iRiver PMP-120

The Linux-powered iRiver PMP-120 is an alternative to iRiver's own PMC-120, which is similar but based on Microsoft Portable Media Center.

The 280g PMP-120's small size, good looks and build quality means that it's a great choice aesthetically, and its 3.5" display is also superior to that of most other multimedia players--bright and with reasonable (but not great) top and side viewing angles.

The PMP-120's supported formats include ASF, MPEG, AVI, DivX and XviD. However, the PMP-120 can't record video or TV directly like the Archos AV420 or AV300 series devices.

In terms of audio, the PMP-120's support extends to WAV, MP3 and WMA, and photo support includes JPEG and BMP. The PMP-120 can even download images directly from a digital camera. Media files (or everyday files such as spreadsheets) simply copy over to the appropriate directory when the PMP-120 is connected to your PC using the supplied USB 2.0 cable. It has a 20GB internal hard disk.

The PMP-120 has a built-in mono speaker and also comes with iRiver earbuds. The integrated microphone and audio line-in allows you to record audio. You can also receive and record FM radio. iRiver claims the replaceable lithium ion battery provides up to 10 hours of music or five hours of video playback.

Our one gripe with the iRiver PMP-120 is that its interface is terribly quirky, but it is firmware-upgradeable, which also means support for games or OGG files could be added in the future. The PMP-120 is compatible with both Mac and PC.