Olympus m:robe MR-100

Hail the Messiah! "He's no Messiah, he's a bad boy".

Bored of the iPod? But that's thoroughbred insanity! Well, okay, we take your point - it's had more exposure than b-grade flash-junkie Jodie Marsh. Still, the good news is that there's a new MP3 player on the block, and it's just as iconic as the iPod. Called the m-robe, it's a 5GB sensation from Olympus.

Design-wise, it's top-notch. Check out the posh, illuminated touch-sensitive controls and the red display, which glows like a burning ember - so sexy it's practically pornographic. It's nicely screwed together, too - and simple to use. The touch controls are refreshingly unfiddly and the software (which is Windows-only, sadly) is decent enough. Sure it'll take five minutes to work out, but it's worth it. Sit the player in the USB 2.0 docking station, use the software to decide what tracks you want on there, hit the sync button, and you're away. It plays MP3s, WMAs, and... that's it. Bit limited really.

Sound quality is brilliant, and the supplied headphones are top-notch. Nice and comfy. Navigating tunes is easy, too - you'll glide through the menu like a gazelle-legged go-go dancer. Battery life is 12 hours, which is disappointing when compared to the iPod mini's 18. And on the subject of irritations, the glassy face gets grubby, occasionally confusing the touch-sensitive controls.

But none of that puts us off.