Hard disk MP3 players used to be the only option for carrying around more than a few albums worth of music in your pocket. But with 4GB and 8GB flash players now common, they've had to up the ante.
Video is the name of the game with the high-capacity devices these days. Capacities range from the modest (30GB) to the extremely generous (160GB), so there's lots of space available for everything from your favourite TV programmes to film and home movies - and you aren't just restricted to video. These players will also play music files, display photos, and some can even record TV and stream media over Wi-Fi.
The Zen Vision W is Creative's take on the high-end portable media player and it's notable for its excellent sound quality. It's easily as good as the iubi Blue and superior to both the iPod Classic and Archos 605, while the glossy screen shows good contrast and colours. The menu system is nice to use and we liked the addition of a CompactFlash slot, but it looks poor value next to the iPod and Archos players at £173 for just 30GB of storage space.
