Toshiba’s well-liked Gigabeat portable media player series ventures for the first time into the realm of flash devices, and the results are quite respectable. The tiny, attractive U series has 2GB of storage, an FM radio, FM and line-in recording, yet costs a full $50 less than the 2GB iPod nano.

Stilt, flaws are immediately apparent. The screen is a tiny 1.1 inches, the graphics are dull, and there's no video. This is probably just as well, though, because video and small screens rarely mix well. Loading the tracks via Windows Media Player 11 was easy, but file support is pretty limited: just MP3, WRA (including lossless), and WAV. The Gigabeat U series can display JPEGs, but photos don't shine on the tiny screen.

Navigation, however, is fantastic. The PlusPad button array, combined with the menu and Back buttons below the OLED, allows intuitive control of the device. Line-in recording can be monitored visually via on-screen left/right meters, and FM radio operation and recording is a simple and organized process. Battery rundown tests yielded a solid 18 hours 42 minutes.

The U series won't knock your socks off, but if you're not tied to iTunes, it delivers lots of features for the price.

Toshiba gigabeat U Series: $99.99

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