The Groove Case has the dubious honour of being the ugliest MP3 player we have reviewed. However, despite its poor appearance, it's not completely without charm.

The large blue screen has a certain retro appeal and presents the contents in a clear, easy-to-navigate style.

The 20GB capacity is enough for around 6,000 digital audio tracks at near-CD quality. It supports MP3, WMA and WAV files and has a built-in microphone for voice recording.

It also has the enormous advantage of being a plug-and-play device. When connected it appears on your PC or Mac as a removable hard disk, allowing you to drag and drop files directly to the player.

This is a real benefit considering that its main competitor, the Creative Zen, has to rely on additional software to transfer files.

The Groove Case's main disadvantage, though, is the USB connection which, while adequate, is very slow by today's standards. To completely fill the 20GB hard disk in one go will take around five hours.

Had the Groove Case been under £200, it would be reasonably priced. However, there are other products on the market that have a similar specification but which are far more aesthetically and economically pleasing.

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