Apple continues to decrease the size of its media players, as clearly evidenced by the latest iPod Shuffle. Storage space is the exception to this downsizing rule, however, since it packs in 4GB of memory in an even smaller package. Its more compact ...

Minimalist and sleek design ; Small and sturdy - a great combination!; Nothing to draw your eyes away from the task at hand ; VoiceOver technology works fast and is a neat novelty ; Podcasts can be found easily among your music now ; Very good noise ...

Apparently, we don't need no stinkin' buttons ; Small enough to warrant a choking hazard warning on the box; No screen means clicking is your only method of navigating your music ; VoiceOver is still slower than having a display to help you along ; No ...

At its heart, this new Shuffle is exactly the same as its predecessors - it's a small, display-less iPod that will play back your music unerringly as you run, skip, and jump through life. It doesn't promise to do anything else beyond that, but what it ...

The iRiver E100 is an entry-level media player that looks a bit like a slider-style cell phone. The E100 doesn't have many frills and it does have quite a few issues. The software looks downright dated, especially for a device sharing its market with ...

Small and portable ; Big screen for its size, external memory card slot ; Basic layout ; Media libraries have simple, intuitive layouts ; Above average frequency response, good noise control, very little crosstalk. ; Good; Don't need to use sync ...

Tends to get dingy-looking easily ; Really bad controls ; Unintuitive menu system.; Navigating the library is annoying.; Has a huge problem with distortion, packaged-in headphones are garbage.; Bad; The sync software is strictly worse than free options

The iRiver E100 is expensive for the functionality it provides. In the current media player market, which is utterly dominated by iPods, very few media players choose to challenge Apple at its main price points. Archos, for example, makes high-end ...

The Archos 7 is currently the largest offering from Archos, with a screen that's nearly 7-inches wide (it's slightly smaller than a full 7). While this makes the Archos 7 a great device for watching videos, it makes it the least-portable media players ...

Seems sturdy, nice aesthetic with impressive-looking screen.; A great screen and capacity, touch screen offers some tactile feedback ; Great media player software ; Maintains your folder structure, good equalizer ; Great photo viewing software ; Great ...

Picks up smudges and scratches easily, big ; The battery life could've been better, but overall there's no real complaints ; Looks a bit plain ; Playlist creation was a bit awkward ; No podcast support ; Weak output power, bad packaged-in headphones ; ...

The Archos 7 is a gigantic piece of technology. The screen is just about the best one out there for (somewhat) portable video. Sure it's not as portable as the iPod Shuffle, but the ability to view decent-sized videos is great. The Archos 7 is also ...

The Archos 5 is the latest offering from Archos, and has quite an impressive list of capabilities. Out of the box it's a music / video / photo playback device with wifi. One of the Archos 5's best assets, however, is the huge array of upgrade options. ...

Seems sturdy, nice aesthetic with impressive-looking screen.; A great screen and capacity, touch screen offers some tactile feedback ; Great media player software ; Maintains your folder structure, good equalizer ; Great photo viewing software ; Great ...

Picks up smudges and scratches easily, big ; The battery life could've been better, but overall there's no real complaints ; Looks a bit plain ; Playlist creation was a bit awkward ; No podcast support ; Weak output power, bad packaged-in headphones ; ...

The Archos 5 is capable of doing a lot of stuff, but doesn't support much right out of the box. You can slap on a DVR station, GPS car holder, or helmet cam, but all of these things require an additional investment. This level of expansion gives the ...

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Small, stylish design ; Screen is small, but clear and bright ; Bookmarks can be placed within files ; Files can be indexed and searched in a number of ways ; Good Photo management features ; Plenty of power to drive headphones ; WiFi connectivity ; ...

Plastic case does not feel robust ; Controls are poorly labeled ; Scrolling through lists is awkward ; Interface takes time to navigate ; Podcast service is proprietary ; Some distortion ; No online music store, and only limited streaming support ; ...

The Creative X-Fi packs a lot of features into a small and convenient package. It has decent battery life and a screen that's small, but bright and sharp. However, there are many things about it that don't work; the user interface is confusing, there ...

