Multimedia Players Test

October 2008

With the arrival of a raft of portable multimedia players (PMP), keeping children entertained on long trips no longer means magnetic board games! However, the rise in popularity of these mini marvels has given buyers a tougher choice than simply picking a DVD player for the car. This new entertainment breed can also play back music, photos and videos downloaded from your PC.

PMPs cover a wide range: some are the size of a Walkman, others have on-board memory and DVD-playing capabilities, too. Which one you pick will depend on what you will use it for the most, as some are more specialist than others. For this test, units had to be portable and handle music and video.

Ease of use was key – especially as most will be operated by children. We looked for an intuitive interface and easy transfer of videos and music on to the players. The ability to play MP3, MPEG4, WMV and AVI was also on our list, as were photo viewing, games, calendars and web access. Plenty of memory, or flash card compatibility, was an asset, and finally price was taken into consideration.

Verdict

PMPs have diversified in recent years, as this eclectic bunch shows, but the Shinco is the leading jack-of-all-trades. It is well designed, easy to use and has the bonus of being able to play back video files from memory cards. In second place is the superb Archos unit with its ability to surf the web, and in third is the LG DP391B.

1. Shinco SDP-6820
2. Archos 605 WiFi
3. LG DP391B

Contacts

Creative, www.creative.com
Shinco, 0844 922 1010, www.firebox.com
LG, 0870 873 5454, uk.lge.com
iLuv, 0845 838 1822, www.nobledistribution.co.uk
Archos, 0906 213 2467, www.archos.com
Goodmns, www.goodmans.co.uk
Philips, 0845 640 1010, www.argos.co.uk

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