When it comes to listening to tunes on a Portable Media Player, it pays to avoid ones that start with “i”. For example, the Nextar MA 588, or “Peanut”, is a tiny PMP that works just as well as an iPod Shuffle, and has a lot more features.

For example, it has an ID3 Compatible Dot Matrix LCD with a blue backlight, unlike the iPod Shuffle, which requires you to navigate through your tracks by faith. Did I mention that it costs twice as much? Some of you may remember when I wrote the face-off with the iPod Shuffle vs. the Creative Zen Stone. I would have to say that the Nextar MA 588 is comparable with the Zen Stone, which you may recall was the winner of the Shuffle and Stone fight.

The Nextar MA 588 has a menu for all the features such as music, voice recording, and a place for managing folders.

The MA 588 has 1GB or 2GB of memory, which is enough for quite a bit of songs. Transferring audio files was not too difficult, as the computer recognized the Peanut just like it would a Flash Drive when it was plugged in with the mini-USB to USB cord. It wasn’t too difficult to drag and drop songs from iTunes.

Once the tunes are downloaded, it is easy to scroll through them, and the screen has the complete file title. It can support both WMA and MP3 audio formats.

The sound is a product of SRS WOW sound effect tech, that “improves playback quality by creating an encompassing sound field with restored digital clarity and deep bass”. There are seven equalizer modes including normal, pop, rock, classical, jazz, bass, and soft. Seven is also the number of play modes which include normal, repeat one, repeat all, shuffle, intro, repeat folder, folder, and random.

As for the power, it is powered by a AAA battery for about 12 hours of continuous playback. It is been so named the Peanut because of its nutty shape, and small size, measuring at 2.7 x 1.3 x 0.7 inches.

The Nextar MA 588 Peanut is available at many retail outlets anywhere including K-mart, Staples, Bon Ton, and Canadian Tire. It costs about $19.99 for about 1GB version, and $29.99 for the 2GB. It comes with the headphones, the AAA battery, USB cable, as well as software for Win98 installation. It also comes in a variety of colors including black, pink, red, blue, and silver.