Casting the rules of grammar aside, Apple describes the new 2nd generation iPod Touch as "the funnest iPod ever". But while copy editors everywhere are grunting in disgust, this upgrade to the 1st generation Touch does much to live up to its hype, ...

Sleek new smaller design looks awesome ; Big, bright screen and excellent battery life ; Easy to use and control; Easy to find and select tracks in a large music collection ; Excellent photo album and podcast support ; Excellent overall sound quality ...

The back scratches easily; Proprietary port means you have to buy cables from Apple ; Repeat functions are awkward ; Equalizer can't be customized ; No laternative media management programs available ; Included headphones are weak ; No Bluetooth ; No ...

There's no doubt that the iPod Touch is a seriously cool piece of kit. And it does an excellent job; it is easy to use, has great audio quality, a beautiful screen and excellent battery life. But there are a few gotchas: iTunes is the only way to ...

The iPod Shuffle is an interesting study in extremes. First of all, the device is extremely small: it's a shirt clip with a media control buttons and a wee Gigabyte for storage. Secondly, the Shuffle only has two settings: randomly play a song that ...

Very, very, very small.; Good buttons ; Great frequency response, low noise, good overall. ; iTunes gives you some good options to further enhance your shuffling

No screen ; No screen ; Bad packed-in headphones, below average output power. ; As with all iPods, you can't just connect the device and use a file browser to drag & drop songs

You probably knew whether or not you wanted the Shuffle before reading this. It is what it is: a clip that shuffles through your music. Good for exercising? Yes. Good for a party? Yes. Good for a $50 media player? Maybe. Really, while the Shuffle is ...

Nostalgia freaks will remember the Walkman brand; Sony launched one of the first portable tape players under the brand in the 1980s. They pretty much owned the portable audio market for years, but that all changed when portable audio went digital a ...

Small, sleek design is scratch proof ; Big, bright screen that dominates the front of the device ; Controls are basic, but adequate ; Controlling playback is straightforward ; Basic photo album features ; Decent overall audio quality ; N/A: No ...

Buttons are small and awkwardly placed ; Proprietary port means you have to buy cables from Sony ; No dedicated buttons for features like fast forward and rewind ; Search is awkward, and limited playlist support; Windows Media playlists only; Podcast ...

The Sony Walkman NWZ-A729 has some strong points in its favor. It is small, but has a very decent screen size for the size of the device itself. the sound quality was good (although it lacks the oomph to power a big set of headphones) and the included ...

The iPod Classic has the face that launched the MP3 Player industry. Years later and it has a bit of a different look, but still retains its old charm. This newest iteration comes in 80GB and 120GB models, and we've reviewed the 80GB in this very ...

Looks good, seems pretty durable, supports a lot of files ; Good physical controls, lots of memory.; Simple, comprehensive, familiar and easy to use ; Fast, easy playlists on the fly, good equalizer options ; Great podcast support.; Great overall ...

The aesthetic is nothing new, and this thing is huge. ; Either our review unit was broken or the battery life is abysmal. Since we bought the unit off a store shelf, neither scenario is good. ; Some other media players have a few more advanced ...

Conclusion The iPod Classic is almost nostalgia-enducing at this point. In a world with the iPhone and iPod Touch, the simple, list-based interface seems quaint by comparison. If you can find an 80GB version for around $170, it's not a bad deal for ...

The iPod Nano has undergone quite a transformation since it was first released. The last iteration was short, squat, and obliterated the iPod Mini from existence. The new Nano is ridiculously small and thin, and somehow manages to fit an accelerometer ...

Cute, durable, portable, and supports a lot of files ; Good controls. The screen and battery life are impressive for a device this size ; Simple, intuitive layout, all basics covered.; Good sorting options, easy to use, better scroll wheel than the ...

If you're sick of the way iPods look, the redesign won't do much to win you over ; Most people would rather have a mediocre large screen than a tiny one.; Not much covered besides basics ; Scroll wheels are only good for short lists, and the Nano ...

Conclusion When we first looked at the Nano, we just assumed it was a flashy gadget that would favor stylish looks and a slim silhouette over functionality. It surprised us, however. While the Nano can't compete with smart phones, we couldn't help but ...