Elegant iPod contender fumbles when it comes to the controls

Look out Apple - a new contender in the hard drive audio player market has arrived in town, and this one packs some mean hardware.

Korean electronics maker JNC has added to its arsenal of MP3 players with a unit that rivals Apple's phenomenal iPod - both in specs and style.

The iAudio SSF-M3 is roughly the same size and dimensions as the iPod, and stores up to 20 gigabytes of music. What differentiates it from Apple's offering is that, like other new hard disk audio players, it includes a few goodies that come separately with the iPod in the form of third-party accessories.

These include a built-in voice recorder and FM radio - a bargain for a price that is far below that of an iPod.

In addition to supporting MP3, WMA and WAV formats, the iAudio can also play Ogg Vorbis - the open-source audio compression format that boasts even better playback quality then MP3 files.

Instead of placing the display on the unit, JNC has opted to put it on the remote.

The result is mixed: the LCD is smaller and less clear than that of the iPod but it also puts the information closer to the fingertips. JNC's iAudio scores points for style. The slick gun-metal casing and metal buttons and jog-dials look cool. However, the controls on the unit leave some room for improvement. Why should users utilise the menus to put the unit into voice-recorder mode when there are red REC buttons on both the remote and the main unit?