On our desk this week - 4

mobiBlu Q-Be

Think the iPod nano is cute and small? You ain't seen nothing yet! This little baby is just a couple of centimetres cubed, and packs 1GB of onboard memory. Sure, the screen is so small it's virtually useless, but who cares when you can hang this around your neck and look like the coolest cat in town?

OK, so maybe the design is just a little too feminine. As much as we love it's sleek, minimised looks, we can't help but feel that this is more of an MP3 player for... well, girls. The form factor appeals, the limited functionality is of limited importance, and it looks great dangled in cleavage. Trust us, we tried it.

As small as it is, the user interface is actually pretty easy to use. Transfer your music across, then hit play - you can skip back and forward using the dedicated controls on the side. Song titles scroll back and forth across the display. Admittedly, the folder hierarchy that the player employs for distinguishing albums and collections is a little confusing, and could really do with some work. However, it's passable, and better than some of the appalling bits of UI design we've seen in the past.

The player itself is made out of a magnesium alloy, and is anodised for a durable, colourful finish. The version we're looking at here is black, but you can also get it in pink, orange, red and blue - making it a far more versatile accessory than the iPod nano, which comes in a limited range of black or white.

The manufacturer claims a good 15 hours battery life out of the device. Whilst we didn't sit and listen to it for 15 hours, we played with it for a couple of hours and monitored battery life, and extrapolating those results would lead us to broadly agree with the playing time quoted. The player charges over USB when plugged into the computer.

The only codecs supported are MP3 and WMA, which means you can forget about any kind of lossless - but then, with only 1GB, lossless is hardly a viable format.

In general, I'm reluctant to recommend any MP3 player that isn't an iPod - the industrial design, UI design and iTunes integration is worth any price premium you might have to pay, in general. This is the first design I've seen that's actually made me stop and think - hey, that's worth buying. In terms of £ per GB, it's a little on the expensive side, that's for sure, especially given the limited UI functionality. However, give someone one of these, and you've got a gift that is guaranteed to make their jaw drop. The Q-Be is definitely deserving of your cash.

Name: mobiBlu Q-Be
Buy it from: Advanced MP3 Players
Cost: £129 for 1GB, £99 for 512MB
Verdict: Small, cute, functional, awesome. If you're not buying an iPod, buy this.