MP3 Players

The Audioengine A5 is a speaker system for the iPod that is compatible with the iPod Universal Dock and Airport Express.

The sound quality is far better than anything else we've reviewed today and its nicely compatible with other devices.

Some may say that they're not portable, well you would expect high quality speakers to be portable.

MP3 Daily Rating: 3/5

More Information: Audio Engine

I don't think this would go down too well with youngsters in this country as they're keen to look cutting edge. Pre-teens in Japan and the rest of Asia may soak these things up however.

It comes in a 128mb and 1gig variation in silver, white and garish red. It obviously comes with headphones. I really hope that I never see anyone using this. But saying that it could be a nice gift for someone at your office's next secret santa day.

Now I don't normally get excited about iPod accessories but the Kensginton SX 2000 get's me going! But only because it looks good!

The bass is good enough to bring your foundations down - well not quite, but you get the idea.

It's got the usual features such as the ability to charge whilst docked, trays to hold older ipods.

But there are down sides, there's no remote control and you can't run it off batteries. The sound quality isn't all that great when compared to higher-priced options.

PC Magazine Review: The Kensington SX-2000 Speakers for iPod were recently reviewed by PC Magazine and received a 4/5 rating: "The Kensington SX-2000 Speakers for iPod speaker/dock has very good sound quality, a very cool flat-panel design at a reasonable price, and enough volume to fill a dorm room, den, or office....." Click here for the full review.

Buy now:

Advanced MP3 Players - £89.00
Amazon - £102

Is the Toshiba X30 MP3 player better than the iPod? Their claim is that the X30 is for people "who want better than iPod" - well that's a big claim. It looks good, we can't argue about that, but its functionality (and marketing) that counts.

It's a full 20% smaller than their F Series MP3 players but still has a 2.4 inch colour LCD screen and either a 30gb or 60gb hard drive. The X30 can also play MP3s, WMA and WAV files.

There's talk of the the interface being un-easy to use, but as with most things when you play around a bit, you'll eventually find it fairly easy to use. One of the most important factors, however, is that the quality of playback is superb.

Whether its good enough to beat the iPod at its own game is another thing. It may be good, but can it really combat the plethora of accessories that the iPod has? Can the "iPod generation" become the "Toshiba generation"? It's doubtful, but you don't have to be #1 to offer a successful, user-appreciated product.