Archos Gmini XS 202S MP3 player

Honey, Archos has shrunk the MP3 player...

Best known for its PMPs, Archos also makes MP3 players and this model is the smallest large-capacity player you'll find right now - it's about the same size as two matchboxes laid together side by side, or the shoe-box of a monkey.

Not surprisingly, compromises have been made to achieve these stunning proportions. For example, the screen is monochrome rather than colour, and we'll have no video playback or support for image slideshows here. This is strictly for music lovers only.

Or it is, at any rate, once you've chucked away the ropey earphones Archos supplies and replaced them with a pair of Sennheisers or Sonys. Even then, anthemic tracks like Arcade Fire's Wake Up don't spring at you, teeth and soul bared, as they do on Creative's Zen Vision:M or - you've guessed it - the Apple iPod.

Getting around your library of tunes is bearable using the responsive joystick on the front, but it's nowhere near as quick as using a scroll wheel or touch pad. If you've filled up the hard disk and you like to pick and choose what you listen to as you go along, prepare to suffer from joystick thumb. Also, while the player works with downloaded protected WMA files, it doesn't play subscription tracks from the likes of Napster to Go.

Where there's very little compromise wrought in the name of downsizing is with the battery. We got around 16 hours from a single charge.

If you're the kind of gadget fiend for whom (lack of) size is everything, this mini-maestro is worth a look, especially at its equally mini price. However, at the risk of sounding boring, most people would be better served by the iPod, Vision:M or Sony's A3000.