You typical iPod or other standard MP3 player isn’t up to the task of swimming or sports where shocks and bumps are apt to happen. You can wear a plain MP3 while you exercise, but if you get it wet the player is pretty much done.

Finis has announced its latest rugged and waterproof MP3 player called the XtreaMP3.1G. The device has 1GB of storage capable of holding up to 240 songs. The player is design for sports where shocks are common, like snowboarding, skateboarding, and cycling.

Well, this is certainly the strangest MP3 player we’ve seen this week. Too bad they didn’t go all Kermit the Frog with this guy. They may have actually sold more. The Toys R Us ‘Ribbit’ MP3 player comes with five play modes (normal, repeat one, repeat all, folder, repeat folder). And an eight-mode equalizer.(normal, rock, pop, classical, bass, jazz, soft, and SRS WOW)

It also sports a high-speed USB 2.0 interface, play-list function, and support for seven languages. A built-in rechargeable Lithium Ion battery is the power source. Not bugs. You’ll get up to six hours of continuous playback with a fully charged battery.

You’re bound to either love this one or hate it. Be sure to let us know where you stand. ZVUE’s 1GB pre-loaded Journey MP3 player is of course decked out like an ’80s Journey Album cover on the outside.

Inside, you get 22 Journey tracks pre-loaded. 11 new, 11 that you’ve been sick of for years. It’s like buying Journey’s greatest hits album and getting a DAP as well. At $39.88, that’s like a $1.80 per song. So, do you want one? Or will you touch and go your separate ways?

Long gone are the days when a PMP was a simple rectangular device with not much thought to the looks of the device. Sure Apple still makes mostly rectangular MP3 players with its iPod line, but many other PMP makers are looking to more organic shapes and bright colors to woo buyers.

Samsung announced a pair of new PMPs called the S2 Pebble and the S3 Slim Portable Media Player. As you can guess from the Pebble designation with the S2 the PMP has a rounded pebble shape. It is only available in 1GB capacity and can be had in green, purple, red, black, and white colors. The Pebble lacks any display and has its controls on the back for a clean and uncluttered look. Supported file formats include MP3, WMA, and OGG.

Sony has a new add-on to the E-series of Walkman media players with three new models that can swap out the outer shell to give each player a more custom look. Around twenty different looks actually ranging from some solid colors to different patterns and you can get more than one to make sure it coordinates with the days ensemble.

The new DAP stick comes in three different models that vary in capacities: NW-E026F (4GB), the NW-E025F (2GB) and the NW-E023F (1GB). They measure 81.9×22.1×13.8mm and also feature a direct USB plug built-in that lets you drag and drop files right on the player with no additional cables needed. The players can support ATRAC, MP3, WMA and AAC as well as tuning in some local FM radio.

Sony has lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding its musical robotic egg, the Rolly, that we first reported to you a week ago. The 300 gram gizmo is a moving MP3 player that is motion sensitive; give it a spin in one direction and the Rolly’s volume will go up, the other way and the tunes will lower down. Pushing the Rolly forwards, backwards or giving it a shake will allow you to change songs. While it’s moving about the side corners of it will “flap” and a cascade of pretty blue and green lights will undulate from the bottom of the Rolly.

Klegg Electronics, another on the fringes electronics company trying to eek a living out of the iPod dominated portable audio player market, announced earlier this week an updated version of its Mini MP3 player. This model is available in three body colors for around $60.

The Klegg Mini MP3 player offers up 1GB of storage, which is enough to hold between 300 to 500 songs as well as lots of digital images. This player has a small color display on the front side and is itself a small device, measuring 1.8-inches x 1.5-inches x 0.6-inches. You also get a built-in FM radio with the ability to record FM broadcasts.

That Mickey Mouse MP3 player we talked about earlier this month looks like it’s turning out to be something real as you can see on the iRiver Korea site. Apparently it will go for around $50 and will have a 1GB memory capacity. The ears, as we suspected, do control the volume and track but it doesn’t look like the Mickey shaped device will be coming to too many destinations. Disney had iRiver make it for retail sale in Korea and for the Hong Kong Disney theme park only, at …

Here’s an MP3 player that breaks from the mainstream mold with a retro-look and analog-like controls. The design of the MPIO FL500 was inspired by the looks of an electric guitar which gives it the triangle design and big silver metal knobs.

Volume is controlled with a large dial at the top, the mode is changed with a large selector switch and there’s a metal screw that can be removed to use with a necklace or replaced to attach a metal belt clip. The player supports MP3, WMA, and ASF file playback along with …

Freestyle Audio has made one super tough MP3 player that’s built to handle just about any extreme activities you can dish out. They show examples of using it while surfing, swimming and they have a video below showing it being dropped off of a 3rd story building onto concrete (they drop and iPod nano as well). The results of the video shows the Freestyle MP3 player turn on, but it really doesn’t say if it still plays music. Either way the fact that it …

This little digital media player from a Korean company called Tomato has an interesting camera-like look to it with a brushed metal case, shiny buttons, a two inch view screen and a retro on/off switch.

The other side of the U20 from Tomato has no lens, but this media player does support the playback of MP3, MP4, WMV and ASF file formats. The video and JPEG photos can be viewed with the two inch 260,000 color TFT LCD screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The U20 also has a built in speaker and …

BLU:sens is unveiling an MP3 player called the G14 which has some significant features that should bring it a little attention in the PMP world. What makes this player extra special is that the attention is not due to them copying someone else’s design.

The BLU:sens G14 supports WiFi and has no DRM. Individually these two items have their own significance, but combined they equate to wireless sharing of MP3 files between players without restrictions. This will no doubt catch the eye of the Microsoft …

The new Boxon video and audio player from MobiBlu looks a little like a small, old-school pager in this photo, but its capabilities are far greater.

This little 1 ounce device is surprisingly loaded with features that a person might not expect from such a small device. Of course it can play music and MPEG4 video, as well as view still photos and stores them on flash memory in sizes of 1GB and 2GB.

The Boxon can also receive FM radio, and record it direct to the device into MP3 files, along …

The i-Station Mini DX is a cool little gadget that plays digital audio and video, as well as supports viewing still pictures. It can also pick up FM radio and DMB television in Korea, which is probably part of the reason why this gadget isn’t available in the US.

THe Mini DX weighs only 80 grams and measures about 86x54x16mm. It has a 2.4 inch TFT LCD display and comes with internal memory of 1GB, 2GB and a 4GB version in the works with an SD slot to add some more.

The player also supports MP3 …

Dyne has recently released two new digital audio/video products for the holiday season, one of those being the Tuny 11.

The Tuny 11 is a very slim (7.9mm) gadget that supports playback of music, video and images with a nice color screen and touch pad controls.

The Tuny 11 supports MP3, WAV and WMA audio files that can be organized and viewed in a familiar file structure. Multiple types of video are supported with different codecs, and the Tuny 11 can also pick up FM radio. The device also has a built …