Toshiba Gigabeat MEG-F60S (60GB) review

Your first instinct when using the cross-shaped control array is to slide your fingers up and down the bars. Bad instinct. Each tip of the cross, as well as the intersection, is actually a button. You can display a function map on the screen for a reminder of which tip accomplishes which action. Unfortunately, the intersection of the bars is not the Select button -- pressing the right tip activates or confirms a selected feature. The intersection is also the play/pause control, but the area for this important function is so limited that we often needed multiple taps before enough pressure was applied to toggle between the two.

The old Creative Zen Touch/iRiver H10 thumb slide is history. The unique Plus Touch controller lets you manipulate your Gigabeat with taps and holds. It takes some getting used to

Like the iPod's, the Gigabeat's large and bright 56mm colour screen adds a high level of readability to the track information, even when the backlight is off. You can choose between eight different wallpaper designs -- uselessly labelled Setup1 through to Setup5 for the presets and User1 through to User3 for the user-defined designs. The 10 screen themes define how information is displayed on the screen: for instance, with large or small text and with portrait or left- or right-handed landscape orientation. The play mode, the battery meter, and the time are also displayed.

You can't deny the Toshiba Gigabeat's gorgeous screen. Notice the customisable wallpaper and flashing ravelike graphics

The Gigabeat's cradle is both a boon and a bane. On its front are buttons for direct syncing and CD ripping. But the cradle includes USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 connectors as well as an AC input. Not all PCs or laptops can power an accessory through a USB connection, however. Our Gateway M210 laptop doesn't, so the cradle had to be connected to a power source in order for it to work. When using Windows Media 10.0, you also need to use the cradle's USB 1.1 connection rather than a direct Gigabeat-to-PC USB 2.0 connection.

The Toshiba Gigabeat's cradle is both a boon and a bane

Included with the Gigabeat is Toshiba's Gigabeat Room (or Gigaroom, for short) music-management software, with an icon-heavy interface that takes some getting used to. Unfortunately, the lightweight Gigaroom handles only ripped CDs. You have to use other software to transfer licensed tracks.