Apple iPod (30GB)

If you want a one-stop solution for everything—music, video, podcasts, and more—the Apple iPod is your player. Unlike most PMPs, we'd use the iPod as our primary music device.

 

Videos and TV shows we bought through the iTunes Music Store ($1.99 each) looked good on the iPod's 2.5-inch, 320 x 240-pixel screen. Apple has really beefed up its TV content in recent months, offering everything from 24 and The Office to Lost and South Park. To move other kinds of video onto the iPod, you'll need to have conversion software, such as Apple's own $29.95 QuickTime Pro. In our tests, colors looked more muted than on the Zen Vision:M, though playback was butter-smooth.

 

The only strike against this device is its 2 hours and 42 minutes of battery life when watching video. For sheer ease of use, however, the iPod is our favorite pocket-size pick.