O2 Digital Music Player

If further evidence were needed of the explosion in popularity of portable digital music players then mobile phone giant 02's new eponymous digital music player is it. The huge amount of marketing cash backing this player shows just how mainstream things have become. It also demonstrates how the music industry is finally accepting the pay-per-download method of distribution, rather than suing 12-year-olds making use of popular free peer-to-peer software from the Internet.

But with all that money, it's a shame that 02 appears to have forgotten about style. The Digital Music Player is by far the drabbest player on show this month. But at least it's functional; the options and navigation mostly proves to be intuitive thanks to a decent directional button. We also like the ability to recharge the player using its USB 1.1 interface.

The player supports MP3s and also the AAC+ format: a variant of the standard MPEG-4 AAC. This is well-suited to streaming downloads - music is stored on an SD/MMC card, 64MB is included. The system works using 02's True Tone system, where you download songs via your mobile phone's GPRS connection (so you need a compatible handset) - and it's incompatible with other networks. The player transfers songs via infrared, although an optional cable is also available.

Of course, downloading tracks isn't the only way of transferring music to the player. You can also drag and drop MP3s from your PC onto the player, as it appears as a hard disk in Windows. The SD/MMC slot means you're not limited on capacity either.

02's music library is generally impressive though - more so if you're into popular chart-topping pop tunes - with some songs even becoming available before general release. For those with taste, there's a constantly broadening variety of other genres and you can download 'classic' tunes from times past.

It's possible to download the first 30 seconds of any track as a free sample. Full songs are charged to your monthly phone bill. The average price per song is rather expensive at £2.50, with some costing as much as £3.50 - this is this player's main undoing. While we greatly appreciate the ability to download songs on the move - indeed, wherever you're covered by an 02 network - and also the introduction of a viable pay-per-download service, we can't see people flocking to buy it once they realise how much the service costs.

Beyond people petrified of listening to potentially illegal music, we can't see anyone other than phone-obsessed rich kids buying the Digital Music Player. If it were better designed and more stylish, the 02 would be a tempting proposition, but as it stands it's a poor solid-state player.