DESIGN
Portable players should be just that - easy to carry, lightweight, with a well designed user interface (UI).
The two most aesthetically pleasing devices are the iPod touch and the Nokia N800. Apple's device deserves special mention - at only 8mm thick and impossibly light, it looks like a vision of the future.
The other devices have put function before form, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The re-designed PSP has a low-cost plastic feel but it is much, much lighter than the original machine and can now sit comfortably in a jacket pocket.
The Archos 605wifi is the bulkiest of the machines - in part because it has much more functionality than the other devices and is the only one to come with a hard drive built in.
In terms of UI the iPod touch is the standout device - its touch screen interface is a revelation and rewrites the rules for mobile devices. Whether its skimming through hundreds of songs, cover art for albums, contact information or video files, it is a delight to use.
Nokia's gadget suffers the sins of many of its mobile phones - confusing menus and a sluggish response make it irritable to use. The PSP's interface is very clean but quickly becomes unwieldy if more than a handful of songs or video files are stored on it.
The Archos interface is also a little cluttered and is not helped by a poor colour scheme that makes every icon and button look identical. The buttons on the device are not exactly intuitive either.
VIDEO
If one were to look at the raw specifications for all four of the devices it would show that the Archos comes out on top, followed by the N800, the iPod touch and the PSP.
The Archos has the highest resolution and the best DPI (dots per inch) and the front end of the system looks very sharp.
But the brightest of all the screens is the iPod, which looks vibrant, with the various menu buttons almost bursting off the screen.
When it comes to video playback the quality depends on a number of factors - the quality of the original source file and the codec, or format, that it has been saved in.
The format of choice for many digital video aficionados is h.264, which is supported by all of the devices apart from the Nokia N800.
However, Archos require users to pay for a plug-in to unlock playback in that format, while the PSP's support for h.264 only seems to work with Sony's own files.
To compare video playback I encoded the same piece of video four different times - taking advantage of the best playback options, the maximum bit rate and screen resolution for each device. I tried to convert files to h.264 for the PSP but with little success and so had little choice but to judge it on straight MP4 playback.
The results were clear - the Archos and iPod touch offered the best video playback fidelity, while the PSP and N800 were a distant joint second.
If I had to choose one device as the winner for video playback I would plump for the iPod as its contrast and brightness seemed better than on the Archos.
But the Archos is the clear winner when it comes to supporting different video formats - there is very little it does not play.
The iPod touch and PSP are much more limited when it comes to support for file formats such as DivX, a popular codec for video enthusiasts.
The Archos also has the ability to record video direct from your TV or video player as a very personal video recorder.
There are software packages which can migrate video recorded onto a PC/Mac on to the PSP, iPod and N800 but none of their solutions are as simple as recording directly to the Archos device itself.
Sony is introducing a feature for the PSP that will allow it to playback files stored on a PlayStation 3 over wi-fi. So any video files on the main console can be accessed via the handheld device.
AUDIO
As the only 'dedicated' music player the iPod should win hands down. And it does.
Audio quality on each device is hard to distinguish - unless you are an audiophile.
But the iPod's integration with iTunes makes it the easiest device to synch/transfer tracks and its astonishing user interface makes choosing tracks as simple as flicking between album covers on screen.
Sadly, the iPod touch does not come with external volume controls nor support for a wired remote which is an oversight at best and a magnet to thieves - as you take out the device to change track - at worst.
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