In fact the Ipod Mini runs the risk of becoming the MP3 equivalent of the Audi TT, undoubtedly very stylish and good at what it does but so damn common, we can guarantee you one thing with the HZWS2000 you won't find everyone in your gym has one.

Aiwa are part of the Sony empire, but they seem just distant enough to be allowed to use MP3 as their main format and not the proprietary Artac3 that has been hoisted on the new NW-HD1, the Aiwa HZWS2000 is a 1.5gb device which should be good for holding approx 375 tracks which are transferred via the new faster USB 2.0 interface which is 4 times faster than USB 1.1.

Sleek is a word we see to overuse but this Aiwa unit is certainly sleek, the finish is expensive in look and feel and the 91 x 56 x 10.6mm case feels robust and yet very lightweight which at  68 grams is 30 grams lighter than the Ipod Mini. The main unit feels well balanced and is certainly a bit minimalist with a single blue LED to indicate it's alive and a set of recessed controls for shipping back and forwards a play button and volume control, this is very much in keeping with Sony's Vaio styling but without the price tag!

The Audio performance of the HZWS2000 is quite impressive too, MP3 files can be 32 -320kbps and our samples at 128 and 192 sounded good with plenty of definition to both upper and lower frequencies, the stock headphones do a good job but as always we would recommend you replace with a set of quality in ear phones like those made by Shure.

Driving the HZWS2000 is accomplished via the remote control, the 4 line LCD display also contains a jog / Dial interface for navigation of the track listing system and menus, the unit supports ID3 tags so there is a rich information supply to sort the hard drives contents by. We found navigation to be good but not in the Ipod league it's quick enough to find tracks you are after but play lists are tricky to build, there is however a favourite function which allows you access to tracks which you access on a regular basis.

Sadly we were not impressed with the battery life, we only managed 7.5 hours from the Aiwa and then its time for another 3 hour charge to top[ up the Lithium Ion battery, this is again comparable to the 3rd generation Ipod but is not up to the standards most users now expect.

The shock protection system is excellent and possibly the best we've tested, the buffer can hold 3 tracks (dependant on length) so that playback is uninterrupted by jolts while you are exercising or throwing the unit around your living room! The 1" hard drive therefore takes a more offline role and just keeps the buffer topped up with your next few tracks.

On the subject of the 1" hard drive, we've read many suggestions that using this drive gives the Aiwa HZWS2000 a "credit card like form" well a word of caution unless you have some sort of oversized Nigerian Credit card this is nothing like a credit card, but it is one of the smallest HDD players on the market today.

Overall we think £170 is good value for what is in essence a Sony Vaio MP3 player, it's stylish, well built and reliable plus very compact, we'd have liked a better battery and I'm not sure we'd buy it in blue or red! but silver looks very nice indeed. So if you don't want the Audi TT MP3 player (Ipod) perhaps the Aiwa HZWS2000 offers an alternative to stay individual but also get a damn good device.

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