Creative Zen Nano Plus MP3 player

Apple's archrivals pump out a flash player that favours form over function.

From iPod-style white to fire-engine red, this chic player's available in 10 different colours.

It's kitted out with quite a small display, but thanks to the combination of a simple rocker switch and cleverly laid-out menus, taking control is a cinch.

There's no built-in rechargeable battery, so it runs off a AAA instead. We got around 16 hours of playtime - the worst on test. It works with MP3s and protected WMA files, but not subscription services, and while the sound is good, it's not as engaging as the Sony NW-E205 or iAudio U2.

Creative supplies its own Media Source software for transferring tracks, but seeing as the player appears as a USB removable drive on your desktop, it's better to just drag and drop music onto it.

This isn't bad. It's easy to use and has decent sound quality, but it doesn't have the battery life to really satisfy.