Support for all common video and audio formats, coupled with a sleek, lightweight design and improved user interface help make Creative's Zen Vision, a top-notch media player - provided you have a Windows PC.

The Voxson MR-200 has a slew of features, all of which are good in theory, but the execution lends itself to ample mediocrity, excluding it as a “must have” contender.

A handy unit with great stereo sound and visual quality, the AV420 is an excellent all-round device with a good feature set.

Though the Voxson Companion Studio doesn’t support Windows media files, elegant design, a polished interface and the ability to record directly to MP4 all add to the unit’s appeal.

The AV 700 is a true multimedia convergence device, but the sheer size of the unit makes it unsuitable for buyers who place a premium on portability.

If you want to take your movies with you and watch them on a 3.8' widescreen, this player with its clear picture and brilliant sound, could be just what you're after.

The Sorell SV-10 includes an enormous range of features, like direct encoding, FM radio support, and a 1.3 megapixel camera, but a few software issues hold the player back.

A great device for viewing photos, with a large LCD screen, but it lacks some MP3 playback features and is quite bulky.

A good device for viewing photos, but let down by a lack of other features and a poor battery life.

Is it really necessary?

The i-Station PMP1000 is a reasonably priced multimedia player with a handy touch screen.

A fantastic portable multimedia player.