Extreme MP3 Players

Looking to do some early holiday shopping (or starting to put together your own wish list) but are stumped for ideas? Everybody loves MP3 players... but knowing you, you're looking for a creative angle and something other than the garden-variety iPod. So check out the following MP3 players:

• Oregon Scientific offers a sports MP3 player that is water-resistant up to a meter of water. The 128MB player features an FM radio, and retails for about $175.


• Got $44,000 burning a hole in your pocket? You can't make any better investment than the DJ Presidential, billed as the world's most expensive MP3 player. The diamond-studded player is manufactured by Meng Duo Ltd. of London, which will hand-deliver it anywhere in the world.


• Oakley's THUMP 2 sunglasses have an MP3 player built-in. The player supports all major formats, and capacities range from 256MB ($299) to 1GB ($449).


• From Creative Technology comes the DiVi CAM 428, which combines an MP3 player, voice recorder, digital still camera and video camera. All for a surprisingly reasonable $199.


• For the kids, Disney is offering Digital Mix Sticks. The 128MB, $50 devices feature Mickey Mouse and Princess themes.


• For DIY'ers, find out how to make an MP3 player from scratch.

UPDATE: No matter which model of digital music player you choose, you'll be in good company. Sales of MP3 players are expected to rise steadily over the next few years, reaching sales of a billion units by 2009.