MP3 player Tests (P. 15/27)

"Sony NWZ-A815 portable media player"

Published on: 11/2007

On test: Sony NWZ-A815

We've been extremely impressed by Sony's efforts in the MP3 player market in the past, most notably because of the consistently excellent audio performance and degree of control over your music. The NWZ-A815 addresses one of the biggest issues we had with the range - the lack of drag-and-drop file transfer. → More

"Apple iPod touch"

Published on: 11/2007

On test: Apple iPod touch (16 GB)

As Apple iPhone fans who don't want to sign up for a new phone, we were hoping the Apple iPod touch would be the perfect compromise. Based on its specs (Wi-Fi, mobile Safari, the multitouch interface, and twice the Apple iPhone's storage capacity at 16GB), it sure looks like it would be. → More

"Angora VX435"

Computing Made Easy
Issue: 118

On test: Reddmango Angora VX435

The Angora VX435 is an all-round portable media player (PMP) from digital-manufacturer reddmango. The PMP market is flooded with stylish designs, but the VX is more functional that funky. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. → More

"Apple iPod touch"

Issue: 12/2007

On test: Apple iPod touch

The similarities between the iPhone and the touch are striking. Both have 3.5in 480 x 320 touchscreens. Both run a touchscreen version of OS X, offering apps such as the Safari web browser and a YouTube video viewer. Both units use flash memory for storage, with the touch available with either 8GB or 16GB. → More

"New Apple betters nano second"

Issue: Awards/2007

On test: Apple iPod nano 3G (8GB)

Never one to rest on its laurels, Apple recently gave its iPod range an, er, autumn clean, just in time for the Christmas boom. The most dramatic change comes with this, the third-generation iPod nano. → More

"Apple iPod nano"

Issue: 12/2007

On test: Apple iPod Nano 3G

The latest version of the iPod nano looks very different to its predecessor. The long, lean shape has been replaced by a shorter, wider design that houses a 2in screen with a 320x240 resolution for video playback. → More

"Sony Walkman NWD-B105 2GB MP3 player"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Sony NWD-B105

With increasing hard drive sizes, the arrival of touchscreen technology and ever more features and falling prices, it's easy to forget the more humble end of the personal digital music player market. However, Sony's NWD-B105 proves there are still some good value and strongly featured products at the lower price points. → More

"Creative Zen"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Creative Labs Zen

As video becomes more sought-after in portable media players, two distinct types of device have emerged: music players that can play video and video players that can handle music. The Creative Zen, with its landscape form-factor and space-hogging screen, is a perfectly executed portable video player. But its small size suggests its 'killer app' is supposed to be its music function. This automatic self-contradiction leaves us wondering -- what is the Creative Zen? Can it offer the best of both worlds? → More

"Samsung YP-T9JQB 2GB MP3 player"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Samsung YP-T9JQB (2GB)

The Samsung YP-T9JQB is small and light, fits easily into your hand, and has a smooth, attractive surface. The Samsung YP-T9JQB we tested comes with 2GB of internal flash memory, but a 4GB unit is available for a little more → More

"Apple iPod Touch"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Apple iPod touch

Apple may be keen to tout the Touch's 3.5in display, but the first thing you notice about the new iPod is how thin it is. Front to back it measures 8mm - on paper not as thin as the 6.5mm thick iPod Nano, but you'd never really know unless you measured them both. The point is, the Touch is supremely skinny. → More

"Philips SA9345"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Philips SA9345

Philips' SA9345 is a new member of the Streamium family of audio products from the Netherlands-based company. It emerges into an incredibly competitive market dominated by Apple's iPod. With prices hovering around the £129 mark, the same as a brand new video iPod nano, we're hoping for a solid competitor. → More

"Creative Zen 4GB digital audio player"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Creative Labs Zen (4 GB)

How different life would be if Apple hadn't made its foray into the world of portable audio. Creative's Zen 4GB, for example, is the sort of commendable digital audio player that would make serious waves in an iPod-free world. Indeed, we were thoroughly impressed when we opened the deluxe packaging – until we placed it alongside Apple's most recent nano. → More

"Sony Walkman NWZ-A815"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Sony NWZ-A815

Sony has had a long history of making great audio products that, for some reason or another, have fallen by the wayside because it refuses to open up the technology. The latest example of this was the Sony Walkman NW-A805 that I looked at back in April. It was a superbly well featured, easy to use piece of hardware that was fundamentally flawed because it required the use of the crummy Sony SonicStage software just to load music onto it. In this day and age, with Apple's iPods still being seen as the defacto standard PMP by the general public, it simply isn't enough to create a technically good player - the whole user experience needs to be there as well. That's why Sony has finally seen the light and allowed users to simply drag and drop music to its latest PMPs. The first example we saw of these new players was the NWD-B105, which Jon looked at in August. It was a nice player that maintained Sony's reputation for great sound quality, while also providing a simple and user-friendly interface. Fundamentally, though, it was let down by poor battery life and, of course, it didn't play video. However, also amongst the line-up of new drag-and-drop players is the NWZ-A815, which is the updated version of the video-playing, nano-rivalling NW-A805, that, released from the shackles of SonicStage, finally looks like the player it always should have been. → More

"In a Zen-like state: a review of the new 4GB Creative Zen"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Creative Labs Zen (4 GB)

