First there was the Creative ZEN Stone, and now we have the "Pebble," Samsung's YP-S2 (also known as the S2). I'm not sure why the inexpensive MP3 player market has adopted geological names, but it's true that both the Stone and the S2 are rock-solid devices. A screenless, diminutive MP3 player, the $39 S2 has 1GB of flash memory and some other laudable features, including a button for editing playlists on the go and gym-friendly earbuds. Is it a fantastic player? Well, it's a cheap player, and it does its simple job well.

At 1.7 by 1.6 by 0.7 inches (HWD) and a pebble-esque 0.5 ounces, the device has smooth contours that call to mind the ZEN Stone. A color-coded light on top of the S2 tells you what the player is up to Blue stands for repeat-all mode, green-to-blue-to-magenta means random, and magenta signifies that the S2 is running through a playlist. The controls are on the bottom panel, with each button serving different functions depending on how long you press it and what mode you're in. Power and play/pause occupy the same button, volume up and down buttons double as add-song-to-playlist controls, and there are skip forward and backward buttons as well.

The S2's earbuds stay in place well enough to qualify as gym-friendly, and the cable has an integrated neck strap, as well as a loop for a lanyard. Not everyone will love the around-the-neck design of the earbuds (they look a bit like a necklace), but you shouldn't have any trouble keeping them in place, whether you're working out or just commuting.

Less convenient is the fact that instead of using a cable, the computer connection is achieved with a small adapter that connects the player's 3.5mm headphone jack to your PC's USB port. Folks with crowded USB areas may not like having it there, since the player may block other ports on your computer while it charges or loads content.

The S2 offers support for WMA, MP3, and OGG files. Though this isn't an overwhelming collection of formats, I am glad to see that the Pebble plays nice with OGG tracks. Of course, the lack of a screen means no photo or video playback—the Pebble is simply a music player.

As befitting a simple music player, creating a playlist is a snap. When you hear a song you want to add to your playlist, press the "+" button (in repeat or random modes) and it's added to the list. Switching to playlist mode immediately starts the device playing tracks you've selected in this way. Obviously, we're not talking about managing a bunch of different playlists here, just one that can be created easily. In other words, it's a handy way to create one subset of your music for one specific mood or purpose, like when you're feeling emo, or for when you need a boost to keep you jogging.

There's not much use in obsessing over this device's audio quality. While the included earbuds don't sound great due to a lack of bass presence, they're a big part of the player's design. Replace them with a better pair and you'll likely lose the ability to wear the S2 around your neck. If you don't mind losing this gym-friendliness, however, the recently released Ultimate Ears Loud Enough and Radius Atomic Bass Earphones are decent $40 'phones.

Don't plan on marathon listening sessions with this player; its battery life is as low as its profile. Samsung itself rates the S2's battery life at a modest 13 hours of playback. My test results were even less impressive. I got 9.5 hours of playback—disappointing, but comparable to the ZEN Stone's roughly 8 hours of playback time.

Which is better, the ZEN Stone or the S2? It depends on what's important to you. If price is the key factor, the ZEN Stone is available for less (as low as $35). But for just a little bit more money, the S2 has its cool button for switching play modes and creating playlists. The S2 looks a little snazzier, too. In any case, either player is a better buy than the 1GB iPod shuffle, which sells for $50 and brings only iTunes-friendliness to the table. If you're not locked into iTunes and need a solid, cheap gym player, the S2 and the ZEN Stone are both very good buys.

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