1)Know anyone flying out of Heathrow? Dixons there have vat-free stuff.

2)Sony has "bolt-on" 2XAA batt pack whereas Aiwa has its 3XAA batt pack on a little lead.

3)Don't bother with the playback-only ones, they're no fun. - they are the 90 pound ones.

4)Can recommend Aiwa AM-F5 which was 170 pounds almost a year ago, at a time when Sony was 220+. But Sony are v.good too. Both have digital input and come with stereo mics.

5)Mono recording (150 minutes) is excellent for live concerts; if you're near the speakers, the quality is superb.

6)Shops in USA don't seem to stock any - perhaps that's why MP3 players took off so easily there.

7)Sharp minidisc walkmans are the 'clunky' ones & very James Bond-ish. Don't know what they're like.

THEY'RE a great invention - even if they were 'slow burners' due to lack of pre-recorded stuff. Glad Sony stuck with the idea and got them so small.