Tiny Players, Many Songs

Don't want to choose between a small-capacity flash memory MP3 player offering less than a gigabyte of storage space and a roomy hard-drive model? Look into the new Apple IPod Mini and Creative Nomad MuVo2 (pronounced "MuVo Squared"), small players that each hold a generous 4 gigabytes of digital music.

The older IPod's smaller sibling, the rectangular IPod Mini is 3.6 by 2.0 by 0.5 inches and weighs a mere 3.6 ounces. The square MuVo2 is 2.6 by 2.6 by 0.8 inches and weighs 3.2 ounces. I tried out shipping models of both.

The $249 IPod Mini's thin anodized aluminum case resists scratches and fingerprints, and its small, bright monochrome screen is viewable from many angles. The bundled ITunes software lets you automatically sync your desktop and portable music collections every time you dock the player in its USB 2.0- or FireWire-connected cradle (or you may manually update). IPods don't support the Windows Media format, but they do support MP3 and .wav, among others.

To install the $200 MuVo2, I plugged its cable into the player's USB 2.0 port and into my PC, which instantly recognized the unit as a USB mass-storage device. I then dragged and dropped music and files to the player in Windows Explorer. (You can also do the job via Creative's easy-to-use MediaSource software.) The MuVo2 supports MP3, WMA, and .wav formats. However, navigating music on the player via its small monochrome screen is tedious. The only way to advance to another album or song is to hit the forward button until you find the track you want to hear.

Overall, due to better design, the IPod Mini is the better choice of the two.

Apple IPod Mini

Well-designed small player.
Price when reviewed: $249
Current prices (if available)

Creative Nomad MuVo2

This tiny player's irritating interface is a big drawback.
Price when reviewed: $200
Current prices (if available)