iriver E100

The player comes in 4GB ($110 street) and 8GB ($160) capacities and resembles the flash memory based Microsoft Zune, sporting a 2.4 inch TFT LCD that takes up most of the surface area, with controls below the screen.

The click surface controls resemble those of the Clix gen 2 to a certain extent, consisting of a flat panel that can be pressed in different spots to accomplish different tasks.

There's a central Enter button, and the side panels house a lock and power buttons, volume controls, line in and headphone jacks, a microphone for voice recording, a micro-SD slot for memory expansion, and weak built in stereo speakers.

The included ear buds fit well but don't sound very good you'll probably want to upgrade. The universal mini USB connection is welcome, since proprietary cables are more difficult to replace if you lose one.

Since the Clix gen 2 has such cool graphics, like a lot of the Samsung players out there, including the YP-T10, the E100's visually boring user interface comes as a surprise. To that blandness, add confusion. Sort of like a mansion with doors hidden behind bookcases and safes stowed behind paintings, the E100 has a lot to offer beneath the surface if you can find it, that is.

Take, for example, the audio settings. You'd think they'd reside under the Settings menu. Instead, to adjust them, you press and hold down the right hand arrow button while a song is playing. The Sound settings screen then appears, and you can adjust EQ, turn off the song fade in or fade out settings, and adjust the play mode.