I-BEAD 128MB MP3 Player

The i-bead is a tiny MP3 player (roughly 8x2x2cms) with outstanding sound quality and an easy to use graphical interface.

As well, as playing MP3's it can play WMA files so you can store twice as much music on it with not much loss in sound quality and comes with a radio and a voice recorder (about 9hrs worth of voice recording).

What gives the i-bead the edge over other competitors is that it is rechargeable (a 3hr charge lasts for 14hours!!) and doesnt require any drivers or cables to run it. You just pop it into your USB port and it appears as a removable drive on your PC charging whilst it is connected. The USB plug is moulded and hidden on the actual player itself but comes with an extension cable if you are not fortunate enough to have a front USB port.

Transferring music (or any data files) is very quick indeed (about 2mins for 60songs).

As with most things there are bound to be one or two bad points:

1) The headphones that come with it are quite short and 'squareish' and sometimes fall out but I bought a pair of Koss 'The Plug' headphones and the sound quality, comfort and bass is the best I've ever experienced. However, saying that the supplied headphones are in a handy 'necklace' arrangement so you can carry your i-bead around your neck when training.

3) It doesnt come with a charger, you have to charge it through your PC but one is available separately if you wish to travel.

2) Often, when files are being uploaded to it it will say that the file is corrupt and not upload it. The machine will then not turn on and you will have to format your i-bead with the provided software and start all over again. I found this VERY frustrating!

The way round this is ingenious - the i-beads firmware is upgradeable with new updates coming out all the time to solve potential problems. I got the new firmware of their website and I have had no problems with it since - also, the firmware added gave it a few quirky animations and extra features to give it more appeal when using it. Also, if you have a particular unencountered problem, you can inform them and they will try and produce a patch for you to solve it.

4.) Not expandable. Unfortunately the capacity is stuck at 128MB with no chance of expandability. However, there is a 256MB version due out soon apparently.

A very well thought out product with not too many problems which cannot be easily solved.
BUY IT NOW!!