MP3 player reviews

Click on a title to read the full review and view accompanying photos.

Microsoft Zune HD
Microsoft's newest digital media player is the Nvidia Tegra-powered Zune HD. In addition to sporting one of the sleekest designs on the market right now, the 2.6-ounce device features a 3.3-inch capacitive OLED touchscreen, WiFi connectivity for web browsing and streaming/downloading, HD radio receiver, 720p HD video support, and wireless access to the Zune Marketplace...

Sony X Series Walkman
Before the Zune HD and what is assumed to be the third-generation iPod touch are released to the touchscreen DAP/PMP-adoring public this month, let's take one last look at Sony's X Series Walkman before it's completely overshadowed and forgotten...

iriver P7
When the iriver P7 was first announced at CES 2009, it was easily my favorite portable media player on display at the company's booth. I was intrigued by its magazine-like interface, pleased by its microSD card slot, and impressed by its wide array of codec support...

Mistakes Samsung made with the Q1 (YP-Q1)
The Samsung Q1 (YP-Q1) digital media player is so boring and frustrating that I don't want to spend any time giving it my full review treatment. Instead, I'd like to share some of the photos I originally took for the review and talk about what I think Samsung did wrong when designing the flash-based player...

Samsung P3 (YP-P3)
The Samsung P3 (YP-P3) is the long-awaited upgrade to 2007's P2 (YP-P2), the company's first touchscreen digital media player. Though almost identical in design, the P3 one-ups its predecessor with an aluminum casing, haptic feedback, integrated speaker, DNSe 3.0 sound enhancement technology...

iriver T5
The iriver T5 was quietly released alongside the T6 a few weeks ago and is the second USB stick-style digital audio player the company has put out since the summer. It sports a slightly different design than the T7 Volcano/Stix and has

iriver T6
A few weeks ago, iriver quietly added a new digital audio player to its catalog: the T6. It features a very basic set of features and doesn't support video playback, but its thin design, affordable price tag, and exceptional build quality...

iriver SPINN
Out of all the new digital media players shown off by iriver at CES 2008, the SPINN was probably the one that consumers were most excited about. Whether it was the way its first video demo "killed without words" or simply that people were...

Creative Zen X-Fi
Creative's newest flagship product is the Zen X-Fi, a high-capacity flash-based digital media player that adds Xtreme Fidelity (X-Fi) sound technology, a built-in speaker, a few wireless functions, and a whole lot of extra buttons to the company's original ZEN...

iriver Lplayer
The latest digital media player to be released by iriver in the US is the super compact Lplayer. Boasting OGG, FLAC, and XviD support, the flash player packs a 2-inch TFT display, D-Click navigational system, FM radio, and other extra...

iriver T7 (Volcano/Stix)
Although iriver is best known for its innovative and sleekly designed digital audio players, one of the company's latest CES-unveiled DAPs to hit the market is the rather ordinary-looking USB stick device known in various regions as the T7, the...

iriver W7
This year's winner of CNET's Best of CES award in the MP3 and Portable Video category was the iriver W7, a widescreen (480 x 272) digital media player that features a touch-based interface, Flash Lite 2 support, miniSD card slot,...

iriver E100
At CES 2008, iriver unveiled a panoply of new digital media players it planned to release in various regions throughout the year. First out of the gate in select countries and scheduled for a U.S. debut by early April is...

Apple iPod shuffle
With last month's announcement of the 2GB Apple iPod shuffle came a hefty price reduction for the 1GB shuffle that has retailed for $79 since its September 2006 launch. Now just $49, the vibrantly colored flash player is still a...

Samsung S5 (YP-S5)
The Samsung S5 (YP-S5) was introduced last year as the more compact, fuller-featured successor to the previous year's K5, a groundbreaking digital media player equipped with a slide-and-tilt speaker that encouraged users to "share a soundtrack." But despite its rich...

Creative ZEN
Although it wasn't what many originally had in mind as a replacement for the Zen Vision:M, the applauded HDD-based DAP that debuted in 2006, the Creative ZEN has still been regarded positively for its wide array of features, brilliant 2.5-inch...

Samsung P2 (YP-P2)
Samsung's newest digital media player, the YP-P2, was recently awarded the sixth spot in TIME Magazine's list of the top 10 gadgets of 2007. Its touch-based interface, large widescreen display, and Bluetooth support certainly make it worthy of the honor...

Toshiba gigabeat T400
When the gigabeat T400 launched in September 2007, Toshiba was confident that its 4GB flash player would be the answer to the "call for a change in the status quo." The T400's H2C sound technology, WMA Lossless support, and affordable...

Sony A810 Walkman
The A810 Walkman is the flagship model of Sony's newest video-enabled digital media players. Available in 2GB (A815), 4GB (A816), and 8GB (A818) versions, the device is slightly larger and more expensive than the S610 Walkman because of its all-metal...

Sony S610 Walkman
The S610 Walkman series is one of Sony's first portable media devices to support video playback. Available in 2GB (S615F), 4GB (S616F), and 8GB (S618F) capacities, the flash player is also among the company's new generation of products that finally...

Apple iPod nano (3G)
The third-generation iPod nano, one of four new and/or updated iPods announced at Apple's "The Beat Goes On" special event, was released in early September 2007. The first nano capable of playing video, it was also the first device to...

Kenwood Media Keg HD30GB9
Kenwood may not be known for their digital audio players in the U.S., but its Media Keg series has a respectable presence in Japan. In fact, two new additions are already poised for release next month. But unless you need...

iriver Mplayer
Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me? Based on the new 1GB Mplayer, my guess would be iriver. Originally commissioned by Disney for Hong Kong Disneyland, the iriver Mplayer has just recently become available in...

Samsung K3 (YP-K3)
When Samsung unveiled its flash-based K3 digital audio player (YP-K3) earlier this year, it invited us to imagine a slice of digital delight and imagine a slim design with big sound. Ironically, the company's deliberate use of the words slice...

iriver T50 and T60
How many boxes of Toblerone chocolates do you think were involved in designing iriver's new T50 and T60 digital audio players (DAPs)? I'd say at least two, one each for this pair of low-capacity flash DAPs recently released in Korea...

iriver clix 2
Anyone who thinks iriver isn't a formidable force in the DAP/PMP market obviously hasn't met the clix 2 (also known as 2G clix, clix2, clix, and clix gen 2), the recently improved and dare I say nearly perfect upgrade to...

iriver X20
At CES 2007 in January, iriver unveiled an impressive lineup of new flash-based digital audio and portable media players planned for release throughout the year. Information and various images of many of them had already made their way to most...

iriver S7
Several months after iriver released its superb S10 digital audio player (DAP), it announced the player's younger, less-abled, weird-looking sibling: the S7. Obviously a step (three steps?) down from the S10, the S7 is said by some to be iriver's...

Creative Zen V Plus
True to its name, the Creative Zen V Plus (ZVP) is literally the plus version of the Zen V flash-based digital audio player. The ZVP has all of the features of the V . . . plus an FM tuner...

iriver S10
When the diminutive iriver S10 digital audio player (DAP) made its debut on tech sites in September, many were disappointed (though not surprised) that it would be available only in South Korea. Most believed the DAP would eventually make it...

Creative Zen V
With Christmas less than two months away, now might be a good time to explore an alternative to the iPod Shuffles and Nanos that will no doubt be stuffed into many a stocking this year: the Creative Zen V. The...

512MB Hello Kitty MP3 player
Yes, Hello Kitty is slowly making her way through every branch of the electronics tree. Diehard fans have been able to get their paws on household appliances, stereos, CD players, lamps, and TVs branded with the Sanrio character for years,...