When we look at this category, the first thing that comes to mind is diversity. Some of these players had very tiny, single-colour displays, while others had much larger displays capable of being used as video PMPs albeit without the joy that comes from watching movies on a larger screen like the screen on the Cowon Q5W; which at five inches is one of the largest screens ever to grace a PMP. One of the PMPs in this category had no display at all.

That’s diversity for you. The divide seemed to be the brand name. Bigger brands (typically) charge more for their products and as such most of the PMPs from larger brands had fewer features for the price. While talking about basic music capable PMPs, even a screen can be considered a "feature", because it’s not necessarily required for audio playback.

Therefore, the binary choice available here seems to be between paying extra for a more reputed brand and making do with a very cursory display unit (or no display at all) or pay a little less proportionately and get a video based PMP that brings more of a feature set to the party.

This is also one of the most important categories in terms of consumers because 90 per cent of shoppers looking for a PMP will be looking to spend no more than this amount. Features become a premium, as does storage space when constrained by a budget of not more than Rs 5,000. Everybody wants more inbuilt memory, but not everybody will actually be using the extra space.

For example, many people buy a PMP with 4 GB of memory and then promptly use it for storing some 50-odd favourite tracks and move on to using the FM radio component the most. That way, approximately 3.5 GB of extra space is wasted. Other people choose to purchase a PMP with a screen, when they only use the MP3 Player for audio playback and a screen is not required. Obviously, purchasing is a decision best left to the one parting with the funds, but all we’re saying is to buy what you need and do not splurge needlessly.

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