A Music Player For The Long Run

Though iPods are still the gold standard for MP3 players, at nearly 6 oz. they can be a chore to jog with. Flash memory players are often smaller, but they can hold only a fraction of the 10-GB iPod's 2,500 song capacity. Enter the Rio Nitrus Mini Jukebox ($299), a 1.5-GB MP3 player with a slim profile that can still hold 400 titles. Nitrus gets 16 hours of battery life--twice the iPod's--and the included Sennheiser earbuds give great sound.

Negatives: no smart playlists, and no high-speed FireWire connection to transfer songs from your computer. Still, it's enough to finally give Apple a run for its money.