Why fix it when it ain't broken? Seems like Sony's taken this adage quite, literally. That explains the retro design of the MP3 payer - it looks like a large flash drive with a re'movable cap. But don't be fooled by the unassuming facade, the NWZ-B143 deliv.ers a perfect storm of on-the-go music goodness.

First. the K.I.S.S. rule: just drag and drop for transferring music. The controls are no rocket science either. Second, the generous feature set - music playback, FM radio with recording, and voice recording too. And finally, the important performance criteria, audio quality and battery life - all in place.



A mere three-minute charge gives a cool 90 mins of playbackl The 4-gig storage is
just right for those who love music with their daily workouts, commuting and such. You can even customize the sound by using equaliser presets or a bass boost function that can be toggled using a dedicated button. Also by its side is the new 'ZAPPIN' audio preview mode we saw on the W series.

Such peachy sound quality and battery life, we really didn't want to let it go. And you shouldn't either.