The Treo15 should be on the list of anyone looking for a harddrive-based .mp3 player. The comparisons with the iPod and Nomad Zen are inevitable, so let's start there. Size is pretty similar to those 2 high end units. The Treo is slightly larger than an iPod and almost identical to a Nomad Zen. Sound quality is not a factor between the units in my opinion. Perhaps an audiophile might notice differences between the units, but for most of us they'll all be good enough to satisfy. The iPod wins hands-down for slickest interface. It's not even close, the bright LCD display and scroll wheel navigation is great. The display of the Treo would be better described as "utilitarian" rather than "slick". It works, it's easy once you get used to it, it's just not as intuitive or as attractive as the iPod. The iPod and Zen both feature high-speed file transfer methods, either firewire or USB2.0 while the Treo is stuck with USB1.1. That's only a minor drawback for most people though as the purpose of a hard drive player is to fill it up once and then never worry about it again. Battery life is excellent. Treo claims 9 hours, but 10-11 is more likely depending on the volume levels you choose and how often you use the display backlight. The Treo however has a user-replacable battery and spares are only $20. If the battery in a Zen or iPod goes the unit must be professionally repaired.

The Treo will hold 15GB of songs and will handle .wma as well as .mp3 format. Since .wma is about half the size at a given quality level, the unit will hold twice as much as a 15GB player that handles mp3 only. The included headphones are a decent pair of the earbud style. Anyone that wants better quality or more traditional over-the-head style will need to buy them themselves. Given the low quality of most headphones included withplayers, that's not too uncommon. Mostly phones are included just because something has to be included, not because they're very good.

The original Treos were only accessable with the included software, which was limited at best. A recent firmware upgrade has changed that and now Windows can see the unit as a virtual hard drive with true drive letter support. That makes file transfer and maintainance MUCH easier. Files can now be batch-renamed and moved around, something that was not possible with the old software-only transfer method. The new firmware also allows the creation of custom playlists, a feature that was sorely lacking.

If you're looking for a player to impress your friends, then go for the better-known units like the iPod or Zen. But if you're looking for a solid, feature-packed, great-sounding player that delivers an incredible price/performance ratio, there's nothing on the market that can touch a Treo15. Other than the interface and the slow file transfers it equals the famous iPod in most categories and is even better than the iPod in others like .wma support and easy battery replacement. It's hard to believe that this thing costs almost $300 less than an iPod. Even with a spare battery and a good pair of headphones the price barely tops $200.

Recommended: Yes