Tech: How Dell's Answer To The iPod Stacks Up

Hoping to duplicate the success of Apple's iPod and iTunes Music Store, several companies have launched portable players tied to powerful music managers and music-download stores. One compelling entry of the past month is Dell's DJ Player with Dell Jukebox powered by Musicmatch ($249 for 15 GB; $299 for 20 GB). First, the bad news: at a hefty 7.6 oz. (a comparable iPod weighs 2 oz. less), the Dell DJ is a little too big--it barely fits in a pants pocket. But the player has some nice improvements over Apple's. The large volume buttons are a plus; with the iPod, it's often easier to tear off your headphones than to turn down a song. The home button comes in handy when you're stuck deep in your music library, and pop-up menus improve navigation. Dell also scores points for compatibility. The DJ will play all the MP3s and Windows Media files in your music collection--even protected files from the new Napster--and you can also access the Musicmatch music store, which has a huge selection of 99¢ songs that you can buy to play on your computer, burn to CDs or transfer to the DJ player.

W.R.