1. Looks Are Everything

The hard-drive MP3 player has gone mainstream. Versions come out one after the other and there are so many of them it's hard to keep up. From all origins, in all colors and brands, famous or not, they all have pretty much the same functions, the same price and the same quality. Practically the only difference is in the earphones. Unless of course you are into gizmos like flashing displays or custom logos, which does not lend itself well to exhaustive performance benchmarking tests.

A Matter Of Shape

What we are searching for is originality. In the end, what could still make a difference is the miniaturization and looks of the thing. So here are two new models by Samsung and Creative Labs, which go a bit further in cutting down on size but without neglecting finish and functions. It struck us that these manufacturers have each taken a different direction. Creative must have shares in the rag trade because they have focused on the issue of fat, or rather thin. With a figure of 7.5mm as slim as a credit card, there's no way you're likely to wear a hole in your pocket, however badly sewn up it is. Samsung on the other hand has gone for cutting down on weight and size and come up with a block of just 24 grams.