Though Apple's iPod dominates the digital audio player market, there's no denying those sleek, slick, me-too devices have batteries that are designed to die. Thus, Apple surreptitiously encourages you to replace your entire iPod when that battery gives up the ghost -- it's how they manage to sell a billion units to only a million people (note: ratio may be exaggerated). Though it can be done, simple iPod battery replacement is, in actuality, totally obstinate battery replacement.

Moreover, iPods can be a mite expensive in the first place, and they're prone to getting lost, stolen or beaten to death. Add that to the fact that iPods are chronically landfill bound out of the gate, genetically obligated to die in 3 - 5 years, you've reason to be leery of what is otherwise a great digital music player.

All that said, consider instead the Hydra from Ultra Products, a rugged, rubber coated, water-resistant little music player about the size of a bic lighter.

Easily palmed and tethered around a finger, the Hydra is light on bells and whistles and -- get this -- doesn't even include a rechargeable battery. Instead, it runs off a single, disposable AAA (or a rechargeable one, if you're a greener keener), pumping out decent-quality audio for almost 10 hours off a single battery (less if you keep it cranked). It'll play a variety of music files (MP3, WAV, ACT, and WMA) loaded up via USB from your PC or Mac -- and it doesn't care where you iGot them.

And, if you tire of the 250-odd songs you can cram into the 1 GB model, or the 500+ songs in the 2GB model before you get around to swapping them out, you can switch to the onboard FM radio. Heck, you can even sing yourself some new tunes with its onboard voice recorder.

The Hydra is a bit similar to the iPod Shuffle -- same capacities, anyway -- but it's better on portability/durability and, again, boasts the disposable battery bit, not the genetically doomed, perplexingly inaccessible rechargeable of Shuffle.

And, at just 30-odd or 40-odd bucks (retail prices vary; TigerDirect is your best bet), it's not as much of a stinger if it's lost, stolen or broken.