e.Digital MPIO

This is from a small Korean company and is their newest model. I have 2 of their first models, the MXP100, and I bought this basically because it had FM recording and was small. I figured I'd sell the MXP100's to pay for it, LOL. I am really impressed with the size, the sound, and the overall functionality, but the biggest improvement is the very fast download speed compared to the MXP100. The only thing I don't like is that they still don't have bookmarks, and the design is a little ameteurish. They should look at the old Rio500 and copy it's controls. I paid $200, and added a 256mb card for $75, and that's a pretty good value.

I had an Archer hard drive type of mp3 player, but I sold it because it was too heavy to deal with. I can just put this thing in my shirt pocket and I don't even know it's there. I found that I don't need to carry 300 cd's around with me, I can just listen to one or two, and then reload when I want to change.

The other mp3 player company that looked like a good value was Now Evolution, a small company out of North Carolina. I've heard there are mp3 players that are designed to combat pirating that are a pain, and I'd stay away from if I were you. Like I heard the Sony and Samsung players are bad about kind of thing. I had three Diamond Rio's, and was impressed with the design, but not the durability.