Review: Samsung K3 portable media player

Last year, Samsung released an mp3 player with its own slide-out speakers.

The K5 was stylish and competent, and its success has led to this new player, the K3.

The K3 is what the K5 would look like after you'd ripped the external speakers off, though less messy.

In other words, it has a very slim profile but looks similar to the Samsung K5 when viewed from the front.

Its gloss black exterior seems blank until you touch it - the touch-sensitive blue buttons at the bottom appear from nowhere and the small 1.8in screen lights up. In fact, the K3 is very similar to the T9b, which we've recently reviewed.

For cycling through menus and checking what track is playing, the screen is fine, but the photo viewer is less useful; the screen is too small and not detailed enough to see digital photos clearly. Still, what you'll mostly want from a device this size is decent music playback, and that's what the Samsung K3 delivers.

The slimness is pleasing, though it must be said that the iPod nano is still a millimetre or two thinner. Still, in a world where few devices match Apple's hardware in style terms, the K3 at least comes close. It also has the excellent Samsung music software, which means transferring music from the PC to the device is easy, and keeping it up to date a painless process. There's no Mac compatibility, mind.

The Samsung K3 is available now in two capacities; 2GB and 4GB, with an 8GB version promised but not out yet.

It supports mp3 or WMA tracks, and the 4GB version, should be enough to store up to 1,000 songs. Of course, lengthy tracks or higher bit-rates for recording will reduce this.

The supplied headphones are reasonable in-ear models, and playback quality is good. Unlike the iPod nano, the K3 has a tuner for listening to FM radio.

Battery life is claimed by Samsung to be 25 hours, and certainly in our tests we enjoyed more than 20 hours of playback - almost enough for a flight to Australia.

If you're looking for an mp3 player with great style and decent features, but want to stand apart from the iPod majority, Samsung's latest is catwalk-thin, fun and reasonably priced.

Vista compatible: Yes

Also Consider
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Creative Zen V
A very good pocket-sized player

Samsung YP-T9b
Video playback and FM radio? On guard Apple, prepare yourself for a new challenger to the throne

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