Challenger to iPod doesn't offer enough

The Samsung Z5 has a control square.

It's great to see electronics companies trying to take a slice out of Apple's domination of the digital music player market.

However, it'd be even nicer to see someone come along with a truly different - and perhaps even superior - product, rather than just another iPod knock-off.

On its own merits the Samsung Z5 MP3 player is a solid device in many ways and will probably appeal to those who absolutely refuse to give Apple their money. But the iPod still holds an edge over the Z5 for a number of reasons.

The 2-gigabyte Z5 is small, rectangular and compares closely to the iPod Nano. The Z5 comes in four colours as opposed to the Nano, which is available only in two, and its button layout is a little different, but otherwise the two look pretty much the same.

While iPods have a trademark click-control wheel, the Z5 instead has a control square. Pressing right on the square, for example, skips to the next song while holding down the bottom of the square turns the player off and on.

The Z5 also has an additional inner square control, for on-screen menu navigation. Pressing the top and bottom of this square moves up and down, while pushing the centre selects the highlighted option. Volume is controlled by two buttons on the side of the device.

The Z5's main point of difference from the iPod is its ability to play Windows Media Audio format files, as well as MP3s. Apple is quite deservedly catching a lot of flak for insisting its iPods only play MP3s, so it's good to see competitors trying to force the issue.

WMA files are also smaller than MP3s, which means the player can store more music on its flash memory drive. Samsung says the 2GB Z5 can hold up to 960 WMA files, or about half that many MP3s.

The Z5 also stores and displays pictures on its 1.8-inch screen, but given that it lacks a video output - as does the Nano - and thus can't be connected to a television for full-size viewing, the usefulness of this capability is questionable.

Soundwise the Z5 is great, although audiophiles will note that WMA files tend to sound a little more tinny than MP3s - a necessary tradeoff for their smaller size. As with most MP3 players, the Z5 can hook into a stereo system through its headphone jack.

So far, the Z5 stacks up well with the Nano. But ironically, Apple's near monopoly on digital music players has actually cemented a number of reasons not to buy a competitor's device.

Apple refuses to allow other players to work with its iTunes software, which means users of competitors' devices must often resort to Windows Media Player for their file management. And using Windows Media Player for this sort of thing is by and large a nightmare.

It took me a while to figure out how to add photos to Media Player's library - in the end I stumbled onto the solution by accident, and probably couldn't quickly recreate the act if I tried.

I also had problems getting Media Player to automatically find track, album and artist information on the internet for CDs I had ripped.

After many frustrating attempts, I finally just filled all the info in manually, which wasn't too annoying for a few CDs but would have been out of the question if I was looking to rip my entire collection.

Apple's iTunes system works like a charm in comparison.

Speaking of iTunes, if Apple ever deems New Zealand worthy of joining the rest of the developed world and opens a download site here, competitors' devices will face another significant disadvantage since iPods are so closely integrated with the online store.

Apple's other big advantage is price - a 2GB iPod Nano goes for $384, while the comparable 2GB Z5 sells for $398.

Given that the two devices are so similar in functionality, and that Samsung's offering is comparatively disadvantaged in its software integration, I would need to see a lower price point on the Z5 to recommend buying it over an iPod.

* Samsung Z5 digital music player

Pros: Good sound; nice, simple design.

Cons: Poor software integration; not much different from an iPod.

Herald Rating: 6/10.

Price: $398