Rio Nitrus review

Until now, MP3 players have fallen into three camps.

The cheapest models are generally those based on the kind of 'solid-state' Flash memory used in thumb drives. Others play MP3s that have been recorded on to CD-R discs. The third group consists of those that contain a miniature hard disk. Each of the three types involves a compromise.

Solid-state players are very small and fairly cheap, but capacity is usually limited to a couple of albums. Pricey hard disk-based players can hold your entire record collection, but even the slender iPod is too bulky for many, and hard disks are sensitive to knocks. CD-based players are affordable and have a decent capacity, but they're the bulkiest of all.

The Rio Nitrus stores its MP3s on a hard disk, but rather than using one designed for notebooks, this one is a tiny model called a Cornice Storage Element. This means that it has a capacity of only 1.5GB, but the tiny dimensions of the disk mean the Nitrus is much closer in size to solid-state MP3 players than hard disk players, and weighs just 82g. The hard disk is also less susceptible to damage from knocks, as the smaller disk platters are more rigid. The player's case is made from plastic, but rubberised edges and rounded corners give it an air of ruggedness.

Other aspects of the Nitrus are pretty familiar. The internal rechargeable battery lives up to the 16-hour battery life Rio claims for it. The player's controls are fairly minimal but finding your way around the player's menus is pretty straightforward once you learn their quirks. Even using USB 2, you can only transfer MP3s from your PC to the player at around 1.5MB a second - not particularly quick. The file management software, though, at least makes transfers easy, and tracks play in the right order, which is not always the case with MP3 players. Best of all, the Nitrus comes with a set of Sennheiser MX300 headphones, which are superior to any other bundled headphones we've seen. Sound quality from the player itself is exceptional.

The Nitrus falls between solid-state and conventional hard disk-based players in terms of size, weight, capacity and cost. This may seem like yet another compromise, but to our minds this is the perfect balance. The Nitrus is small and durable enough to take anywhere, but still provides sufficient room for around 25 albums encoded at 128Kbit/s - more than enough to offer plenty of choice while you're out. Creative's long-awaited MuVo2 promises a similar spec at the same price, but it'll have its work cut out to topple the Rio Nitrus.