We liked the fact you can always see on-screen information about albums and songs on the Philips GoGear SA2845 — a crucial detail missing from some other makers’ micro MP3 players. We also enjoyed the ability to jump with such ease between successive tracks, but we were less taken with the way we were expected to navigate the rest of the music library. Relying on a very small hardware button jammed up against the headphone jack seemed rather a waste given the presence of the far easier and more intuitive pressure-based arrow navigation on the main player.

Samsung's YP-S2 Pebble MP3 player is a unit for those after something basic. It does a good job with music playback and it looks stylish, but it lacks the features of its more expensive counterparts.

Another product in the entry-level MP3 player space, the iRiver T60 has a few control and interface issues. However, its impressive audio quality and relatively robust features list go a long way to make up for that.

It's as small as a lighter, yet it can tune into FM radio stations and record through its microphone as well as play MP3s. The only drawback is its supplied set of headphones, which do a bad job of reproducing high and low frequencies.

It's a nifty little MP3 player with Bluetooth capability that is suited for anyone who would like a slim and sexy device to listen to their music and watch their movies while on the go. The only problem is that scrolling through files can be a bit annoying.

Sandisk's Sansa Clip is a great value for money MP3 player. It has an intuitive display, great audio quality and a low price tag, as well as a clip that helps hold it in place making it ideal to use while exercising.

Only minor aesthetic changes have been made to the new iPod shuffle. It may serve you well as a secondary music player, or a device ideal for jogging or exercise, but the lack of a screen and below average sound quality diminishes its value.

A decent but far from outstanding digital music player, while Apacer's AU581 does the basics, there are much better options out there.

The Toshiba Gigabeat U201 is a basic media player that performs well, but doesn't set itself apart from the crowd.

The Sansa Shaker is a great introduction to the world of portable music and will no doubt keep kids and pre-teens amused for hours.

Sony's NWD-B103F is another solid Sony digital music player which is only made stronger by Sony's decision to finally abandon its proprietary software.

Creative's ZEN Stone Plus is another good entry into the digital music market. It does suffer from poor battery life and a slightly slow interface, but if you're after a small and relatively stylish unit, it is a reasonable choice.