Rio Carbon (5GB)

The Rio line, from Digital Networks, was among the first to hit the global markets. This, one of its latest, is another of the company’s many answers to the iPod.

It costs pretty much the same as the mini (approximately Rs 10,000), but gives you a whole gigabyte more.

Plus, its battery lasts around five hours longer on a single charge, and the player doesn’t look half as bad as some of the more obscure models currently on the market.

The bad news -- a carrying case that’s not so hot to look at, no Hold switch to disable accidental commands, and -- shudder! -- no FM tuner.

All said and done, we still like it though, because of its ability to handle all kinds of data and just go on and on and on.

It also has pretty good headphones which, come to think of it, is an added bonus.