128mb cali mp3 player rio

How will we be hauling our tunes around in the coming year? At the CES 2004 show, we saw a burgeoning crop of portable digital music players. The trends, which probably won't surprise many people, are smaller players, larger memory capacities, support for more formats, and claims of longer battery life. Manufacturers are also, at last, taking a clue from Apple and focusing on design; we saw very few of the bulky, boxy, boring-black players of recent years. Finally, look for more players built with the small hard drives from manufacturers such as Cornice and Hitachi.

Samsung will be adding to its Yepp line with both hard drive and flash devices. In March, look for the YH-920, which will pack 30GB of storage, an FM tuner, and a customizable equalizer in a body that's under 2 inches wide. A line-in jack will allow you to MP3-encode source material, and a line-out connector on the player's docking cradle will let you plug in speakers or other output devices. The YH-920 will also support Audible, Ogg Vorbis, and WMA formats. The company claims 10 hours of life for the rechargeable battery.

In February, Samsung plans to introduce the YP-60. This tiny flash memory player is very specifically designed for fitness buffs: Along with an FM tuner and multiple format support, it will have a heart rate monitor, a calorie-burning counter, and a stopwatch.

This year, Panasonic has also expanded its line of portable digital players with the currently available 128MB SV-MP20V and 256MB SV-MP30V. Notably, these flash memory players allow you to drag files and drop them onto the player without making you load special software. Versions with similar specs—the SV-SW20 and SV-SW30-will appear in April under the Shockwave moniker and will be built more ruggedly for the active (or clumsy) among us.

Philips will be coming out with what it hopes will be an iPod killer. This miniscule 1.5GB hard drive player will be available in early February for $199.99.

One of the oldest and most venerable names in MP3 players, Rio, is still very much in the game. In June, it will ship updated additions to its Cali, Chiba, and Nitro lines, which include both flash and hard drive players. In addition to the usual improvements—in memory, battery life, and size—Rio is taking a giant step forward in design, incorporating metal cases, which improve both the sturdiness and the look of the players.

Traditional audio company Aiwa (now a division of Sony) is taking its first leap into the digital player world. The cornerstone of its Pavit line of players is proprietary, removable USB 2.0 memory similar to a thumb drive. The drives, which you'll be able to purchase separately from the players, will go up to 256MB initially and will work in any of the product line's devices. Audio players will include a standard model, one built into a headset, and a waterproof version for the shower. There'll even be a digital camera. Look for these products in March.

Apple, of course, announced its 4GB iPod Mini, weighing just 3.6 ounces, and iRiver will be adding to its superlative line with new flash-based and hard drive players.

Copyright ?? 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.