2009 has been a real turning point in the world of portable audio and video players and headphones. From 2005 to 2008, the audio player was the portable product of choice, mobile phones, led by the iPhone have recently been making great inroads into the market. Don't think this is the end for portable players--but they do have to evolve, and not make do with just playing music and video. Manufacturers are of course well aware of the need to expand the uses of portable players. Cowon now sells players on which you can install various apps developed by the user community. With its most recent Archos 5 Internet Tablet, Archos has extended the concept of the multimedia tablet by basing its product on Android, the ultra-connected mobile phone platform. Bluetooth is more and more widely available, in spite of a certain obsolescence, and Wi-Fi has become an increasingly important selling point.

But it’s time to turn to a meeting organised by Samsung France between the Samsung Korea portable player division and journalists and bloggers. While most of what was said will only become public later, we did come away with some news on both users’ desires and Samsung’s reponse. Users, it seems, want a product that will add to the mobile phone, improving on battery life, display limitations, audio quality and so on. The news from Samsung is that they are already able to do almost all of what users are requesting. 2010 looks like it has some nice surprises in store.

And for the ears?

Another new market has also recently exploded, the in-ear headphones market. For a long time, the in-ear headphones market was dominated by specialists for audio equipment for the stage, but now generalists like Sennheiser, Shure and, more recently, Monster have become much more competitive. Not forgetting that one of the biggest brands, Ultimate Ears, has been bought by Logitech. Users are also showing great enthusiasm for in-ear headphones. In a poll of our readers, 60% indicated a preference for in-ears, 23% for standard headphones and just 8% for earbuds.

Here, once again, new technology is leaving its mark. A year or two ago, manufacturers were mainly using components taken from hearing aids, but now a reappraisal of all available technologies means they are being fully optimised for music. Prices are falling and quality is rising. There is an increasingly wide selection of products for under £80 and here too 2010 is a particularly mouthwatering prospect.

We’re going to finish up by bawling out portable player manufacturers a bit. While in-ear headphones have come down in price and good earbuds cost next to nothing, players are always sold with very poor headphones. The most obvious example are the white headphones sold with iPods (whatever the model). The same criticism could be made of Cowon or Sandisk however, two manufacturers to have produced really top-rate players in terms of audio quality. Frankly, when you invest tens or even hundreds of pounds in a device which vaunts listening to music as one of its main functions, it really is scandalous that you’re supplied with such poor headphones.

Let’s raise a glass to 2009 and usher in 2010

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Our preferred pairing
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Cowon S9 16 GB STORES £     Amazon Marketplace  199.00  amazon.co.uk  221.45                  Compare prices Phonak Audeo PFE 111 / 112 / 211 / 212 Purchase on the Phonak site or from other hearing system distributors.

Best value Sandisk Sanza Fuze	Listen while gaming Apple iPod Touch	Listen differently Sony NWZ-W202
Available at under £50. Add an entry-level 16 GB microSD for around £25 and you have comfortable capacity at a nice price.	The iPod Touch isn't the best of players and weighed down by the overheavy iTunes software. However the impressive collection of cheaply available games means it can give you a good way of passing time while listening to music.	And what if we do away with the player itself?   The Sony wearable player includes in-ear headphones, a battery and 2 GB of storage. Enough for playing your favourite sport without anything bouncing around in your pocket or any wires getting in the way.
	STORES £     Amazon Marketplace  259.99                      Compare prices

... and the headphones

Low price / High quality Soundmagic PL30	Keep your ears warm Sennheiser PMX 100	Your choice of sound SleekAudio SA6
Some people have traded their £400 headphones in and replaced them with a pair of these. That might be going a bit far but these PL30s have shown that you can get a very good sound at a reasonable price.	Jogging in the winter warms you up, but not your ears. Why not go for a set of PX100s?	Everybody's tastes are different.  To keep us all happy, the SA-6s come with filters for treble and bass. You can also get a hands-free kit.

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Headphones and portable players at a glance:

	Hardware	Multimedia	Audio Quality	Comfort	Insulation
Apple iPod Touch
Cowon S9
Sandisk Sansa Fuze
Sony NWZ-W202
Phonak Audeo PFE
Sennheiser PMX 100
SleekAudio SA6
Soundmagic PL30

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