Cheap mp3 players

January may be a cold month across most of the country, but it was hot for music lovers. Manufacturers were pumping out MP3 players faster than Motown used to crank out hits. Even better, size, weight, and—most importantly—prices are dropping. And despite shrinking dimensions, some tune toters are managing to increase capacity. You may not be able to squeeze a quart into a pint bottle, but you can fit a ton of tunes into a few ounces.

Listeners who value style as much as sound will be pleased to hear that cheap extends to price, but not looks. The sound machines in the five reviews collected here have style to spare. The same holds for quality. Three hard-drive players we looked at—the Dell DJ 20, Dell Pocket DJ, and Gateway MP3 Jukebox—received ratings of four, as did the Flash-memory Apple iPod Shuffle. The hard-drive Archos Gmini XS200 pushed half a point higher.

The latest object of desire for iPod people is the signature-white Apple iPod Shuffle, available in 512MB or 1GB versions, both about the size of a butane lighter and weighing a miniscule 0.8 ounces. This highly competent player corrects sound-reproduction deficiencies of previous iPods and actually manages to do most competitors one better. Devotees of Apple minimalism will flip over the Shuttle, which pushes the principle to the edge. Other than a four-way rocker ring and play/pause button, very little disturbs the surface. In fact, there's no display. Songs play either randomly or in sequential order.

The Archos Gmini XS200 does one thing, but very well—it packs as much music as possible into the smallest volume. This slick, squarish, silver-and-chrome gem fits a 20GB hard drive into a 3.0- by 2.3- by 0.8-inch package that weighs just over 4 ounces. It's goal in life is playing MP3 and WMA files. There's a 128- by 128-pixel screen with two levels of grayscale and good contrast, but no FM radio, recording capability, or other extraneous features to add bulk. Sound quality, however, is as good as it gets.

We looked at two fine products from Dell—the 20GB DJ 20 and the 5GB Pocket DJ hard-drive players. Dimensions of the DJ 20 are essentially the same as a full-size iPod, and the look is similar, with everything contained in a seamless aluminum wrapper with an anodized finish. A thumb-operated roller control below the 160- by 120-pixel display lets you scroll through menus and make selections by pressing down. Audio quality, for the most part, is good.

The Dell Pocket DJ looks much like the DJ 20, but is meant to compete with the iPod mini—and it does a good job. Although slightly smaller and less expensive that the mini, the 5GB Pocket DJ holds one gigabyte more, and audio quality is rock-solid. One especially nice advantange this player holds over its Cupertino competitor is an easily replaceable battery.

The 4GB Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox is a multitalented device, letting you play music, upload images from digital cameras—a big plus for shutterbugs—and view photos on its 128- by 128-pixel color screen. Sound quality is as good as that of any player we've tested, and as with the Dell Pocket DJ, the rechargeable battery is easily replaceable.

Now you have more ways than ever to carry your music with you. And these featherweight players give new meaning to the term "light listening." Never spend another minute in mall-Muzak hell. Put one of these tiny units in your hand and get a grip on your music.

Copyright ?? 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.