Joining the big names in the field of hard disk-based portable media players is the Centrix MVP-120.

Its comparatively large size and generous 3.5in LCD screen puts it more in league with Archos than Apple.

The MVP-120 uses a remarkably simple style of operation. A five-way joystick is used to navigate menus and browse for media.

The stick doubles as rewind/fast forward and volume controls during playback, meaning that play/pause, stop, menu and on/off are the only other buttons required.

Simple controls are matched by a straightforward approach to transferring media. XP users won't even any need to install a driver when connecting the MVP-120 via USB.

The device is recognised as an external hard drive allowing music, movies, photos and data files to be dragged and dropped straight to the relevant folders.

Many different file types are supported and a useful converter is included for transcoding other formats to something that the MVP-120 can play back.

While it's possible to record audio (either via a built-in microphone or an analogue input), the MVP-120 has no feature for directly recording video to the hard disk.

This is a shame as it would have seriously increased the device's usefulness.

There is a TV-out option, however, making it possible to view movies on a bigger screen.

There's no built-in radio, but the package comes bursting with accessories, such as cables, a set of remote headphones and a carry case.

Battery life, sound and picture quality are all pretty good and the unit's design, although a little plain, is not unpleasant.

There's no denying there are devices out there that not only look better, but have more features and capacities larger than the MVP-120's rather paltry 20GB. The Archos AV500 being a prime example.

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