The Shuffle Alternative

Not an iPod fan and just want a simpler, lighter and cheaper portable music player that still looks pretty cool (and cute)? Then try this, the Samsung U3. It looks pretty cool, like a pack of gum, and comes in a variety of candy hues (Vanilla, Green, Pink, Blue and Black). There are two available capacities to choose from, 1GB and 2GB, which are enough for the less hardcore portable music users who just wanna drag and drop their favorite songs into their players. The U3 houses an OLED display that flashes really sweet LED lights and a neat USB dock that easily pops out when you need 'em with a slide of a button. Unlike iPods, this little thing has FM Radio and voice recorder. When fully charged, the U3 juices out 15 hours of replay.

The U3 comes with a detachable clip and color-matched earphones. It looks pretty neat when strapped onto your belt, jeans, bag strap and even panties. It's very good for workouts and beach parties. Furthermore, it's cheaper than the screen-less iPod Shuffle. For a price less you'll get a screen, a bigger capacity, an FM radio and a voice recorder. Unless you insist on getting everything Apple, this is one flash-based portable music player that gets it right. And guys, these would make perfect anniversary gifts for your loved ones (make sure to include your favorite love tunes in it beforehand).

Slim-Sexy Samsung

Talk about sleek! This mp3 player by Samsung, called the YP-K3, is built for the slim-sexy enthusiast. It comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB sizes, and three bodies of color to choose from: black, red and lime. It's got great touch-sensitive controls that makes navigating through your playlist a breeze. A 1.8-inch full-color OLED LCD screen (a dot-styled, blue-lighted OLED) rests above the touchpad.

But what really makes this player stand out among the rest of the mp3 portables out there is its Bluetooth A2DP support. Rated battery life is 25 hours. Overall it just looks gorgeous.

Best Portable Video Player

What’s a PMP you asked? It stands for Portable Media Player. No, it’s not merely just a portable music player. We’re talkin about portable video players that you watch your movies on. Since most of us nowadays download DivX movies and TV series from the internet or copying from someone else’s collection, we ended up watching them most of the time in computers or burn them onto DVDs to be played on your TV. But what if you wish to go portable? What device would you need to fulfill that?

Enter the Archos 605 Wi-fi, one of the best Portable Media Players out there. The 605 plays your movies, music videos and TV series tremendously thanks to its magnificent 4.3-inch touchscreen in 800 x 480 resolution. Watching your favorite videos in the Archos 605 is far more convenient than lugging your laptop or squinting on an iPod. And don’t get me started with the iPhone (you’ll need to do a lot of conversions beforehand). That’s right, the Archos supports most video formats out there so uploading your videos into this 160GB monster is a breeze. Now you could watch an episode of Heroes or Prison Break anywhere, anytime.

In addition, the Archos 605 has a built-in wi-fi. That means you can surf the internet on this thing. Now that’s what I call an added bonus. What else is there not to like? Sleek design, brilliant features and a touchscreen. It’s only 122 mm wide and 15 mm thick. Of course, the best thing about this player is how gorgeous the videos look when played, as if coming to life. Clearly, the best PMP on the market.