Tech Test: IPod alternatives

From:http://www.1topsupplier.com/buy-lcd/
Key words: LCD, radio,mp3,cell phone
It's easy to understand the appeal of Apple Inc.'s iPod Nano music and video player: It's slim and simple to use, and it has a crisp 2-inch LCD screen. Its brand name is considered synonymous with hip tech gear.

But what if you want a player that looks different from those wielded by the Nano army, costs less, includes features such as an FM radio or voice recorder, and lets you drag and drop songs from your computer desktop instead of going through Apple's iTunes software?
I tried out a handful of options and found three to highlight.
All include a bevy of features and support multiple file types including MP3 and Windows Media (WMA) tunes, MPEG4 videos and JPEG photos.
These players are not perfect, but it is comforting to know there is multimedia life off Apple's planet.
Iriver Lplayer
Owing to its diminutive hotness and fairly strong performance across the board, iriver's Lplayer ($100-$130) was my favorite of the bunch.
The sleek little device comes with 4 or 8 gigabytes of flash memory storage. Its face consists solely of a 2-inch screen whose sides can be pressed to control the device. The only buttons -- for power and volume -- are tiny and located discreetly on one side.
There's also an easy-to-miss hold switch on the Lplayer's back.
The controls were a little confusing at first, as I initially assumed clicking the middle of the screen would serve as a sort of "enter" or "play" button (it doesn't). But once I got used to it, I liked the simplicity.
The Lplayer's screen is bright, and photos and videos looked fairly crisp.
I would have preferred better image quality, but it was good enough that I enjoyed seeing a 15-minute video while commuting home.