Mid-sized MP3 Goodness:

Who really needs 20, 40, 60GB of music? The 4, 5, 6GB hard drive players are really the memory sweet spot. These "Mini" players still pack way more music than you need for one trip, plus they're smaller, cheaper, and more portable. Good things come in small packages.

iPod Mini 4GB

Design The iPod Mini from apple may be even better looking than it's big brother. Four cool colors plus the patented click wheel make this a cool design. Full color screen is easy on the eyes. Interface Apple is the gold standard of interface and ease of use in all categories. You just can't get much better than the intuitive click wheel design. Scrolling is easy with the circular touch pad, and when you want to select something, play, pause, skip etc. you just push down and you get that satisfying click. Software iTunes. iTunes, iTunes, iTunes. Sound Quality The sound processing technology in the iPod Mini is identical to that in the iPod sr., therefore the sound quality is also identical. Features Compared to many other players, the iPod Mini is relatively featureless, unless you count sleek and user-friendly interface as a feature. It doesn’t have an FM tuner, it can't record without heavy accessories, and it doesn't display pictures like the Photo. Accessories It is an iPod however, which means great accessories from Apple and third party companies. Remote control, iTrip FM transmitter for car use, carrying cases and belt clips, skins, sound docks and more. Battery Life The iPod mini can get over 18 hours of tunes off of one charge, which is better than the Photo but worse than many competitors. As with other pods, the battery is not user replicable, so be ready for a trip to the Apple store in the life of your iPod. Durability The Mini has some durability benefits that the larger pod lacks. It has a strong aluminum casing which deflects scratches and protects the innards a little better. It feels a lot sturdier too, which is good for piece of mind. Price Officially the price is $229, but you can find a better deal if you look ($183 was the lowest we found for the 4 gig model). A competitive price, but still higher than most competitors.

Rio Carbon Pearl (5GB)

Design The Rio Carbon Pearl is an interesting design. It's somewhat squat, smaller than the iPod Mini, and has a smooth plastic casing like the iPod sr. It has a silver, 5-button interface on the front which looks fine on the smooth player, and a simple monochromatic screen for viewing track info. There is also a rubbery black strip around the bottom of the player, giving a tear-shaped look and protecting against bumps. Interface The interface is pretty simple. You control everything with the 5 buttons and the navigation is very easy. The Rio Carbon Pearl has less features than many competing players, which makes the menu easy to navigate. Software Software support is excellent. Rio supplies their own software for the Rio Carbon Pearl, but it's also compatible with WMP and even iTunes (though you need a plug in for that). I'd the Pearl's flexibility when it comes to software makes it even better than iPod mini in that respect. Sound Quality The sound quality is fine, even on the ear buds supplied with the player (we do, however, recommend an upgrade to bigger headphones). It's a little quieter than the Mini but this can be changed via the Equalizer. Features This player is simple, but far from featureless. It has digital recording ability so you can make notes to yourself or record a lecture if you're feeling lazy. It also has a calendar, a scheduler and even a stop watch. Recording is first rate, and even has microphone levels so you can be sure you're recording is running smoothly. The screen is monochromatic and can't display photos or art, but it does do one thing: give you adequate and sensible data about the files stored on the player. Accessories Not too many. There is an ugly carrying case, a microphone, and that's about it. Battery Life The battery life on the Rio Carbon Pearl just ekes out ahead of the Mini, clocking in at over 20 hours of battery life. Unfortunately, it's not user-replaceable, so expect a trip to the service center sometime in the life of your player. Durability The rubber strip at the bottom of the player provides a firm grip, and doubles as shock absorber, so, even if it's unlikely that you'll drop it, if you do, you can rest assured that your Pearl will probably survive. Price You can find the Rio Carbon Pearl for as low as $170 dollars, putting it clearly ahead of the iPod Mini in terms of price.

