Firstly, as the blurb suggests I have never owned an mp3 player, opting instead to head down the path of Mini-Disk technology because of sound quality and the ability to record to the unit. However, I have taken the unit on its merits without drawing comparisons to my MZ10. Looks and layout:There is one word to describe the unit, SMALL! When the marketing of the product mentioned “credit card sized unit” and “smallest mp3 player on the market” it meant it! The unit is literally the size of a credit card, weighs enough to be unnoticed in a pocket, is less than 10mm thick, and has a stylish shiny chrome finish to give a very cool modern look.The remote boasts most of the features. It is the same finish as the unit and is very appealing to the eye.  The LCD screen is quite large for a remote, which is probably why it’s so bulky. It’s not so much big as it is heavy, as throwing away the supplied headphones and getting a longer cord would be the simple answer.The layout of the controls are logical and simple to use due to the simplicity of the unit, but this is something I will come to later.  The rolling selector located on the remote is fast and effective at locating and selecting the units various functions.Usability: Removing unnecessary functionality (such as recording to the unit, custom EQ’s, line out, multiple playlists) means the menus are logical and easy to navigate.  While on the whole this isn’t to its detriment, the inability to select playlists is. You can group various tracks into a “favourites” list which can then be played, but the lack of multiple lists for the music is frustrating. There are few functions on the main unit itself. The lack of a screen for it suggests that AIWA’s idea is to keep the remote as the sole controller with main unit virtually unused. The player is also v-e-r-y slow to start up; more than 3 seconds to me is a long time.  This unit takes well above 5 seconds and powers down only after a short time on ‘power save’. The battery life is also a little disappointing.Features:There’s not much to speak of in the way of features other than basic playback and rudimentary preset EQ settings and bass boost.  Other reviewers have encounted problems with the software not recognising various forms of mp3s, however I had no such drama.  I encoded from .wma and .wav and I was quite surprised and impressed at its simplicity and performance! There are no custom equalisers or playlist editors (as mentioned before).  It is clear that the idea of the unit is to be stylish and small at the cost of features and battery life, which is poor engineering in my opinion (I understand, however, that few manufacturers of mp3 players place emphasis on battery life). Sound & quality:I tested sound from various sources, including low and high encoded mp3s, mp3s ripped from vinyl and CD, as well as mp3s purchased over the net.  I can say the quality was questionable to someone who is particular about sound, but with the right editing pre-transfer I was somewhat appeased.  On the whole, however, it is a labour intensive way to create good sound that should arguably be an entry level requirement.  Generally the sound was quite fuzzy and lacked the mid punch that is needed in house, techno and trance.  My alternative music was a bit muffled at high volume, but overall rock performed better than dance music (as is usually the case for portable music devices). The headphones are average, getting marked improvements from using Sony’s generic earphones that come as standard in most of Sony’s other portable devices.  The volume is too low for areas with high ambient noise such as public transport or busy buildings, and as the volume of mp3s changes considerably when purchased/received from various places it can become a problem. Overall:My introduction to the mp3 market is not as quality driven and feature packed as I would have hoped.  The price tag for the unit is $429.00AU Which is a little on the high side considering the Ipod mini is roughly the same price and holds so much more.  Who this unit is for?  I would have to say the size conscious firstly and for people that want a simple, easy to use compact mp3 player second.  There have been murmurings about this unit not working with Apple computers, but I had no means to test for this.  If you’re not fussed about features and don’t want an Ipod, the AIWA HZ WS-2000 is a good alternative.