C. Crane Witness AM/FM MP3 Player

PoGo Products briefly came to the rescue with a line of AM friendly MP3 players, but the company ceased production of the line after only a few years. Filling the void is the C. Crane Witness AM/FM MP3 Player, a basic radio cum MP3 player reminiscent of the Radio YourWay LX. Even with its throwback design and monochrome display, the Witness will cost you a pretty penny $229.95 for 2GB but AM radio fans have little other choice, and will likely be plenty pleased with the features on offer.

True to its AM radio roots, the CC Witness player has a simple, utilitarian design that feels sturdy in the hand. The case is matte black with a metallic sheen and silver trim wrapping around the edges. The right side offers up a dedicated volume rocker and hold switch, while a look at the left reveals a built in mic, a line in port, and an SD-card expansion slot a necessity, given the paltry 2GB on board storage.

Two external speakers live on either side of the device as well, while a boatload of shiny plastic buttons deck out the front of the device.

There are dedicated keys for accessing the menu, stepping back through functions, adjusting the play speed, setting A/B looping, recording, editing, and playing or pausing.

A four way control pad surrounding the play or pause button allows for hassle free navigation through the extremely basic menus.

There's not much to the CC Witness's screen. It's only 1.8 inches diagonally, which is small, given that the player measures nearly 4 inches tall, 2.2 inches wide, and over half an inch thick.

It's also monochrome, so you won't be seeing any album art or photos here. On the plus side, you can see the font quite clearly without the back light engaged, and the menu options are simple AM, FM, Files, Settings, and Timers. Music accepted in MP3 format only is organized into folders under the File menu. There's also a Playlist folder here, although even after reading the manual, it is unclear what it is for M3U playlists transferred through drag and drop or Windows Media Player did not appear on the device.

Also odd You have to switch views in the settings menu depending on how you want to listen to music. The folder view lets you listen to albums in a folder, while the file view will allow you to play all your music straight through (there is a random option, also). It's definitely not the most intuitive way to listen to MP3s.

Sony NWZ-E438F Walkman

Some pack their players with boatloads of extras, while others create unique and purportedly useful design elements. Some simply make a product that's just as easy to use, offers a similar array of features, and delivers great sound quality but then charge less for it. Such is the case with the Sony E-Series Wallkman, a flash player positioned to square off against the iPod Nano.

Unfortunately, the E-Series doesn't come in a 16GB model, but the 4GB and 8GB versions are priced to sell at $89.95 and $119.95, respectively.

The Sony E-Series has a fairly standard design, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it makes the player very straightforward to operate.

Below the 2 inch screen are the main playback controls a five way control pad, a back or home button, and an option key that brings up various contextual menus.

Sony includes a dedicated volume rocker on the right spine always a nice touch as well as a hold switch.

The bottom of the unit houses the standard 3.5 mm headphone jack and a proprietary USB port.

The E-Series measures a compact 3.2 inches tall by 1.7 inches wide by 0.3 inch deep, so it's definitely pocket friendly and would not be an unreasonable thing to strap to your arm or waistband at the gym. It comes in a variety of colors to suit most tastes: black, red, pink, or blue (4GB only).

Sony NWZ-E436F

Some pack their players with boatloads of extras, while others create unique and purportedly useful design elements. Some simply make a product that's just as easy to use, offers a similar array of features, and delivers great sound quality but then charge less for it. Such is the case with the Sony E-Series Wallkman, a flash player positioned to square off against the iPod Nano.

Unfortunately, the E-Series doesn't come in a 16GB model, but the 4GB and 8GB versions are priced to sell at $89.95 and $119.95, respectively. The Sony E-Series has a fairly standard design, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it makes the player very straightforward to operate.

Below the 2 inch screen are the main playback controls a five way control pad, a back or home button, and an option key that brings up various contextual menus. Sony includes a dedicated volume rocker on the right spine always a nice touch as well as a hold switch. The bottom of the unit houses the standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a proprietary USB port.

The E-Series measures a compact 3.2 inches tall by 1.7 inches wide by 0.3 inch deep, so it's definitely pocket friendly and would not be an unreasonable thing to strap to your arm or waistband at the gym. It comes in a variety of colors to suit most tastes black, red, pink, or blue (4GB only).

Sony NWZ-B133F

Features come and go in the rapidly evolving MP3 player space. One that has enjoyed fluctuating popularity is the built in USB interface, which allows a device to connect directly to a computer without a cable. This "plug and play" capability is currently out of fashion, but Sony is trying to keep the dream alive with the B-Series Walkman. The entry level offering is aimed at active users and is priced competitively at $44.99 for the 1GB model and $59.99 for the 2GB.

Battery life isn't as impressive as other Sony Walkmans and the screen is tiny, but the B-Series hits the mark with an array of features suitable for on the go use.

The Sony B-Series Walkman is slightly larger than your average thumb drive, measuring 3.5 inches long by 0.8 inch wide by 0.5 inch thick, which makes it ultra portable and suitable for just about any pocket.

It comes in a variety of colors black, pink, red (2GB only), and blue (1GB only) which align rather well with the typical gym clothing palette. The USB interface is concealed beneath a removable cap at one end of the device, while a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack is bored into the other. The main playback controls sit on the face and consist of a play or pause button, track forward and reverse keys, and a back button.

Sony includes a variety of dedicated controls on the top edge of the player, including a record key, a volume toggle, and a bass boost button. The necessary hold switch is housed alone on the bottom spine.

Sony NWZ-B135F

Features come and go in the rapidly evolving MP3 player space. One that has enjoyed fluctuating popularity is the built in USB interface, which allows a device to connect directly to a computer without a cable. This "plug and play" capability is currently out of fashion, but Sony is trying to keep the dream alive with the B-Series Walkman.

The entry level offering is aimed at active users and is priced competitively at $44.99 for the 1GB model and $59.99 for the 2GB. Battery life isn't as impressive as other Sony Walkmans and the screen is tiny, but the B-Series hits the mark with an array of features suitable for on the go use.

The Sony B-Series Walkman is slightly larger than your average thumb drive, measuring 3.5 inches long by 0.8 inch wide by 0.5 inch thick, which makes it ultra portable and suitable for just about any pocket.

It comes in a variety of colors black, pink, red (2GB only), and blue (1GB only) which align rather well with the typical gym clothing palette. The USB interface is concealed beneath a removable cap at one end of the device, while a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack is bored into the other.

The main playback controls sit on the face and consist of a play or pause button, track forward and reverse keys, and a back button. Sony includes a variety of dedicated controls on the top edge of the player, including a record key, a volume toggle, and a bass boost button. The necessary hold switch is housed alone on the bottom spine.