The first MP3 player was introduced by MPMAN in 1998. It was expensive, awkward, and had 32MB of memory. 10 years later, we have flash players with 1000 times the capacity, several times the battery life, WiFi, Bluetooth, video and a mountain of other features.

Here's an extensive look back at how we got this far in the last decade, covering over 70 players sorted by release year.

Samsung’s T10 is the next progression in their lineup of flash based players. The “T10” suggests an upgrade from the T9. This is true, but much was borrowed from the K3/K5 as well, - both nice players. The one thing that stands out is the design of this player. It has a solid build quality and the touch interface gives it a very clean look. However, tactile fans should be warned the touch interface can be finicky.

The T10 has a hand full of other features that have been executed nicely and less common feature to the MP3 player market- Bluetooth.

How's this for a fingerprint magnet? Slated for an "end 2007" release by Swiss design/tech company Zenum is the 2GB Organum, an "under development" DAP that may or may not have the same dimensions as the Samsung YP-K3. In addition to a 1.8-inch (128 x 160) display and that sleek and shiny K3 look (what's that metal band at the bottom?), the player has a built-in microphone, typical audio and image support, and . . . well, that's about it. They can't all be winners, you know.

Zenum has apparently earned a reputation involving vaporware, so there's a good chance we weren't ever going to see this thing anyway.

[Product Page via Gizmodo]

Since its release last month, the Sony mylo personal communicator has often been compared to the T-Mobile Sidekick 3. Even though the mylo isn’t a cell phone, the match-up is understandable: both units target the same demographic (18-22 year olds), flaunt instant messaging and connecting with friends as their main attractions, have built-in QWERTY keyboards, and are packed with extras like MP3 playback, web browser, and photo viewer. But although it shares many common features with the Sidekick 3 (and looks a bit like a PSP for kids), the mylo is really in a class of its own.

The name stands for “my life online,” a throwback to the MYLO (all caps) wireless service designed and launched in 2001 for the now extinct line of Clie PDAs. Long before the mylo hit stores, Sony was marketing the device as being all about “fun, convenience, and near-instant gratification wherever there’s Wi-Fi access.” Today, after a month’s worth of daily use, I’ll take a look at the personal communicator and put the company’s claim to the test.

This is a very special review being that it is Jenn Lee’s first review for ABi. If you haven’t noticed Jenn has been contributing to the site for the last few months and has been doing a great job filling us in on the latest MP3 player news. Jenn also has her own blog on consumer gadgets at www.pocketables.net. Check out her full bio here.

Several months after Acer released its 20GB MP-500 PMP, folks at the IFA Convention earlier this month caught a glimpse of an even newer player, the MP-400. Despite the lower model number and specs that are basically identical to its predecessor (3.5-inch screen, MP3 & WMA and DiVX & MPEG-2/4 support, SD expansion slot, AV in/out), the MP-400 definitely has the upper hand in design. We don't know when or where the player will be released, but its sleek and simple design will likely be so magnetic that even gloved fingers will leave prints on it.

At the moment, the device is shrouded in mystery: dimensions, weight, battery life, and internal storage capacity are currently unknown. Cost is another question mark, though it's worth noting that the MP-500 usually has a price tag over $400. Since the specs (that we know of anyway) are the same on both players, it wouldn't be a surprise if the MSRPs were too. Considering that the Creative Zen Vision: W, a PMP with mostly superior specs, is now selling for $299, we hope this isn't the case.

[AVING USA]

TheYP-Z5 is Samsung’s new line of flash based MP3 players reaching microdrive-sized storage of 2GB and 4GB capacities. Samsung decided to go head to head with Apple, pricing the YP-Z5 along side the iPod Nano at $200 and $250 respectively.

In the past I have not been impressed with Samsung’s flash based players. This player, however, has changed my opinion of Samsung MP3 players. Even though there are a few things lacking, Samsung has created a great user experience with an overall solid design and a simple user interface.

Update: 5.12.06: We have added a Z5 forum. Come and join us for help and some great resources.

