Since 2004 we have run our bi-annual iPod Killer Christmas/Summer series. During this period we have reported on 215 portable MP3 player and in all of that time NOT one single iPod Killer has emerged from the bunch. This doesn't mean there aren't any compelling portables out there, just that none have garnered enough mass market traction to unseat the iPod. The iPod touch, for all of its niggling flaws, has set that bar even higher and we are not even venturing into the iPhone and what it is doing in the mobile phone market. Times are tough for the competiton, but the good news is that they keep trying.

So here is the latest bunch of newcomers. They include those stuffed with impressive features (the iRiver W10), ventured into the rhelm of robotics (the Sony Rolly) and offer interesting solutions to battery time (Ecodigital Windup PMP). We also have the various oddities we like to include just for giggles.

Sony Rolly

The Sony Rolly is definitely a unique beast for a digital audio MP3 player and that alone should garner it quite a bit of attention for the holiday season. For those who haven't caught the YouTube video the egg-shaped Sony Rolly dances to the tunes you are playing on it. Well a sort of a dance/roll/flap series of motions that at times seem like absolute folly and at other times like creative fun. The way the Sony Rolly gyrates across the floor implies a certain degree of sophistication of what is essentially a music driven robotic. You have to give it points for that as not every robot has to vacume the floor while it slides across it.

The Rolly comes with 1GB MP3 player of memory and has built-in Bluetooth (as wired speakers aren't exactly going to work while the Rolly is twisting about your kitchen floor). There are two external stereo speakers that also pump out the tunes. Battery life is rated at five hours. The cost for the Sony Rolly is a steep $350, though the Rolly has enough kitch culture appeal to be both a hot, though short-lived, christmas toy as well as a pop culture trivia question in the year 2019.