Cowon's digital media player is quirky, but cool.

Broad file-format support; great sound; innovative features.

Display is much too small; no support for WMA Lossless; odd touch-sensitive controls

The second-generation Slacker personal radio player is smaller, slimmer, and even better than the first. There may be no better way to listen to free music. Slacker announced a new version of its portable radio today, and we�€™re happy to say the Slacker

Fabulous audio quality, great recommendations, free music.

You can't choose which songs you'll hear unless you pay for the Premium service.

trade-offs: You can't always choose which songs you want to hear, and you can skip only a limited number of tracks. Slacker also offers a subscription plan ($7.50 per month if you pay for a year at a time) that eliminates the ads, enables you to call up s...

If you�€™re willing to look beyond everyone�€™s favorite fruit company when you shop for a digital media player, you�€™ll encounter some wildly underrated alternatives. Cowon manufactures more than a few, including the nearly divine A3. In fact, there�€™

Beautiful screen, awesome format support, and plenty of storage.

The navigation joystick is frustrating to use; no carry case.

Pushing the tiny, sturdy stick to the left or right (to skip tracks or navigate menus) is easy enough, as is moving it up and down (to control the volume, for instance); but pushing it in to select a file requires the kind of pinpoint accuracy that�€™s ne

A handful of good features gets swamped by this device's major shortcomings.

Mic and line-level input, MicroSD memory slot, OGG and FLAC support.

Crappy display, problematic software, sloppy buttons.

You don't have to be lazy to love this unique digital media player.

Music discovery, great sound, fantastic display, artist bios and album reviews.

Short battery life, small memory, sloppy Power button.

The Archos 604 has been one of our favorite digital media players since its introduction late last year. Our opinion of the new Archos 605 WiFi�€"which adds a high-resolution touch screen and wireless networking capabilities�€"isn�€™t as lofty. Click Rea

Touch-screen works great; better screen res than old version.

Lousy battery life; 10% surcharge for Opera; hazy-looking screen.

The touch screen works great�€"it�€™s a much easier means of navigating the player�€™s menus than the column of buttons on the right side of the device�€"so we can overlook the need to use a stylus. But if the touch screen is to blame for the screen�€™s v

Microsoft, seeing the futility in polishing turds, went back to the drawing board to design the second rev of the Zune. (If only they�€™d do the same for Vista!) Fortunately for early adopters, many of the new features and desktop software will be made av

Better controls; wireless auto-sync; Zune Marketplace greatly improved.

Still tied to Zune Marketplace; wireless sharing still mostly useless

The Zune�€™s wireless features have undergone significant improvements, including the ability to manually sync your Zune to your PC when in range of a wireless network (the Zune must be connected to an optional AC adapter or charging dock to sync automati

It�€™s taken many a year, but Microsoft is finally figuring out how to build operating systems for handheld devices. Windows Mobile Portable Media Center 2.0, embedded in Toshiba�€™s Gigabeat T400 4GB digital media player, is better than anything Apple ha

Portable Media Center 2.0 kicks ass; intuitive controls; Rhapsody & WMA Lossless support.

Only 4GB; no FLAC support.

Media Center Mobile looks and feels just like the big-screen version of the OS. Pressing the button with the familiar Windows icon brings up the main menu from which you can choose listings for TV, music, pictures, or video. Use the crossbar to move the s...

Cowon provides a wealth of choice where SanDisk sets severe limits: The D2 supports not only MP3, WMA, and secure WMA, but also OGG, FLAC, and even WAV. Click Read More for more.�

Support for all types of media, including lossless audio formats.

Not enough built-in memory.

The D2 is supremely versatile, it sounds fabulous, and it�€™s certainly priced right. Oh, what we wouldn�€™t give to trade its highfalutin touch screen for a simple control wheel and a couple of buttons

Microsoft�€™s idea of letting people share their favorite songs using a wireless connection was as botched in execution as it was brilliant in conception. SanDisk�€™s Sansa Connect makes much more sense, although it requires users who want to share to cou

Wireless networking, Internet radio, great user interface.

Limited codec support, no support for lossless formats

Unlike the Zune�€™s silly wireless-sharing capability, the Sansa Connect�€™s networking feature is useful, even if you�€™re not interested in sharing or renting music. The device can join any Wi-Fi network (with support for WEP, WPA, or WPA2 security, but