Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel forward in time and see what the world will be like? To experience new technologies and be amazed at the way the world has ended up working? I have often thought of this in a desire to see the path that science and technology development takes. However, if we stop to take a trip down memory lane, the stark reality is that we would most probably be confronted with things we didn't understand.

Just twenty years ago, personal stereos blasted music out of oversized spongy speakers attached to something that can only be described as a shiny Alice band. The music was on a cassette tape which would occasionally turn itself into a streamer and it was all powered by batteries which needed to be replaced about every half hour or so. In fact the stock of AA batteries took up as much room as the pile of cassettes themselves. Oh how technology has changed!

Today we have a device the size of a stamp which is loaded with up to 10,000 songs, powered by a battery that is charged by a docking station and has headphones that are barely visible. They aren't even called personal stereos any more. MP3 player's reviews are full of technological wonders that even a decade ago was unheard of. Touch screen menus, music downloads, album artworks; I mean, imagine talking about a walkman and it's 'memory' a few years ago. Now that is the all important factor.

The vast array of MP3 players on offer means that choosing which one to buy is more like choosing a new computer. Cost has to be weighed up against memory, which has to take sound quality into account not to mention size. It's enough to confuse the geekiest of geeks. The one thing that has not changed is our undeniable love of music, and MP3 players seem to be the perfect portal for delivery.

On the flip side, the tiny technology has spurred a revival of oversized speakers. MP3 player reviews are also spattered with docking stations that hark back to 1980s boom boxes and ghetto blasters. There is even one that resembles a suitcase with wheels. The delivery of sound however is enormous, and comparable to a full on PA system in a night club. So what will the reviews pages be full of in another twenty years? Press fast forward on your MP3 player and you might just find out.