Flash-based MP3 players are taking over the marketplace. Unlike their hard-drive-based counterparts, flash MP3 players have no moving parts, affording them entirely skip-free playback and, in most cases, a long battery life.
Also, flash chips are tiny, meaning the players that use them can be small to the point of ridiculousness. Luckily, most manufacturers realise that there is such a thing as too small, so we had no trouble finding a collection of manageable MP3 players that won't take up valuable space in a briefcase, a backpack, a purse, or a pocket. And although the measurements are teeny, all of them offer at least 2GB of memory, which is enough to hold about 500 songs or 32 hours' worth of music.
The winner in terms of tininess? The Apple iPod Shuffle at 10.5 millilitres. Next comes the Creative Zen Stone Plus at 18 millilitres. The sporty Sansa Clip measures 24.6 millilitres, while the ultrathin iPod Nano comes in at a respectable 23 millilitres. Finally, there's the comparatively bulky Creative Zen V Plus at 32 millilitres, but considering the capacity tops out at 16GB, we think it's worthy of a spot on the list.
Apple iPod Shuffle (2nd generation, 1GB)
Still screenless, the second generation iPod Shuffle is, according to Steve Jobs, the smallest MP3 player in the world.
Creative Zen Stone
Creative's pebble-like Zen Stone takes on the iPod Shuffle. It has a lower price and better sound but lacks the brand aura and tactility of the Shuffle.
SanDisk Sansa Clip
The SanDisk Sansa Clip is an incredible value MP3 player that's set to edge out the competition with a user-friendly interface, gym-worthy design, and great sound quality.
Apple iPod Nano (3rd generation)
Honey, I shrunk the iPod! The new nano has all the features of its big brother, the Classic, but in a smaller package with fewer gigabytes.
Creative Zen V Plus (2GB)
Small, smooth, colourful and charming; the Zen V Plus is the cutest MP3 player Creative has come up with so far.
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cj
21/05/2008 02:17 PM
iRiver S10 people... Barely bigger than the Shuffle, but with a screen! Even your own review marks it higher than the apple gadgetry!
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annabanana
23/05/2008 05:33 AM
The Clip is my Favorite. I got mine from www.shopsansa.com, the Sansa store, a couple months ago and it is stellar.
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jiaka
25/05/2008 11:39 PM
i dont care what this comment box is for i m writig what is on my mind right now. i had untl just a few minutes ago, a creative zen 4gb, it was nice for the most part. problems included touchy buttons that worked most of the time, sometimes they didnt. i could not interact with the memory card from within the zen itself. meaning i could not transfer music or what ever from the zen to the card or vice versa without doing it through the computer. and why i finallly took a hammer to it, quite literally, was because i couldnt delete everything at once to start over. i went to the creativbe web site and there is no where to leave comments good job creative. no tech support. in other words they tell you what they want you to know. you just buy their product and thats that. yur on your own. screw you creative im getting rid of my soundblaster also. just because i could not submit feed back to them
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