If you throw everything and the kitchen sink into a portable MP3 player, what would it look like? I'd say the Ibiza Rhapsody from Haier.

Packing quite a punch for an MP3 player, the H1A030 comes with a 30 GB hard drive -- enough storage to host your entire music collection. It also sports a sharp 2.5" color LCD screen, an easy-to-use touchpad interface that when used feels like a morphed version of the iPod's touch screen and classic scroll wheel interface, FM radio tuner, and WiFi Internet access that enables web browsing, integrated access to AOL Video, and most significantly: self-contained access to the Rhapsody music subscription service.

The most interesting aspects of this player, for me, are the large hard drive and fully integrated access to Rhapsody. What does that mean as a user of this MP3 player? Having full and unencumbered access to music -- and lots of it!

Without a subscription to Rhapsody, you can use this unit like a "traditional" MP3 player -- transferring your entire collection of songs to the player's hard drive, and being able to navigate or randomly shuffle your music playback in an iPod-esq manner that feels familiar if you were a user of the iPod. But add a $14.99/month Rhapsody-to-go subscription, and you now have something way more powerful in the palm of your hand. You have a unit capable of storing or streaming most of the catalog of music available on the Rhapsody service at no extra cost -- that is, millions of songs. If you're like me and eventually get bored with your own music -- no matter how large or small your collection is -- this unlimited access to music at a flat monthly rate of $14.99 (or less if you subscribe annually) is a huge deal.

With your Rhapsody-to-go subscription enabled, you get to drag and drop individual songs, full albums, user generated playlists, and theme channels (such as 70's Rock or VH1 Classic) right into your player. So even if you never converted one of your old CDs to MP3 or have ever downloaded your music before, you can load this player up with all the music you crave right away -- again, at no extra cost. I'm a big fan of the unlimited subscription model of music! And by the way, the 30 GB hard drive translates to enough storage for approximately 7,500 songs.

Now here's this player's real show stopper: WiFi access to Rhapsody. When you are someplace with proximity to wireless Internet access, and you can fully browse and search Rhapsody to listen to any music, even if it were not previously stored on your Ibiza. Picture this scenario: Have a sudden craving to listen to Bruce Springsteen but never got around to downloading his music? No problem. Press the button at the top of the unit to turn on wireless Internet access and see which local networks are available to connect to. Connect to a network, log-in to your Rhapsody account (it saves your settings to make the process easier after the first time), and viola! You have full access to nearly the entire Rhapsody music catalog right from the MP3 player. Hear something you want to save to your collection? Click on "Save" and the song will be stored onto the unit's hard drive so you can listen to it again even when wireless Internet access is not available.

More noteworthy mentions: Bluetooth support, easy-to-use (though sometimes sluggish) menus, excellent sound quality, dedicated volume controls, support for viewing most common video and picture formats, full access to AOL Video through the player's consistent and streamlined user interface, and WiFi firmware updates to keep your player's internal software up-to-date.

Biggest weakness of this unit: Battery life. The battery life is advertised to be stronger than real life usage. The specs say 15 hours but I didn't see anything close to that. Having Bluetooth enabled, WiFi turned on, and the brightest backlight setting for the screen will most certainly drain your battery. I found that disabling Bluetooth and WiFi when not needed and dimming the screen seemed to make the battery charge last longer, but still not as long as I'd like.

I also want to note that as much as I like Rhapsody and the unlimited music it provides for a low monthly subscription rate, the Rhapsody service can be quirky at times. Technically, you have to update your player's license at least once per month by simply connecting to the Rhapsody service to verify that you are still a subscriber, but I found that I had to update the license more frequently for some odd reason that I still haven't quite figured out.

Onto the accessories: There's a Bluetooth Receiver that will plug into any iPod Speaker Dock, making the Speaker Doc into an "A2DP" Bluetooth receiver. Meaning, that will make the iPod Speaker Doc compatible this Ibiza MP3 player. You will then be able to stream your music from the player directly to your iPod Speaker Doc -- wirelessly.

There's also car charger/FM transmitter let's you place your Ibiza in the cradle and listen to your music through your car's FM radio, while also charging the Ibiza's battery.

Haier has plans for additional accessories, including their own Speaker Doc and FM clock radio; these should be available within the next few months.

The Haier Ibiza is a work-in-progress and the company continues to enhance the device's user interface. The nice thing is that when improvements are made, the device will automatically receive the software update when it accesses a WiFi network.

Street price for the 30 GB Ibiza Rhapsody is around $270 and comes in a choice of five colors: black, white, silver, pink, and blue.

Technical Specs:

• Model Number: H1A030BK (Black), H1A030W (White), H1A030S (Silver), H1A030P (Pink), H1A030BL (Blue)
• Storage: 30 GB Hard Disk Drive
• Processor: Freescale iMX31 532 MHz
• Display: 2.5-inch QVGA LCD high color display, 320 x 240
• Power supply: 3.7-volt Lithium Polymer battery, AC adapter/charger (included)
• Battery life: Up to 15 hours (audio playback)
• Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth technology: Bluetooth 2.0, AVRCP and A2DP
• Controls: Touch sensor with button, quick connect button, playback controls, dedicated volume controls
• Ports: USB 2.0 High Speed mini-B, 3.5-millimeter stereo headphone with composite, docking connector
• Supported audio file format: WMA, AAC, WAV, MP3
• Supported video file format: MPEG4, WMV, M4V, AVI, H.264, MPG
• Supported photo file format: JPG, PNG
• Tuner: FM
• Dimensions: 2.44 x 4.13 x 0.51 inches / 62 x 105 x 13 millimeters (W x H x D)
• Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Warranty: 1-year limited warranty
• What's in the Box: H1A030 wireless media player, earphones, AC adapter/charger, USB cable, protective gel skin

Ibiza Rhapsody Website

AOL Video