With its black and silver trimmed fascia, the Archos 3 is available with a choice of metallic red or chocolate backing which does displays a warning regarding possible hearing damage due to excessive volume levels.  Weighing just 63 grams and having dimensions of 95 x 52 x 9mm, this media player can fit easily into a pocket without causing an unsightly bulge or weigh you down.

It is 19x19x3cm without cables that all fit into the back of the unit. Also in the box are a remote control and a composite cable as well as a power lead and instruction booklet. The front of the unit has two LED’s a small one to let you know power is received and a second larger one when the unit is switched on. The on/off button is on top of the unit near the appropriate LED. The right side and base are clear of controls.

Adding to its FreeAgent family of products, Seagate has released FreeAgent Theater.  Described as a HD media player for use with your television, the FreeAgent Theater is decked out in black with the top having a fingerprint retaining lacquered effect.  Measuring 31 x 183 x 180mm (H x W x L), the player unit comes with a small remote control, mains power lead with replaceable two and three-pin plugs, composite video stereo/audio cable, SCART adapter, setup guide and software CD.

The NaimUniti all-in-one system measures 43x37x9cm and it's heavy so if you are planning to put it on a shelf make sure it is strong. We all know cheap hi-fis are plastic better quality could well be wood, well this Naim unit is made of – wait for it – cast iron. The front has the swing (from left to right) CD door and it requires a magnetic puck (supplied) to sit on top of any inserted CD. Below this are two 3.

Classified as an Internet Media Tablet, the Archos 7 is the latest addition to the company’s portfolio of PMP (Personal Media Player) type products.  As its classification indicates, this product combines Internet access and media storage/playing facilities within a single device.  The number “7” of the product’s title specifies the diagonal dimension of its high resolution (800 x 480 pixel) touch screen.

The Epson P-3000 measures 14x5x8.5x3.5cm and weights 420grams. The display window is 8.3x6.1cm giving the notional 4inch display. It runs on a solid rechargeable battery. The top has earbud socket, SD and Compact Flash card slots. The right side has on/off hold slider as well as a Kensington Lock connector. The base has the entry point for the solid battery, while the left side has two rubber bungs covering the power adapter and A/V outlet and USB sockets.

Vuzix have a history in developing audio-visual eye-wear for military and medical applications. With the AV920 they bring their expertise to bear on the burgeoning consumer portable video market in the form of a set of video glasses. The AV920 a stereoscopic headset that focusses an image on each eye. The effect is that of 62" screen - very impressive.

Verbatim have been in the storage industry for very many years and that lineage is very clearly visible in the MediaStation. The convergence of multiple functions into a single device tends to happen with each manufacturer their area of expertise, working outwards to incorporate additional features. So good mobile phones initially integrate a fairly poor camera and media player. In the case of the MediaStation, this is very much a hard-disk that has some additional features.

This is a MP3, Video, Photo, FM Radio and Voice Recorder. It measures 4.5x75x.5cm and weights just 30 grams. It comes with 2GB of internal memory but it can also accept a micro SD card. The left side is where the Micro SD card can be inserted and beside this is where the pinhole microphone is. The right side has slider for on/off, however if you are the energetic type slide it the other way to engage the hold control. The base has the proprietary USB connection and a 3.5mm earbud socket.

The iLuv i1155 is a great concept. Accepting that however good the Internet delivery may in future become for video distribution you'll still have a large collection of valuable DVDs. As much as you'd love to rip those onto your computer - and hence to your iPod - the big media companies don't want you to do that. They would rather you pay again.

I'm a complete convert to video on the move with around 20 hours of my favourite videos on my . I've watched on the train and in a camp-site during particularly bad weather. I've even used it on a car journey to keep the kids entertained. There is however a problem - it's not comfortable watching the iPod screen for any length of time. It's not the quality of the screen, which is brilliant. It's having to either hold the screen up to watch (if laying down) or a sore neck having to look down.

As I descended the numerous flights of stairs to this underground location, I couldn't help but hope that maybe one of the new gadgets would be available to help me climb the stairs on my return journey.  Unfortunately it was not to be but there were several other goodies that will tempt you to part with your cash in the forthcoming months.

click to enlarge The iPod Touch arrives in a fairly small package, sporting John Lennon on the front. Inside the box you'll find the device itself, Apples hallmark white headphones, white USB cable, a docking adaptor to allow the Touch form factor to work with the existing range of iPod accessories, a cleaning cloth and a tiny perspex stand.

Mi-Vox from £9.99 to £24.99 www.mi-vox.com One of my favourite things to do in airports, once the bags are all checked in and you have made it through the long queue for security, is to browse in one of the book shops.  With the thought of 2 weeks away from work, I usually end up with at least 4 novels.  It's a real pleasure taking the time to decide on which book will keep me company on the beach while my family frolics in the sea.

click to enlarge The new Sony Walkman NWZ-A829 is 9.5x5x1cm and weights around 80grams. It has a TFT screen of 5x3.8cm. It has two buttons below the TFT screen as well as the ubiquitous five position joystick arrangement between them. The base has input for earbuds and the proprietary USB lead. The left side, the top and the back are all clear apart from a small indentation in the rear for a stand (not provided in my sample).

click to enlarge If like me you've taken the trouble over the years to rip the bulk of your CD collection onto your PC you can be left with wondering how to then play that music.

The Kensington FX500 "speaker to go" is a slightly bigger than an A5 sheet of paper at around 150x200mm, around 35mm thick and weighing 400g. The unit has a soft finish that should be fairly robust and is reminiscent of a small zip-up folio case. From the front the product has a central clear window through which you'll be able to access front-mounted controls on your favourite MP3 player. A power switch is situated to the lower right.

I'm sure whether to classify the first announcement making up this report as multi-functional or more of a convergence in technology as Archos enhances one of its existing products.  That product is the Archos 605 WiFi Media Player which featured in an earlier review ( ). Basically the announcement covered a new GPS In-Car Holder that turns the 605 WiFi portable media player (PMP) into a GPS navigation device without compromising the device's original multifunctional capabilities.

Clear Acrylic and Brushed-Metal Case The model I was sent works with iPod's with video. The dimensions are 10.5x6.5x1.5cm. The front was blue brushed metal with the rest acrylic apart from the area over the click wheel that is a thinner plastic that enables protection for the wheel while at the same time enabling you to use it. The area over the screen seems to cause no distortion to the image displayed.