5 band EQ Portable Video Players (PVPs)

The Bottom Line: The Cowon S9 is a sexy-looking gadget with exceptional audio and video quality, but its construction quality and user interface pale in comparison to the competition.

Specs: Digital AV player, 2.2 in x 0.5 in x 4.2 in, AMOLED 3.3 in - Color, MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, APE (Monkey's Audio), AVI, WMV, XviD, 2.7 oz

The Bottom Line: The Cowon S9 is a sexy-looking gadget with exceptional audio and video quality, but its construction quality and user interface pale in comparison to the competition.

Specs: Digital AV player, 2.2 in x 0.5 in x 4.2 in, AMOLED 3.3 in - Color, MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, APE (Monkey's Audio), AVI, WMV, XviD, 2.7 oz

The Bottom Line: The Cowon S9 is a sexy-looking gadget with exceptional audio and video quality, but its construction quality and user interface pale in comparison to the competition.

Specs: Digital AV player, 2.2 in x 0.5 in x 4.2 in, AMOLED 3.3 in - Color, MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, APE (Monkey's Audio), AVI, WMV, XviD, 2.7 oz

The Bottom Line: The Cowon Q5W aims to do everything a gadget-aholic may want in a portable video player. Unfortunately, its confusing dual interface and high price hold it back from greatness.

Specs: Portable media center, 5.5 in x 0.8 in x 3.5 in, TFT 5 in - Color, ASF, MP3, MPC, WAV, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, APE (Monkey's Audio), ASF, AVI, WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-4, OGM (Ogg Media), 13.4 oz

The Bottom Line: The Cowon Q5W aims to do everything a gadget-aholic may want in a portable video player. Unfortunately, its confusing dual interface and high price hold it back from greatness.

Specs: Portable media center, 5.5 in x 0.8 in x 3.5 in, TFT 5 in - Color, ASF, MP3, MPC, WAV, WMA, AC-3, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, MPEG 2.5 Audio, APE (Monkey's Audio), ASF, AVI, WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, OGM (Ogg Media), 13.4 oz

The Bottom Line: The Cowon iAudio 7 beats the industry heavyweight iPod Nano in price, features, battery life, and sound quality. The user interface could use some refinement, but all-in-all this is a very impressive MP3 player.

Specs: Digital AV player, 1.4 in x 3 in x 0.1 in, TFT 1.3 in - Color, MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, 2.1 oz

The Bottom Line: The Cowon iAudio 7 beats the industry heavyweight iPod Nano in price, features, battery life, and sound quality. The user interface could use some refinement, but all-in-all this is a very impressive MP3 player.

Specs: Digital AV player, 1.4 in x 3 in x 0.1 in, TFT 1.3 in - Color, MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, 2.1 oz

The Bottom Line: The Cowon iAudio 7 beats the industry heavyweight iPod Nano in price, features, battery life, and sound quality. The user interface could use some refinement, but all-in-all this is a very impressive MP3 player.

Specs: Digital AV player, 1.4 in x 3 in x 0.1 in, TFT 1.3 in - Color, MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, 2.1 oz

The Bottom Line: The Philips Portable Media Center PMC7230 is a stylish device with lots of potential, but it's not as impressive as we expected.

Specs: Portable media center, 3.7 in x 0.9 in x 4.2 in, LCD 3.5 in - Color, MP3, WMA, WMV, MPEG-4, MPEG-4 SP, 8.3 oz

The Bottom Line: The do-everything Archos 604 WiFi is completely stacked with awesome video playback, Web surfing, and other useful features, but the sluggish processor keeps the experience from being totally satisfying.

Specs: Digital AV player, 5.2 in x 0.6 in x 3.1 in, TFT 4.3 in - Color, AAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, AC-3, Protected WMA (DRM), WMV, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Protected WMV (DRM), 10.2 oz