is it worth it? Spinning out with a no-risk disc

Forget about your old Walkman. If you want to be cool this summer, trash your tapes and get intimate with Sony's sexy minidisc

IF YOU find the whole digital revolution a bit bewildering, Sony's new MZ-R50 recordable portable minidisc is probably going to freak you out. On the other hand, if you're under 40, odds on you'll find this piece of slinky technology totally sexois. This latest and greatest of the whopping 27 Sony minidisc models is a designer's wet dream. Barely an inch thick, the MZ-R50 cooly solves those nagging fashion problems of how to wear your walkman - do you leave it to languish in your bag (rummaging problems), hold it like a purse (prissy) or prop it on your waistband like a dork? No, as a digital kid, you slip it casually in your back pocket and, utilising your silver "capsule" controller you master your machine in comfort.

But is the MZ-R50 any more than a good-looking walkman with dinky little discs? Well, yes - but perfection doesn't come cheap. This particular beauty will set you back pounds 349.99. For that you get digital sound quality (top), a "no-hop" mechanism on the discs and a surprisingly user-friendly design. A renowned techno-idiot myself, I deliberately tested the walkman minus instructions, and still managed to drive it.

Still, none of this is new. What really makes the MZ-R50 worth the dosh is its recordability. Truly, this makes it the eighth wonder of the world for all home-compilation bores out there. Imagine this. You've spent 85 torturous minutes making your ultimate compilation tape. Suddenly, to your horror, you discover you've messed up the order of the tracks - you'll have to start the whole thing again. Only, with your trusty MZ-R50 you just do a bit of nippy cutting and pasting of your "toons" and it's sorted! What's more, if you fancy yourself as a bit of a crooner, get yourself a mike, and cut your first track, man.

On the downside, I do have one tiny quibble - the earplugs. All was rosy as I strolled casually around the tube, silver controller swinging nonchalantly. But when I decided to clip the capsule to my jeans there was trouble. Like most earplugs, the Sony ones have one long and one short earwire (why? does anyone understand this?). Alas, with the short one attached to the capsule, my head became permanently cocked to the side. I fear that unless you are under five foot, this will be a common problem. On the other hand, no-one will be able to say that, as a trendy young MZ- R50 owner, you don't keep one ear to the ground. And that's excuse enough for me.