The Good

Solid-state MP3 players are a dime a dozen. Manufactures are coming out with new models almost weekly. Hard drive-based players are the new kids on the block with the Apple iPod getting tons of press and generally good reviews. But Rio has come out with a little gem, the Nitrus ($219 list, $170-200 street) that but for a few design flaws would be utter perfection.

That is, of course, if you don't want to take your entire music collection on the road. Unlike the iPod and other hard drive models, which squeeze in 10GB, 20GB or even 30GB hard disks, the Rio uses a tiny, 1" 1.5GB hard disk.

Is that enough? Well, anew MP3 specification, MP3Pro, creates MP3 files about half the size of the equivalent-quality standard MP3. Currently, I have my entire collection of Pet Shop Boys albums, more than 20CDs, many with more than an hour of music, ripped as MP3Pro, in my Nitrus, and taking up about a third of the total space. so we're talking maybe 60 hours of music here, far more than the batteries will last.

Ah, batteries, the bane of every iPod user. Like too few MP3 players, the Nitrus comes with an integrated Lithium-ion battery. The good news is twofold: that the real-life battery life approaches the manufacturer's rating and the battery life is rated at 16 hours. Informal testing bears this out. Lithium-ion batteries have the occasional reputation of draining when not in use. (I had a bantam BA350 player that would drain totally in a week.) I can't claim that this won't happen eventually, but after several weeks of disuse, the Nitrus battery meter was still at full charge.

The Nitrus is small, too, yet not chintzy feeling. It has a solid rubberized grip around the edges. The display is clear. The sound is fine. The controls are easy to use and well placed, although if you don't use the lock, you may bump the little joystick when you have it in a pocket.

The Nitrus takes a few seconds to start up. If you listen closely you can hear the hard disk spin up. The genius of the Nitrus is that the disk spins up only sporadically, to cache music in its solid-state memory, then shuts off for awhile. Not running a mechanical part continuously saves tremendously on battery life. Running such a part smaller than in other hard-drive players saves as well.

But the world is not perfect, and neither is the Nitrus. First and foremost: the Nitrus requires its charger. Unlike some MP3 players, it will not charge also through its USB connection. (So if you go on the road, you can't charge it with your notebook computer, but have to lug the Nitrus charger too.) The display scrolls when the content is too long for its width, and it is simply impossible to read while scrolling.

The software is relatively easy to use, and transfer is fairly quick. You can also put standard playlist files on the Nitrus and it will use them.

Other companies are also coming out with MP3 players based on this little 1" drive, but the Nitrus is by far the best of the lot. The Nitrus doesn't try to replace function with flash, and the result is a well-designed, usable product.

Update! Rio Nitrus vs. iPod mini

* Rio is expected to release a 4 GB version soon.

Rio: smaller (the iPod is nearly rectangular, so fills out its 3.6 cubic inches, while the Rio is a curved wedge, using far less space that the 4.32 cubic inches of its outer dimensions), lighter, longer lasting, cheaper.

This smallish mouse ($43.99 list, $25-30 street) has one of the best designs I've ever seen. Every aspect was designed with mobile users in mind.

Made by Kensington, this optical (no ball to clog) mouse has one outstanding feature: a retractable cord. That's right, the 30" cord retracts completely into the mouse housing, a housing, I might add, that is smaller than most desktop mice.

Along the left side of the mouse, about halfway between the front and the back (and right under your thumb when you pick the mouse up with your right hand) is a small silver button that is flush with the housing. Press the button and the left quarter of the bottom opens, dropping down on a flush hinge.

The cord is thinner than most mouse cords, and it ends in a USB plug. Tug on the cord gently and it retracts into the housing like the cord on a canister vacuum cleaner. (The only quibble I have with this mouse, like the cords on a vacuum, is that the cord sometimes doesn't always want to go in all the way easily, and sometimes takes a little extra tugging.) Once the cord and plug are retracted, simply snap the door shut.

As a USB device, the mouse gets its power from the USB port. The power is for the LED on the translucent bottom that will track over almost any surface, except for solid colors, and such surfaces don't have to be flat. (At the moment, I'm using the mouse on the arm of my recliner as I create this page.)

The cord is about the perfect length for a notebook computer. The mouse itself will literally fit into many pockets, yet feels comfortable in my larger hand. As with most mice, it has two buttons and a wheel.

Note: Kensington has also release a wireless PocketMouse, with no cord and a small dongle for the USB port. But I've never been a fan of wireless mice and keyboards as they require regular replacement of toxic batteries.

The PocketMouse Pro is a shining example of excellent industrial design, meeting very well the needs of its target users.