You need an extended arial to get the most from the MSI

Great looking portable ; Plays MP3s and views JPEGs

Poor signal unless reception is very strong

Sonically, the speakers are below par: use headphones for best results. We got the best results from listening to the digital radio, as its broadcasts were crisp and clear

It's never a good start when you have to upgrade a piece of hardware's firmware as soon as you take it out of the box, but unfortunately, that's exactly the position we found ourselves in when we unwrapped the chunky T10.

Difficult to find anything

Out of date ; Poor screen and navigation

It's also got a cramped screen and rubbish interface, making navigation difficult. Not a great device

It's a little bland-looking although palatable enough in the design stakes

Ideal for move buffs ; Good display

Awkward controls ; Music functions difficult to control

Features like an FM radio and video in/out make it a pleasingly multi-faceted device, but they're all quite basic in their implementation. This is best thought of as a pure movie player; for music however, look elsewhere

When building its first 'portable media center', Samsung joined forces with computer giant Microsoft - to this end, the £400 YH-999 sports the company's seal of approval in the form of a 'designed for Windows Mobile' logo.

It's not all bad,however. The video quality is first-rate, as might one expect from Samsung, a 'blue-chip' AV manufacturer. What a pity that the accompanying audio is comparatively weak,with a somewhat gutless and muddy character, even with decent ...

The Archos 704's menus are fluid, easy to understand, and pretty nice to use

Widescreen movies, anywhere-ish ; Plenty of GB for your pounds

Wants to be all things to all men. Isn't ; Touchscreen could be the work of Satan

It might claim a few fans here and there, but I'm of the opinion that the 704 is trying too hard. It may be all about fun, but after a while, it'll infuriate

The newly image-led interface is excellent, and this model is the slimmest iPod ever

Elegant and easy to use ; Superb value ; Simple interface

Small screen ; Format restrictive

The move to a metal rather than enamel faceplate finally rids it of its age-old susceptibility to severe scratching. If only this would adopt the 16:10 screen and touch-sensitive interface of the iPod and iPhone, and then, format support and ...

Archos 204 MP3 player: featuring a nipple that will make your thumb hurt

Does what it says without strings attached

Fiddly to work

All this leaves me in something of a quandary. There are far better players out there but they all come with software strings attached. The Archos asks nothing of you and when all's said and done, does what it's supposed to, so it's not exactly bad. ...

The front plate sports a similar coating to the last generation of iPods

Amazing screen resolution ; Small and light ; New menus and Cover Flow

Screen is small ; Stubby design ; 8GB maximum memory

Whether its new stocky design will appeal as much as previous generations remains to be seen, but this is by far the best nano yet, and easily the best media player on the market at its price point

We know technology is shrinking, but this is ridiculous.

Music playback ; Features

Video playback ; Fiddly to use ; Cumbersome file conversion

On the whole, we have to admire the diminutive Max-Movie. Even if its size proves to be its ultimate downfall for video and photo viewing, its music playback capabilities make the player a worthwhile purchase

As you'd expect from LG, it looks the part

AV Playback ; Build ; User Interface

No FM Tuner ; Oddly Placed Controls ; Picky Video Compatibility

On board is an Auto EQ mode, which optimises the sound quality depending on the genre of music you're playing, plus LG 3D Sound, which attempts to generate a more spacious soundstage and adds bass