"If you suffer a case of unintended extension in your pocket, we suspect things may go snap."

This has happened to me and it wasn't pretty and it hurt like billy-o.

I have a little funny-shaped Sansa from a couple of years back and it's great- the shape means you can always find the controls without looking at the player and it just works. Exactly what I needed from an MP3 player and as far as I can recall cheaper than either of these...

"If you suffer a case of unintended extension in your pocket, we suspect things may go snap."

Sid James would be proud

"If you suffer a case of unintended extension in your pocket, we suspect things may go snap."

My eyes are watering.

(Also- how many people will post this comment, or something very much like it?)

You left out the 2GB Sansa Fuze, presumably as it isn't one of these memory-stick type players.

I was so pleased with mine I immediately returned it to the shop and bought the 4GB with a microSD card. OGG, FLAC, and removeable storage support? I'll take two, thanks.

Is that an unintended extension in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?

Thanks for the info about Linux compatibility, I'll add the Samsung to my list, but so far my Sansa M250 is doing fine, and cost somewhat less than either of these.

What happened to the MP3 players that used SD cards as their memory? I bought one from Micro Direct about four years ago for just £15. Now that you can get a 2GB card for under a fiver you can easily do this on the cheap. My player also had a little LCD to show the track name.

What is it with El-Reg these days, taken over by cheapskate chavs? The Sony is a better sounding player, and costs a few quid more. Sound quality is a primary factor, so why did the Samsung win out? Because it's cheap tat.

If you want quality, you have to pay for it. I for one don't buy TV's from supermarkets, I certainly wouldn't touch a Xbox either as that's also cheap tat.

Most of the old HDD iPods have been shelved and everyone else seems to be flooding the market with 2-4GB models.

What's the best modern player for the music lover that wants to carry their entire (50GB+) collection with them?

(Extra points for it not being apple, as the latest generations of apple stuff are not Linux friendly)

Just because a device might be MTP and not Mass Storage doesn't necessarily mean it's not compatible with Linux. Case in point, my Creative Zen X-Fi works a treat with "gnomad2" using libmtp. This could be something you folks at El Reg could include in your tests.

I got a 2GB one of these from Newegg for $20. (with rebate)

Works with winamp/mediaplayer - works with any file format, just drag and drop

No itunes crap, no funny sound formats necessary.

It will also store data just like a flash drive.

Has a FM radio and works great as voice recorder.

Its simple and easy to use, and its very tiny.

Better than just a long lasting battery, the device holds its charge a long time, can use it for a a few hours several days in a row without needing a recharge.

Did I mention $20!!!!

New version even has a tiny speaker on the back.

I use a Creative Zen and ran into the Linux - MTP dubious friendship thing a few years back, since then Amarok (KDE App, should be available for your distro) has added full MTP support and is by far the best app that I have found for transfering to MTP / USB / Ipods

go for one of the 1.4 versions as they are currently working on 2.x and media transfers are supposed to be a bit cagy