Flash-based Ibiza Rhapsody: Is this the iPod nano killer?

I was a big fan of last year's HDD-based, 30GB Ibiza Rhapsody Wi-Fi music player, and I'm happy to report that the new, 4GB and 8GB Flash versions manage to improve on what was already a good thing—indeed, they might be giving the iPod nano a run for its money. Read on for my review.

The Ibiza Rhapsody players, which are compatible with Rhapsody's subscription music service, have been flying under the radar ever since they hit stores last fall. (Check out my review from last year.)

But while they're not the prettiest digital music players on the market, they're among the most powerful—and the best part is that you don't even need a PC to download a truckload of songs and podcasts.

As with the original Ibiza Rhapsody, the new Flash versions (4GB for $199, or 8GB for $229) come with a bright, razor-sharp 2.5-inch display, while a touch-sensitive trackpad lets you zoom through lists of songs with a flick of your fingertip. And at just 3.2 ounces, the Flash player feels far lighter than its 4.9-ounce HDD-based big brother. Still, it's worth noting that the Ibiza is considerably larger than the Flash version of the Wi-Fi-enabled Zune.

That said, the Flash Ibiza has an ace up its sleeve: its seamless integration with Rhapsody. Once you connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot (I had no trouble connecting to my WPA-protected home network) and enter your account information, you're free to browse top artists, albums, staff picks, genres, or search Rhapsody's catalog of five million-plus songs.

Click on an artist and you'll get a slick profile page, including pictures and links to a biography, music samplers, popular tracks, and similar artists. Nice.

You can also choose from dozens of Rhapsody streaming music channels. Like what you're hearing? Just click to keep a song, get artist information, or see more tunes in the same genre.

Of course, you must be a member of Rhapsody's $15/month "on the go" subscription plan to take full advantage of the Ibiza's features, although new Ibiza users get a month's subscription for free.

The Ibiza player also lets you explore, subscribe, and listen to podcasts, and it'll download new podcasts automatically over Wi-Fi. I wish my iPhone could do that.

Topping it all off is the build-in FM tuner, a Web browser, access to AOL Video, and downloadable UI skins. And yes, you can even play regular MP3 music files.

When I originally reviewed the hard drive-based Ibiza, I complained that the interface seemed sluggish at times, sometimes taking a few seconds to respond to clicks.

Well, the Flash player boasts much peppier performance than the player I tested last year—the cursor flew through the various menus, with almost no lag whatsoever. Also, the player now has an equalizer with four presets—nice, although a user-defined mode would have been even better.

As far as battery life goes, Haier America (the maker of the Ibiza Rhasody) promises 15 hours of playback—somewhat less than the 24 hours you'll wring out of many flash-based players, but still, not bad.

Overall, pretty nice, especially for music lovers looking to grab new tunes—or new podcasts, for that matter—while they're out and about.

Note: This will be my last post until next week. Have a great (and safe & sane) Fourth, and I'll see you Monday.