Labs

There's so much more to flash memory-based MP3 players than there used to be. Features such as video and touchscreens are becoming more commonplace, capacities are up to 16GB, and with many players now equipped with memory expansion slots, they're challenging the lower-end hard disk players for storage, too.

The Archos 405 player might not be tiny or as sexy as the nano, and at £84 for just 2GB it isn't as good value for money, but this angular player does have some things going for it. The first is its bright 320 x 240 resolution 3.5in screen, which is as good as you're likely to get on a flash-based player.

The second is that, as with its bigger brother - the 605 WiFi - you can use it to record and output video when coupled with one of the optional docking cradles. We also liked the ease with which playlists can be created, and battery life isn't bad either: 16 hours for music and five hours for video playback.