Just like the shiny rocks they're named after, RCA's line of Gem MP3 players aren't that fancy. The Pearl is a tiny 1GB thumb drive player with a MicroSD slot, designed for the barebones minimalist. For $49, you get a backlit screen that can alternate between seven colors, and a AAA battery will power the player for up to 15 hours. The Opal offers multi-format audio, photo and video playback on a 1.5-inch full color OLED screen. A 2GB Opal will retail for about $79. More gems after the jump.
The Jet, designed for the active music lover, packs the biggest punch. Sporting the same 1.5-inch OLED as the Opal, the Jet is also splash-resistant and comes with a Body Mass Index calculator to help you visualize your obesity. It plays MP3, WMA and WMA/DRM files and includes an FM tuner. The 1GB Jet runs $69 while the 2GB version is $89. Also available is the Jet Stream, a 1GB wireless version of the Jet that touts "lossless" audio transmission to the headphones for $149.
Also from the RCA/Thomson family are Jensen's new JPM3005 SportFones. The SportFones also eliminate the tangle of wires by integrating a 512MB digital media player into the headphones themselves, including simple controls on the side of one earpiece. Also designed for the gym rat, the SportFones are wrapped in sweat-resistant silicone. Pick them up in a zippered carry bag in February for $69.99.