The brand IPOD has become a generic term for all MP3 and media players for most consumers. If you walk through you local electronics store on a busy Saturday afternoon, you will hear that magic IPOD note it the air of many conversations as you stroll the aisles. The fact is that when many consumers go into the store with the vision of "IPODS" dancing in their heads, but what they often leave with ican be one of the many "IPOD alternatives" on the market today. One such competitor in the ruthless world of digital media players is the Toshiba Gigabeat S Series. We take a quick look at this neatly packaged player and see how it stacks up to the IPOD Goliath. 

Our test unit is the Toshiba Gigabeat S60 that happened to be in the black variant, but Toshiba does offer this item in white. The black Gigabeat S60 offers a lot of bang for the buck when you compare it to other players currently on the market at the writing of this article and the massive hard drive capacity tends to leap out at you when you scan the shelves for comparision. The list of features is impressive and they are all packaged snugly in a beautiful case that has a very substantial feel to it. The main body of the casing is metal with tasteful chrome trim running the length of the unit. The face of the Gigabeat is a study in refinement and will turn heads with its smooth glassy finish that looks especially sleek in the black variation.

The list of key features for the Toshiba Gigabeat as specified at the Toshiba site are:

What we liked most about the Gigabeat S60, aside from its huge hard drive capacity, was the ease of transferring files via windows explorer. I know a lot of users out there love the custom software that comes with their various players, but just as many that love the software hate it as well. For that reason alone, we loved the fact that you can connect the Gigabeat to your USB port and drag and drop files to it as if it were any other hard drive on your PC. Transfer speeds were not lightning fast, but were acceptable in most cases.

The user interface and controls of the Gigabeat were well laid out and it did not take too much digging to find the relevant functions. One of the main strengths with the player is the outstanding video playback that is smooth and very rich in color. I have never pictured myself watching a lot of video on this style of player, but with video quality this clear, it may just change my viewing habits. Sound quality is at least as good or if not better than many other players we have tested and the volume being issued from the headphones was adequate, but may leave some hardcore head bangers who like there volume set to 15 instead of 10 wanting a little more.

The one area of weakness we noted in an otherwise superior product was the battery life. Toshiba indicates that the unit should provide approximately 12 hours of audio playback and 2.5 hours of video. We realize these figures are dependant on ideal circumstances, but we could not achieve the suggested battery life output in a number of charges and scenarios. This may be something to consider if you are looking for a player for those long haul road, rail or plane trips that leave you many hours between charging opportunities.

Overall, the Toshiba Gigabeat S series of media players offers a lot of features in a well designed and quality built package. It is a worthy competitor in the crowded, cutthroat media player arena, but issues like battery life inconsistency may tarnish what is otherwise a beautifully capable design.

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