I bought this to replace my kitchen cd player, and I absolutely love it. It is really compact, and very lightweight, so I can carry it around anywhere and fit it into a much smaller space on my worktops; the sound quality is surprisingly good for its size, both on cd and radio, and it plays my own home-burned cds with no problems at all. It's very user-friendly, you hardly need a manual, but there is a good one included. It also has the mains cable included, but not an av connector for attaching ipods or mp3 players. Still, I had those already, and it does playback very nicely from both an iPod and a cheap mp3. The headphone socket was also very good, had no problem using both my in-ear phones from my pod and a set of full-sized phones I use with my tv. The cd compartment is of course on the side, but I find you don't need to lie it flat to use it with ease, I have had no trouble using it even with the cd compartment facing away from me. It also has an off switch included, which my old one didn't - to cut off power I had to switch it off at the socket, which was very awkward. Volume and tuning controls are very accessible and it works well on random and programmed play. The colour is really nice, very bright and girly. The handle is sturdy and easy to fold out of the way, and the whole thing is pretty well made all round. It might be a bit too fragile for the kind of rough use a younger child would give it, but I have no hesitation in recommending it for anyone aged 8 and up. My one problem? I have to keep an eye out or my daughter will make off with it!