Archos 405 costs $169 and is a more portable, smaller alternative to Archos 605 WiFi, the flagship model from this company. The big difference here is that the 405 doesn’t have a touch screen display, wireless download content partners and Wi-Fi connectivity. I would still recommend this device if you are looking for a good quality music and video player. Archos 405 is available in only one storage capacity of two GB and there is also an expansion slot. The small internal memory is disapoointing considering that it has a video player but you can always put more memory through the external card slot. This slot supports up to 16 GB of cards and it is easy to swap them in and out of the player. You can buy a couple of cards and load the entire music/video library on them. But if you find it monotonous, there is the Apple iPod Classic but it costs a bit more.

When it comes to music players, iPods are the first thing that would jump to your mind. The Apple iPod has ruined other MP3 player’s market share and there are also music phones which serve as good substitutes to stand alone MP3 players. Sansa has been in the MP3 player market for a while and they have made some really good MP3 players in the past. The best thing about their products is that they are really inexpensive and hence give great value for money. I got the Sansa Fuze+ in the labs for review and this device is available in 5 different color options. For memory, you can choose from 16 GB, 8 GB and 4 GB options. They are priced at $119, $89 and $79 respectively. Sansa Fuze+ is a successor to the original Sansa Fuze which the manufacturer first came out in 2008. It was a good product and things have been made even better here. Fuze+ can handle photos, videos, music,  [...]

When it comes to music players, iPod is probably the first thing that strikes in to your mind which proves that this gadget is the world’s most famous music player. There are other manufacturers making music players but they haven’t come anywhere close to iPod’s class. However, this device doesn’t have the same hold over the market as it did a couple of years ago because Apple has brought in the iPhone which gives you the same features with cellular service. Apple sent an eight gigabyte version of the iPod Touch 2010 in my labs for review. You can also get it in 32 GB and 64 GB models. The cost is $399, $299 and $229 for the 64GB, 32 GB and 8 GB model respectively. As compared to the predecessor, the new iPod Touch doesn’t have a ton of new features but you still get some. On the front, there is a huge 3.5 inch capacitive touch screen and it now has the Retina display of the  [...]

Philips GoGear Vibe may not be as good as iPod and we think it was not made to compete directly with the Apple’s product anyways. Still, this is a really affordable (just $50) MP3 player and gives the Shuffle a good for the money. In terms of the design, the player looks pretty attractive. Inside the package, you get an installation software, booklet, ear buds, and USB adapter. The device has a glossy surface and it surely attracts a lot of finger prints. The body is really small and this will easily fit in to the tightest of jeans. But, we didn’t like the buttons, as they were quite stiff to press. There is also a cheap clicking sound when you press the buttons. However, looking the price point, this is forgivable. The player is excellent for portability, it cuddles nicely in your palm and looking at the tiny size, we would recommend this for gym work outs. The battery has a rated life  [...]

Size of gadgets is getting smaller day by day and this might be the smallest you can get when it comes to MP3 players. It comes built in with water resistant headphones and the design makes it ideal for use while working out at your gym. We first saw Sony do this with W Series Walkman in 2009 and the growing popularity has made Sony make another such device. This player has two gigabytes of internal memory and the manufacturer has chucked $10 off the price bringing the cost to $59.99. This music player is recommended if you are sick of cords dangling from the player to your ears. When it comes to such MP3 players which are meant to be worn while working out, secure fit is really important. We wore this player on our ears and jumped, jogged and walked. The player snuggled up comfortably in our ears and refused to come out and this is due to the inward pressure of the neckband along  [...]

Sony makes one of the best devices when it comes to MP3 players. We put Sony’s players in the list of elite which has big names like Apple and Cowon. Sony has been a trusted name when it came to music because we are still in awe at those music systems that Sony made in the 90s and it delivered awesome sound. Well, Sony is here with a new PMP, the second generation Sony S-Series Walkman and it was disappointing to find out that it has cut down on a few features that we were fond of. But there is a trade off, all this decreases the price of the player making it one of the cheapest players in the market. This player is a bit bigger than what we got in the first generation. While this may not go well in the pocket you get a bigger screen which will give you better video viewing. The screen is 2.4 inch QVGA LCD and it has the same great quality. There are also speakers put up on the  [...]

We all know about Apple’s prowess when it comes to making MP3 players. They are far ahead of the nearest competitors, we reviewed Zune HD before this and we couldn’t help compare every single aspect of Microsoft’s product with Apple iPods The third generation Apple iPod Classic sports a 2.5 inch screen which is quite good for watching videos. It will give you a resolution of 320X240 and can play files which are encoded at 640X480. You can also purchase a cable from Apple to hook up this player to your LCD TV for viewing pleasure. Videos look better when watched on an HDTV but we guess this screen is also good when it comes to portable video players. You will have to take good care of your screen because it doesn’t have the scratch resistant glass screens and such scratches will ruin the look of the player as well as give you a bad viewing experience. Mostly all companies making  [...]

Microsoft’s products have always been thought of as a second fiddle to what is available in the market. They reign when it comes to computers, no doubt about that but their prowess in the gadget markets seems limited only to computers. Sony launched Sony Playstations and Microsoft realized that their computer sales were in danger since Sony Playstation could be used as a computer too plus it gave great gaming experience. So Microsoft launched Xbox360 to lure PS3 fans. Xbox 360 sales haven’t been the same as Sony’s PS3. Sony PS3 was selling like hot cakes when they first came out and sales were so fast that manufacturers actually ran out of stocks. Then came Apple’s iPod and Microsoft launched Zune. So Microsoft has always been seen as someone made products as an alternative substitute to the original ones. Zune first came out it was nowhere close to iPod. But now it is back  [...]