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Quality music at a stroke

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
David Wilson

Apple's iPod is almost synonymous with the hard disk-drive MP3 player, and with good reason: it got there first, looks hip and delivers quality sound.

But it is no longer alone. Competitors challenging its default status have emerged and multiplied like optical mouses.

Samsung now makes them. So too do Aiwa, Rio and iRiver.

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Another contender is Singapore-based Creative Labs, responsible for one of the most coolly named products since, well, the iPod.

One is tempted to dismiss the Zen Touch as just another clone. Its earphones are grey rather than white - a plus perhaps in the light of reports of robbers who target consumers wearing white ones.

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Otherwise, at a glance you could easily mistake the Zen Touch for an iPod because the newcomer's body has a similar minimal, silvery look. However, the Zen Touch may actually outshine its rival. Just look at the battery life of Creative's machine - 24 hours against a max of about 12 for the iPod.

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