Portable reviews & products

Apple's Shuffle is back in a user-friendly format that marks a return to form from the unsuccessful third generation player

With its deeply no-frills design, we'd expect the HiSound PDAA-1 to have a full and detailed sound, but as it is it's no audiophile's treat

This smart little Sony is the best non-Apple portable device we've seen - even beating the all-powerful Nano in some key areas

Cowon's iAudio 9 is a nippy little MP3 player that does much right - unfortunately, pitted against the Apple iPod nano it just doesn't shine

This Archos certainly has potential, but the poor useability of its interface means we really can't recommend it

It's larger then your average MP3 player, and there are a few foibles for sure, but we really like this classy design from Philips

This multimedia player may represent good value, but while Apple's around, its performance is just mediocre

Ignore the speakers on the Sony NWZ-S544 and it's a decent alternative to Apple's iPod nano

iRiver has jogged along behind Apple's offerings – and the gap seems to be widening on this evidence

It's got an amazing sound, but this Sony falls down flat on its poor internet browsing capabilities