pricing, ...

The second-gen touch adds just enough to keep it ahead of the pack.

Good battery life, Apps install quickly, Built-in speaker and volume buttons, Best touchscreen around

Accelerometer needs calibration, Google Maps locator function is quirky, No cut-and-paste or e-mail search

Battery life is significantly improved, increasing from 22 hours to a very respectable 36 hours of audio (or 6 hours of video), though that's dependent on how much you use Wi-Fi and accelerometer-based apps

The first Wi-Fi-enabled Zen offers excellent sound, but drops the ball with a confusing control scheme.

Clean, crisp sound, SD Card slot, Comfortable bundled earbuds, Audiobook support

Cluttered navigation controls, Underwhelming audio enhancement, Non-JPEG photo files need to be transcoded, No predictive text when instant messaging

Staying connected to Wi-Fi takes a heavy toll on battery life (half an hour of wireless use drained a freshly charged player by 25 percent), but you can turn it off in the system settings. Creative rates the Zen X-Fi's battery life at 36 hours for ...

A sleeker design, limitless free music, and improved controls make this sequel one of the most compelling digital audio players around.

Easy access to free music, More compact design than predecessor, Can refresh stations via Wi-Fi at hotspots, Artist and album review info included with stations

Volume keys poorly located, Unadjustable personal storage, Short battery life

Users are offered two options for accessing Slacker's deep well of music. The Basic account lets you listen to as much music as you'd like, but you can't save tracks to the player for anytime playback or skip more than six songs per station per hour, ...

This budget MP3 player supports a variety of formats, but an uninspired design relegates it to the land of the average digital audio player.

Supports numerous audio/video codecs, Loud volume

Lacks memory card slot, Awkward placement of volume buttons, Ho-hum design

Priced at $99.99, the Lplayer is a solid music player that's compatible with a number of audio/video formats for the hardcore multimedia set. If you're satisfied with its limited amount of memory, and don't mind the odd placement of the volume button, ...

A stylish, no-frills music player that gives the iPod shuffle a run for it's money.

Wallet-friendly price, Excellent sound quality, Simple, attractive design

Lacks a display, Uncomfortable earbuds

The Samsung YP-S2 held its charge for just over 10 hours of continuous music playback, which is more than enough time for an adrenaline-pumping soundtrack for the gym or for providing a much-needed distraction while taking a lengthy flight. Like the ...

Compatibility with a wide range of formats and memory expansion can't save the E100 from being just another iPod nano also-ran.

Compatible with several audio and video formats, microSD Card slot

Finicky controls, Tight viewing angles, Plain design

You can operate the E100 in two modes: The default MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) mode lets you use Windows Media Player 11 or the iriverplus3 software (both are included on a bundled disc) to manage and sync files. If you're more keen on dragging and ...

This full-featured, value-priced media player serves up a good dose of competition for the iPod nano.

Excellent sound quality, Compatible with Linux, Mac, and Windows, Aggressively priced, MicroSD/microSDHC Card slot

Limited format compatibility, Dull screen

All in all, the SanDisk Sansa Fuze is a terrific value. As SanDisk manufactures its own flash memory, it passes along the savings to customers in the form of a player that's $49 and $69 cheaper than comparable 4GB and 8GB iPod nanos, respectively. If ...

This budget-priced digital audio player offers a few neat tricks but not much else.

Compact, lightweight design, Compatible with Linux, Mac, and Windows, Can use player as security key for notebook, Very affordable

Must convert video clips to MTV format for playback, Antiquated loading screen, Partition feature didn't work

Most sub-$100 MP3 players involve some compromises, and the T.sonic 850 is no exception; even its most useful feature was initially plagued with problems. Value-concious shoppers are better off spending a bit more on the SanDisk Sansa Fuze, which ...