Verdict: Cheap, but most definitely not cheerful

The Aiwa has a similar design to the Cowon. It's a blank base unit with a separate remote control that handles all the playback functions. The Aiwa's only LCD is mounted on the remote control, and is even smaller than that of the Cowon.

You scroll through menus and track lists using a wheel, which is inset so that it's flush with the remote control's casing, much like the Aigo. Finding specific songs is fairly easy, as the Aiwa uses an ID3 database to sort tracks. It can also retain your place in the artist list when you return to it, and you can compile a playlist as you go using the 'favourite' button.

Unfortunately, the processor is slower than Ozzy Ozborne shuffling round his vast California mansion. The selector scrolls through the interface at a painstakingly slow rate, and you can actually see the Aiwa redrawing the screen. Only four lines can be displayed at a time, so finding what you're looking for can take some time.

Despite doubling up as a portable hard disk, all the files are stored with a weird naming system, so to upload music you have to use the proprietary Aiwa software.

Sound quality is average, and with only 1.5Kb of storage, there's not much to like about the Aiwa.

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