The Samsung T10 - Samsung's iPod Challenger

We live in a time where every new MP3 player is immediately challenged with one obvious question: Is this better than an iPod?

Without much doubt, we know that in most cases the answer to this question is "no". The iPod has carved out a serious niche for itself as being the height of convenience when it comes to having music, movies and pictures on the go.

Enter Samsung's T10: the latest gadget to try and release Apple's stranglehold on the MP3 player market. And, while it may not succeed in this venture, it puts in a solid effort.

It's difficult to not draw immediate comparisons between the iPod Nano and the T10, each having music, video and picture capability stored on a memory, ranging between 2GB and 8GB - depending on your cashflow. The 2GB model that I had the chance to play with retails for $199. Considering that the alternative to this is a 4GB iPod for $235, price could quite easily be the T10's biggest downfall, because in nearly every other regard it is excellent. Fitted with everything you'd expect (picture gallery, music player and video player) and several other interesting features, such as an FM radio, Bluetooth compatibility and a voice recorder, the T10 may be well worth the extra cash.

At 43 grams, the T10 is light enough to be slipped into your pocket and forgotten about, yet it also manages to feel like it won't snap in half if you sit on it. As is increasingly necessary with MP3 players, the T10 is sharp looking, with a sleek black design and surprisingly large, high-quality screen. The fact that it has no actual buttons on the front can be both daunting and confusing when you first take it out of the box, but turning it on reveals the very nifty touch-sensitive feature: light-up buttons that inconspicuously fade away when you're not fiddling with them. While these buttons are aesthetically satisfying when it comes to using them - especially if you're jogging or in any situation where you're less than 100% accurate with your fingers - you find yourself missing that kind and familiar iPod click-wheel. The touch-sensitive buttons also mean that the T10 is an absolute finger-print magnet.

Using the T10 from a software point of view is a total breeze; the software is as simple and user-friendly as you could ever ask for. You pop the disc into your computer, the software installs itself and from then on all you have to do is drag and drop any files you want onto the T10. There are some slight annoyances when it comes to synching what's on your computer to the T10: you have to manually import each file over, which is an annoying and seemingly pointless waste of time.

Beyond all the aesthetics and bells and whistles, there isn't that much to say about the functions themselves, as they all do exactly what you'd expect to a high standard. The music played through the T10 is of excellent quality, picture and video images are crystal-clear, and quality, and the player itself offers a number of fun customisation options.

All in all, the Samsung T10 is an excellent MP3 player. However, it is more expensive and not markedly more impressive than the competition, there is no driving reason to go out and get one - beyond the novelty of being the one person you know without an iPod.

The Samsung T10's recommended retail price is $199