Update 6.15.06: There is a new firmware for this player that fixes alot of the problems and "cons". Download the firware here: Z5 firmware.

The Vision:M is Creative’s newest creation poised with an impressive set of features. The most notable feature is the video playback file support which easily handles MPEG, DivX, XviD, WMV9, and Motion-JPEG. The video, as well as photos, play back on the Vision:M’s bright 2.5” 262k color 320 x 240 pixel screen.

Features and style aside, you cannot argue with the massive amount of quality content providers- Napster, Yahoo!, Rhapsody, MSN Music, AOL Music, to name a few, along with the upcoming content deals with MTV, Microsoft, BBC, TiVO, and others. When selecting a new MP3 player, this one should not be overlooked. It is a well built, well designed, easy to use player with lots of useful features. Overall I am very impressed with the Vision:M, despite some of its shortcomings.

The Sleek Photo has been out for many months in the rest of the world, but has just arrived for sale in the States. For those of you who don’t know the Zen Sleek Photo is the Zen Sleek with an OLED screed for viewing pictures. The Sleek Photo sells for a mere $10 more than the regular sleek. Right now it is selling for $280 on Creative’s website.

We reviewed the Sleek earlier and it is a pretty good player and to add the OLED and photo support is a nice touch. However, the Sleek Photo comes several months too late. For fifty bucks more buy the Vision:M, it’s worth the extra Grant.

[Creative]

Not only did Creative win best MP3 player and portable video device they took “Best in Show”, meaning the best device in the whole place. Congratulations Mr. Sim Wong Hoo. Reading some of the comments and early reviews of this player, most people are very impressed with what the Vision:M has to offer. Many have commented on the fact that iPod now has a viable contender, sighting that the Vision:M has a better screen, supports more video formats, and is compatible with more services than the G5 iPod.

The player is already out in most of Asia and will be on sale in the US around the middle of January, according to Creative customer service reps. The Vision:M will sell for $330 and include an AC adapter along with the typical accessories such as headphones, USB cable, and carrying pouch.

I was able to get my hands on one of these early and overall I am impressed. The screen is brilliant and the video is very clean, without any artifacts. It played pretty much any DivX or XviD file I threw at it. The interface is also an improvement over the last few Zen models. …more on this in the next few days.

[Channel NewAsia]

Currently the MPIO ONE is the smallest PMP, sporting a one inch 65K color OLED screen. The player supports MP3, WMA, WMA DRM, and OGG audio formats. On the video side it only supports MP4, but the included software easily converts MPEG4, WMV, AVI, DivX, and XViD for playback. Additionally, the ONE can handle JPEG and TXT files.

MPIO has packed quite a few features in this tiny package including a high end Wolfson audio processor. Additionally they have filled the box with almost all of the accessories you need. Even though this player is priced at a premium it is definitely something you should consider.

The Zen Sleek is newest line of Creative’s 1.8” hard drive based players succeeding the Zen Touch. Currently it comes with a 20GBs of storage in a sleek aluminum outer shell with a touch pad and tactile buttons on the front. The Zen Sleek is smaller in height and width but is about a millimeter thicker than the 20GB iPod. Some of the standard features of the Zen Sleek include FM / FM recording, voice recording, PlayForSure subscription support, Outlook syncing, and universal mass storage drive partitioning.

Read on for an in-depth review.

CNet has a hands on video of the upcoming Zen Sleek Photo. The editor mentions that the OLED screen is not really impressive and it washes out in the sunlight outside. He also mentions that you cannot view pictures and listen to audio at the same time.

I have been carrying around the plain old Zen Sleek for about a month now and it is good but I wouldn’t say it’s groundbreaking. I will have a full review soon, but for now a quick few notes. The sound quality is definitely above average. The user interface is nice; it is the same as the Zen Micro. The down side is the proprietary USB cable and it has a slow start up time. However at the price of under $250 it is worth it.

