SanDisk Sansa e260

Looking very similar to an iPod nano, the Sansa has a shiny black finish, 1.8in colour screen, 2GB, 4GB or 6GB of flash memory and near-Apple-identical menu navigation. Size is also similar at 43 x 88 x 13mm. Unlike an iPod, however, it supports all Windows audio formats, and Windows Media Player integration is flawless. Plus, there's an FM radio, and it plays video transcoded using the supplied software. The iPod touch-wheel is replaced with a mechanical version; this may not be as slick, but it works well enough. Battery life impressed us at over 12hrs. Drawbacks include a lack of user-definable EQ, a proprietary USB connector and a slight lack of volume. Overall, though, this is one of the best nano challengers we've seen to date.

Author: David Fearon