Intel's Pocket Concert is a fine match of form and function: smaller than a cigarette packet, loud enough to irritate fellow passengers and, with an FM radio for variety, it surpasses most of the competition.

Unlike many it isn't scarred by button blight. The front panel sports play/pause, forward and reverse buttons, plus a small display for track lists, titles and settings. The remaining controls are discreetly positioned around the rim along with a USB port for transferring music from a computer into the 128Mb of Flash memory - twice as much as most MP3 players.

You can pack in two hours of 128Kbps-quality MP3 or four hours of 64Kbps Windows Media Audio. Intel includes an Audio Manager for piping music into the player, and MusicMatch Jukebox Plus. They're Windows versions but free Mac and Linux versions of MusicMatch Basic are available.

Our standard Personal Computer World tests posed no problems for the Pocket Concert. It played all the tunes including WMA and variable bit rate examples; file transfer times were not the quickest but were in the top 10.

Intel claims up to 10 hours of continuous digital audio play or 16 hours of FM radio. We managed seven hours on a new set of alkaline AAAs. The player accepts rechargeable batteries but they're only supplied when you stump up for the accessory pack with charger dock, through which the player can also be connected to speakers or an amplifier.

The Pocket Concert is 97 x 62 x 24mm in size and weighs 97g without batteries. It's on sale in the US now at $299 (£199) for the player and $50 for the accessory pack. The UK version is due at the end of the year.

It is an ergonomic and aesthetic delight. You can't upgrade the memory but it has twice as much as most. The main problem is price. In dollars it looks good against rivals, but around £100 all-in would be perfect.

PRICE:
UK price TBA

CONTACT:
Intel 01793 403 000 www.intel.com/home/audio/