THE BEST Mp3s

An MP3 player in a classic form. Has an LCD screen, SD card slot and runs on AAA batteries. Could be good as a kid’s first MP3 player – at least it’s more practical than an actual Walkman.

Beat is a gesture controlled concept watch/ring music player that tracks performance while running; simply move your hand back and forth to adjust volume, skip songs and check your stats.

If you like to kick it in old school (or should we say old republic), you could try strapping a pair of these Rebel Alliance folding headphones on to show your support for the cause. (Thanks Alex!)

The Kube is a teeny tiny portable MP3 player that can hold up to 8,000 of your favorite tunes. Plays up to 6 hours of continuous music on one charge and recharges in an hour with included USB cable.

With features like a 16M color 3.3″ AMOLED touchscreen, TV-out, 64 hours of music playback and a micro SD card slot, we’re waiting happily and patiently for the slick new J3 PMP from Cowon.

It won’t be abducting any cows, but mobiBLU’s UFO A10 is not only an MP3 player but doubles as a desktop speaker with Bluetooth; we dig the cool blue LED lighting on its underside.

MyRacer’s Korea-only Lisse S10 does a good job evolving the minimalist touchscreen ethos first pioneered by the iPhone; the entire OLED screen is actually a four-way keypad.

Sony’s Walkman NWZ-X1000 may yet be a viable iPod Touch competitor: available in 16GB and 32GB flavors, it sports a 3″ touch AMOLED screen, Wi-Fi and digital noise cancellation.

iTunes is now 80% DRM free, with all 10 million going free by the end of Q1 2009; there will be three pricing tiers ($0.69, $0.99 and $1.29) as well as a 3G/Wi-Fi store for the iPhone.

Brushed metal fetishists will love iRiver’s E50 PMP, due out in January; it’s pretty run of the mill otherwise, with up to 8 GB of space, an FM tuner, and a 1.8″ TFT LCD screen.

With a case that tightly wraps itself around its internals, this Digit MP3 player concept could easily be a next-gen Nano (sans clickwheel); we’re really digging those wireless earphones.

Microsoft has intro’d 46 new designs for Zune Originals, divvied up into Artist, Zodiac and Tattoo series. They’re available with all Zune players for $10-$15 extra. Thanks, Alvaro!

We have to admit we’re mostly smitten by the Pro-Idee MP3 Radio/Alarm’s looks; it’s got a swanky analog meets modern style, with chrome buttons, a usb port and SD/MMC card slot.

William Kang’s 9999 Boom Box concept is updated for the 21st century; not only does it have a design that Apple would be proud of, but it sports both video and mp3 players.

Forget bluetooth: Onkyo’s MHP-UW2 wireless headset uses a 2.4Ghz wireless connection in order to deliver CD quality audio; the transmitter will work with all current iPods.

Sony’s CDX-H910UI is a splash-proof headunit, and is the first to work with iPods or iPhones via a USB port; part of their Marine line, you’ll of course need a boat for this to be useful.

Nikon’s Media Port UP headset is a combination headphone and media player with a swiveling eyepiece for watching videos; it’s controlled by tilting your head up, down, left and right.

Pumping out 50 watts per channel, Peachtree Audio’s Decco is a versatile vacuum tube amp with digital to analog converter, along with USB, coax, optical and two analog inputs.

While Samson’s StudioDock 3i isn’t particularly stylish, it is versatile: it’ll accept inputs from your iPod, PC, mini-jack or RCA inputs, and acts as a dock for your iPod.

Marrying two of its youngest franchises, Microsoft will be releasing a special edition Zune 120 for Gears of War 2 fans, with a laser-etched “Crimson Omen” and 244 bits of media.

Known for their gamer friendly hardware, SteelSeries’ Siberia Headset is a solid, goodlooking headphone; we like the mic, which can be detached if you just want to listen to tunes.

Our favorite PMP with the spinning doohickey, the iRiver Spinn, is finally available for sale in 4 GB and 8 GB varieties; you’ll get a 16:19 OLED touchscreen and FM tuner come 10/3.

Despite 3000 mW of maximum input, Sony’s MDR-XB700 headphone is designed to pamper the ears: its thick urethane leather cushion is air tight and minimizes sound leakage.

Hot on the heels of their AirCurve speaker, Griffin’s Simplifi iPod Dock packs three functions in one: it triples as an iPod Dock, a media card reader, and two powered USB ports.

The BoomCooler is one of the stranger mashups we’ve seen, with Sony’s Xplod audio system (600-W amp!) built into its cover. Oh yeah, it’ll store food too, but it’s gotta be dry.

Old school/80s fanatics will love Lasonic’s iPod boombox, usurping the cassette player with an iPod dock. It also has an SD/MMC card reader, AV output and runs on 10 D-sized batteries.