by Edvarcl Heng



2006 was an eventful year. Every MP3 player manufacturer had something to say. Apple had its iPods, Creative went with the Zens and iriver turned miniature.



To date, MP3 players had never looked as gorgeous. The fashion bug has really bitten with the Samsung and Apple paving the way with designer styles. The Samsung YP-K5 and YP-T9 certainly look chic in glossy piano black, while the new slim Apple iPod nano can give any waifish supermodel a run for her money.



The hard drive MP3 player is definitely on its way out, with most of the new models introduced in the latter half of the year using flash memory. Video playback is still not the big hunky-dory feature it was supposed to be as most consumers seem to be contented with a player that meant mainly for audio.



Samsung once made a promise it would overtake Apple in the MP3 player market by 2007. Along the way, we have seen it progress from crudely designed Yepps to its more modish iterations. Come CES 2007, Samsung will unveil the YP-K3--a svelte, voguish number that seems to be the most credible challenger to the iPod nano to date.



It has been a bumper year for Creative as it took the mickey out of Apple with its Zen patent amidst the shadow of its losses. However, revitalized with a renew partnership with Apple for iPod accessories, Creative looks ready for a better year ahead. It has been traditional for Creative to launch a powerful product at CES and we looking forward to a new Zen that incorporates Creative's unique Xi-Fi audio enhancement technology.



Though Sony has not made much headway in the market, it still retains nostalgic value for its former audio prowess. 2007 may prove to be a crucial year for Sony to regain its former glory before it's really too late. The NW-S705F looks extremely promising with Sony's trademark ingenuity in play. Packaging noise-canceling technology into an MP3 player itself? Unheard of and more innovations in the same vein may push the former Japanese doyen of portable audio back to the top.



iriver really shocked the world with the S10. Before its appearance, nary had anyone imagined a functional color-screened MP3 player to reach such a minuscule size. In the MP3 world, iriver may be the new king of miniaturization. But product launches has been scratchy for iriver. While there is the E10 and the S7, there has been precious few offerings in comparison to other big name manufacturers. Is iriver branching out to another field, much like how Apple intends to move into the cellular phone realm? Only time will tell.

Top 10 best MP3 players of 2006 year

iriver E10 (6GB) Samsung YP-Z5 (4GB) Samsung YP-Z5F (4GB) Apple iPod (30GB, video) Apple iPod nano (2GB) Apple iPod nano (4GB) Creative Zen Vision:M (30GB) iriver S10 (2GB) Creative Zen Vision W (30GB) Sony NW-E005 (2GB)

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