Napster or not, rights-managed music (read pay up) or free, life goes on for digital music fans. That includes the evolution of portable MP3 players, more properly called digital music players. In addition to MP3 audio files, the majority of the eight players we tested also play AAC or WMA formats, which offer better quality at the same compression level or equivalent quality at twice the compression as MP3.

A lot has changed since the first MP3 player, the Diamond (now SonicBlue) Rio, shipped in November 1998. The newest digital music players are more stylish; they use USB for speedy file transfer; and the music management software is easier to use. Most players also have upgradable memory. What we're not seeing enough is lower prices: Most of the players we reviewed are still priced around $300.

Here we review the newest leading digital music players. We've also done standalone reviews of eight other digital music players in After Hours since last year's roundup (February 8, 2000), including the Creative Nomad II and Nomad II MG. For reviews of the Creative players, see our issues of June 25 and November 7, 2000, respectively; each earned a score of 4 out of 5.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.