Creative makes good players, but they don’t make them fast enough. Creative is a bit behind the curve when it comes to releasing the latest and greatest MP3 players. This would have been a great a few moths ago when the iPod Photo came out. However it is slightly up on the iPod Photo; the Zen Sleek Photo has an OLED in place of an LCD. That is about all we know for now, no details on file types or the possibility of video (doubtful). Price and availability? Who knows, probably when they feel like getting around to it.

[M3 via DAPReview]

No power. No internet. No air conditioner in South Florida. The path of hurricane Katrina ripped right over us this last Friday causing some major headaches. While there wasn’t catastrophic damage since it was only a category one, but it took out power lines, smashed a couple of cars with tree branches, left one point four million people without electricity, and prevented me from bringing you the latest Anything But iPod news.

I apologize for not being able to answer emails but I will as soon as I can get to a good solid internet connection. Florida Power & Light has estimated that we won’t get electricity for at least a week. Pray for my sanity.

Update: Back online and ready to go... However, I really feel bad for you guys who got the real end of Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi. Good luck guys, be safe, I hope you all pull through.

So I broke down and went back to Best Buy to buy the Zen Sleek and to my surprise they had some deal going on where they were giving away a $20 Best Buy gift card with the purchase of a MP3 player. So in the end it only cost $230, and you can’t beat that for a 20GB player. This deal may only be going on in certain markets, so don’t count on it. Also it has been reported that some Best Buy stores are displaying them and some are hidden away in the cabinets, so you may have to ask for it.

I will give you a full review at a later date after I carry it around for a bit to get the feel for it. In the mean time here are a few comparison pics below for your enjoyment.

I went into my local Best Buy yesterday for something to blow my hard earned cash on something cool and I stumbled across the Zen Sleek selling for $250. I had to resist though, because I need another MP3 player like I need another hole in my head. So I passed it up and left with some more hard drive space instead. Who knows, I may break down and go back tomorrow.

However, I would like to express how disgust with Best Buy’s electronics displays. The whole point of displaying electronic items is so that customers can feel them, hold them in their hand and test drive them. But, every time I go to any Best Buy the displays are always destroyed, missing, non functional or they are displaying the fake plastic model. Also to mention, the security device tethered to the counter, attached to the back of the device, is sometimes bigger than the device itself! But my point is that they would sell more devices if they displays where in better shape. Ok... I’m done, that’s my rant for the day.

You can now pre-order the Creative Zen Sleek on Creative’s website selling for £199.99 including VAT and shipping. Sorry Americans, it is only selling in the European market. We don’t know when it will come stateside; the US has yet to see the Zen and the Zen Neeon.

Note to Creative: Simplify your product line it creates consumer confusion. Drop your MuVo line completely; you are cannibalizing your own product lines. Concentrate on the Zen product line and build the Zen brand. Quantity is not better than quality.

Update: It is now on sale!

I ran across this press release on HEXUS.net. Creative is releasing a 20GB player with a vertical touch pad and blue backlit screen called the Zen Sleek. It will have all the Zen features including FM recording and microphone. It will have a battery time of 16 hours. They describe it as a hi-fidelity, high-end player with “Stunning design, in smooth aluminum and cool white contours“. Disappointingly, there are no pictures with the press release. Could this be the new player reported earlier?

Update: The photo we posted earlier was a prototype of the Zen Sleek. Here are the new press release pics. This may give iPod a run. It is slightly smaller and lighter than the equivalent 20GB, plus it has more features. Very nice… but I want a 60GB version.

The Sony Network Walkman NW-HD5 is the successor to the NW-HD1, NW-HD2, and NW-HD3. (Sony skipped the NW-HD4 because in Japanese the number four sounds like the word for “death”.) This particular model is a 20GB, and they have yet to release the 30GB version to the United States. The player weighs 4.06 oz (115g), measures 2.36"x 3.49" x .56" (59.9 x 88.7 x 14.2mm) and comes in silver, red, and black. It includes SonicStage® software, headphones (MDR-E931LP), carrying pouch, USB cable, and AC power adaptor. It accepts MP3, ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus and will convert WAV and WMA files. They claim a battery time of 40 hours. Continue reading for the full review.