Archos has good pedigree in the MP3 market, so when this apparently Apple Nano-targeted Archos 104 was released, we were hopeful of seeing a worthy rival.

Modelled on the Gmini XS 100, the 104 sports a 1.5-inch colour LCD and, being roughly the same size and shape as the Nano, it's easy to look at the two in a similar light. You'll find a photo viewer and file browser on the 104 in addition to audio playback but this is unfortunately the extent of its features.

There's no FM radio, movie player, eBook reader or any of the popular extras we've seen bundled with recent players. In terms of audio playback, quality is impressive enough but again there's a distinct lack of evidence that Archos has gone the extra yard.

Playlist creation and typical tools such as a graphic equalizer and repeat functions are about the extent of the control you have over your music, which would have been fine if there were enough additional features to back this up.

The device does work perfectly well as portable storage, with both data files and MP3, WAV or WMV music easily transferred with straightforward drag-and-drop. Once you disconnect the player from your PC the ArcLibrary function reads through ID3 tags to collect the music into the typical Artist/Album/Genre list for easy browsing.

A fairly simple control set based around a directional pad and centre-select button complements the stylish black-rubber and dark-chrome design, and in terms of aesthetics the 104 certainly scores some points.

Unfortunately the menu structure leaves something to be desired. The 104 is low on features so there's not a lot to go wrong, but one particular gripe is that you have to stop audio playback in order to navigate back through the menus to view your photos or choose different music. This is frustrating, and seeing as Archos has included a 'Resume' function on the main menu which continues playback from the last position, it seems as though they are aware of it as well.

In addition, the 104 is a hard drive player as opposed to solid-state flash, a strange choice considering the 4GB capacity, and as a result you're greeted with an annoying, dolphin-like like clicking noise from the HDD as it seeks while you browse around the menus.

We mentioned that the 104 is about the same size as the Apple Nano, but only in length and width. It's twice as thick and twice as heavy as Apple's product and has none of the additional extras such as a calendar, games or contacts database. The 104 is around £20-£30 cheaper at similar capacities, but the absence of any redeeming features aside from this makes the choice of Archos or Apple in this instance a no-brainer.

A disappointing entry from Archos, which has produced a good looking, capable player that nonetheless falls behind most rivals in the current market.