Sony Network Walkman NW-MS70D

The good: Sleek, compact design; strong audio quality; great battery life; 256MB of built-in memory; expansion slot.

The bad: Expensive; proprietary encryption scheme slows transfer time and eats hard-disk space.

The bottom line: If you get your digital music from CDs alone, this tiny player rocks; otherwise, format conversion mars the experience.

Like Apple, Sony knows how to build stylish products, and the electronics giant's tiny NW-MS70D flash-based digital-music player certainly qualifies as a head turner (and given the $299 list price, we expect no less). Unlike Apple, however, Sony hasn't quite mastered the concept of user-friendliness, as is evinced by the company's insistence on using its proprietary format for digital-music playback on its portables.

Intro: The Sony Network Walkman NW-MS70D is a 256 MB, flash player.Compared to other flash MP3 players on the market, it is expensive at around $150.

Noteworthy Features: An available memory stick duo slot allows even more storage.

Weaker Features: None noted, given available product data.

Suitability: A flash MP3 player, suited for bringing quite a few songs with you.According to the manufacturer this player will last approximately 33 hour(s) between charges; your run-time will vary based on use and power management configuration.Comes with a 1 year warranty, which is standard in the industry.Flash players like this are ideal for people who use their players in more active listening environments, where disk-based players have greater chances of skipping.

Value: Overall, this MP3 player's price seems a bit steep, with respect to its features.

Suggestions: Audiophiles may wish to buy aftermarket headphones for better sound reproduction.