Creative Zen Micro (5GB)

Design The Creative Zen Micro isn't the coolest design out there, but it does have some stuff going for it. It has no buttons per se, but rather a series of touch pads on the front. It comes in 10 colors, twice as many as the iPod Mini, so if matching the look of your player to your personality is important to you, this may be the way to go. All of the included accessories are also the color of your choice. The screen is monochromatic, but backlit by a cool blue, glow. Interface The touch pads are pretty intuitive to operate. Scrolling, pausing, playing skipping, rewinding etc are all fairly easy. One thing to watch out for, it's easier to scroll quickly up and down a menu than it is to move up items one at a time, so increasing the touch pad sensitivity in the system preferences is probably the first thing you'll want to do with this unit. Software The Zen Micro comes with its own operating software that basically mimics iTunes. It's also compatible with WMP and Creative is coming out with a Musicmatch Jukebox patch soon as well. There are a few bugs when working with WMP though with file detection, so if I were you I'd just use the supplied software for all my ripping, burning, and transferring. Sound Quality The sound quality on the Micro is better than any of its competitors at the mid-sized hard drive class. Sound is clear and powerful, and the supplied ear buds are actually quite good. Features FM radio with recording and voice recording make it more full featured than most MP3 players out there, but this player also syncs up with Microsoft Outlook so you can transfer to do lists, in boxes items, and more. It is also compatible with subscription services like Napster To Go. Accessories There is a pretty good complement of accessories to this player, taking a page from Apple’s book. A lot of them come standard with the player too. A wired remote control and an extra battery can be considered essential extras for this unit. Battery Life Battery life could really be better at just 12 hours. It's worse than any other player in its class. However, the battery is user-replaceable, which means you can pack an extra one for just such an occasion, boosting the real play total to 24 hours with the $40 dollar battery expansion. Another benefit to the user-replaceable battery is the fact that you'll never have to bring it into a service station. Durability It can take a jolt like a drop and survive, that much is sure, but I wouldn't drop it on purpose just to test its mettle. Price You can find this item for about $175, a real steal when you figure in the great features and the extra gigabyte of memory when compared to the 4GB iPod Mini.

iRiver H10 (5GB)

<Design The little brother of the H10 20GB model, the 5 Gigger enjoys many of the same design benefits. It's smaller, so it fits in your hand a little better, and is ever-so-slightly larger than its competitor, the iPod Mini. It packs a full color display, which gives it an edge over some monochrome competitors. Interface The interface is identical to (if slightly smaller than) the larger H10. It suffers from the same problems, returning to the menu screen to adjust volume, buttons that do different things in different modes, having to utilize the awkward "bac" and "select" buttons instead of using the touch pad to select, etc. However, the touch pad itself takes less getting used to than the Creative Zen. Software Fully compatible with WMP 10.0. One major draw back though, the H10 must be connected to your PC in order to transfer files, and this includes deleting files. Sound Quality Sound quality is great if you use good head phones. Equalizer is great, but a little difficult to use. Features Compared to the iPod Mini, the H10 5GB is packed. Sound recording, FM radio tuner (which is also recordable), plays various formats including subscription services. Also views photos, even if not as cleanly as iPod and not much larger than a typical thumb nail, and views text messages. They can be viewed while you listen to music, which is a plus, but the player does not sync directly with a digital camera or another player, only with a PC. Accessories Backup battery is essential. External mic is nice as well, and special docking cradle necessary to record line-in audio. It doesn’t have anywhere near the third party support of iPod however, which is not surprising, as few products of any sort do. Battery Life Battery life is wretched, which is why we suggest the extra battery pack. It's rated for 12 hours of battery life, but you'll be lucky to even get 10. However, the fact that an extra battery pack is even an option is good, since many MP3 players require you to bring the entire unit into a service center to replace the battery. Price This unit is actually priced a bit high at around $210-230. It's more than some similarly-featured competitors, and comparable to the iPod, which, although has less features, is easier to navigate and is better supported.