Why does it seem like these days there is a constant stream of personal media players (PMPs)? Since Jacqui Cheng isn't reviewing this, we know it's not an Apple product, and since that's the case, we know it's going to have an uphill battle against the newest line of iPods. The new Creative Zens are something of a budget line of media players; the 4GB model comes with a 2.5-inch screen and will only cost you $129.99, so it's not a wallet-bruiser by any means. It also features an SD card slot so you can expand its capacity, and the list of file types supported is rather extensive... this thing may have some promise after all. → More

"Apple iPod touch 16GB"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Apple iPod touch (16 GB)

A few years back anyone who took even the slightest interest in computers was regarded with sniggering suspicion and treated as a figure of fun. To employ a much-overused term, they were seen as 'geeks': a group of hairy, unwashed, pimply, young and middle-aged men indulging in a minority hobby. Now it's cool to be geeky and know a thing or two about technology, and one of the key reasons for this revolution has been the rise of fashion tech. Driven principally by Apple's phenomenally successful iPod music players, and to a lesser extent its range of iMacs and notebooks, computing has gone from being kept at arm's length to all touchy-feely. And in the company's latest gadget - the iPod touch - Apple has taken that metaphor and turned it into reality. For its flagship flash-based media player it has dumped the click wheel in favour of a touchscreen-drive user interface. It's the one you've read so much about on the iPhone, but here without the hamstrung non-3G phone stuff. → More

"Apple iPod Touch"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Apple iPod touch

Yes ladies and gentlemen it's that time again, the time when Apple introduces another breakthrough product in the form of the iPod Touch (and definitely not the iTouch as had been rumoured). It's a touch-sensitive media player that owes its sexy slim design, and much else beside, to the iPhone -the big difference of course, is that it's an iPod, without the phone. → More

"Sony Walkman NWZ-A815"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Sony NWZ-A815

Earlier in the year, we took a look at the first devices in Sony's A-Series of players, notably the NW-A808. Though we liked it a lot, the reliance on Sony's proprietary software and the device's high price, made it more difficult to score. However, a few months down the line we're now looking at the next set of A-Series players, the NWZ-A81x range, which includes the NWZ-A815, the NWZ-A816 and the NWZ-A818 models -- the only difference between the three is memory capacity -- and both SonicStage and high prices are nowhere to be seen. Finally, has Sony nailed it? → More

"Creative Zen 4GB"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Creative Labs Zen (4 GB)

At one time Creative's Vision M digital media player was the envy of all, and the rest of its range of music players was impressive enough to rival even the most prolific of competitors. In recent times, however, things have gone quiet. Only the low-end Zen Stone and Zen Stone Plus have broken the eerie silence in recent months and in the meantime, the Vision M has been quietly taken out of circulation. With Creative now having no mid-range hard disk player to compete with the iPod Classic, and a range that's badly in need of an update, can the new flash-based Zen begin to claw back lost ground? → More

"Creative Zen MP3 player review"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: Creative Labs Zen

Apple may rule the roost when it comes to the MP3 player market, but that hasn't stopped Creative Labs offering good player after good player as an alternative. Its latest, simply called the Creative Zen is a credit-card sized player ready to take on the nano. So does it? → More

"iPod touch"

Issue: Expo/2007

On test: Apple iPod touch

We haven't got a UK version of the iPhone yet, but we have seen enough of the US model to have formed a decent enough opinion on it. The iPod touch, however, throws a great big Apple-shaped spanner in the works. If the iPhone is three products rolled into one - an iPod, a mobile phone and a 'breakthrough' internet device - then the iPod touch is two products: the iPod and breakthrough internet communications device. Just forget about the 'phone' bit. → More

"Sony Walkman NWD-B103"

Issue: 11/2007

On test: Sony NWD-B103

If you thought MP3 players were getting a little too complicated with touchscreens, photo viewers and video players all integrated, Sony's B103 Walkman is a breath of fresh air. The stick-like device is shiny in black or white, with a small screen on the front. it may not look super-sleek, but it's certainly a top performer. → More

"Samsung P2 a real player"

Issue: 11/2007

On test: Samsung Yepp YP-P2

Samsung's clearly trying to get a head start on Apple in the touch-screen portable arena, but far from being an under-developed ruch job, the YP-P2 is an absolute belter. → More

"Sony NWD-B105"

Issue: 11/2007

On test: Sony NWD-B105

In hindsight, Sony's mistakes in the portable music market seem jaw-droppingly obvious: the company didn't even bring out an MP3-compatible Walkman until 2004, and even then clung doggedly to its impressive but niche ATRAC format and - even worse - the appalling Connect transfer software. But there isn't a sign of Connect with the B105. Instead, it takes the same approach that ever other manufacturer has been using successfully for years; marketed as "Drag and Drop" by Sony, it basically means you can finally use Windows Explorer (and, by extension, Windows Media Player or similar) to manage the music on the device. It's a small point that should have been addressed years ago, but it finally removes the standard complaint about the MP3-generation Walkmans. → More

"Archos 605 WiFi"

Issue: 11/2007

On test: Archos 605 Wi-Fi

The 605 is the latest portable media player (PMP) from one of the best known brands in this arena. While many MP3 players can handle video, their tiny screens aren't really good enough for watching films. The 605 has a high-resolution LCD that measures a decent 4.3 inches. → More

"Creative Zen MP3 player - First Look"

Published on: 9/2007

On test: Creative Labs Zen

Apple may rule the roost when it comes to the MP3 player market, but that hasn't stopped Creative Labs offering good player after good player as an alternative. Its latest, simply called the Creative Zen is a credit-card sized player ready to take on the nano. So does it? Pocket-lint was given access at IFA 2007 with the new player. → More