Also included is Revu which allows you to pause and rewind live DAB radio.

3 power options include mains, battery or the rechargeable ChargePak. Pure claim 70 hours with disposable and 35 hours use on a full charge with the ChargePak.

Our review set had the ChargePak fitted and we easily surpassed the 35 hour mark and would highly recommend this option as it’s going to be expensive running it on disposables. Being branded by Pure as their “Elite unit” it’s a surprise it didn’t come with the ChargePak fitted as standard.

This is even more surprising as the Pure One Elite is one of the EcoPlus products meaning Pure have supposedly done all they can to make sure their product is as environmentally friendly as possible.

as you would expect, being fitted with stereo speakers we found the sound quality to be better than any other DAB portable radio we have reviewed.

An input for an MP3 player means you can also take full advantage of these stereo speakers by using it as a portable stereo speaker set.

This is an excellent radio and although on the expensive side for a portable, is very good value for money if you are looking for even better sound quality than a standard DAB portable radio.

It may be a little too big to be considered a true DAB portable radio by some while others will feel the quality of sound more than compensates for it.

A let down was only having the 10 presets as the standard seems to be 20 for similar priced models and with a price of just under £50 the AE5000 Philips DAB portable radio is up against some stiff competition.

If you are looking for a modern stylish DAB radio for the kitchen or bathroom the Philips DAB portable radio is going to be the one for you.

This is certainly something that sets it apart from other DAB portable radio sets and the power saving is a welcome addition to power hungry DAB radio. The 35 hours battery life we got during testing with standard batteries was the best we have on record.

The Pure ONE portable radio also features FM with RDS for when you are on the move and in areas where DAB is currently unavailable. It also has a host of other features including Intellitext®, textSCAN™, kitchen and sleep timers, a backlit display and a USB socket so you can upgrade its software from your PC or Laptop as and when upgrades become available.

The Pure One DAB FM portable radio white is perfect for the kitchen table or on this Summers picnic. It’s very easy to use and the chrome dials give it a smart look. The sound quality is right up there as we expect from Pure.

The Pure One is the best selling DAB FM portable radio in the UK and as soon as you switch it on it becomes apparant why that is.

The Intempo TRS is both slim and lightweight making it a popular portable DAB radio with travelers. The light build and flimsy feel seems to be matched by the tinny sound though and the quality is not knock you off your seat brilliant that you get with say a Pure One but for the price, it’s good enough.

We also had problems with the volume control. While it goes exceptionally loud without any noticeable loss of sound quality, trying to get the volume low proved difficult. At its quitest setting it still seemed to be quite loud to us. This is caused by the click volume control rather than having a standard dial control.

One thing we did like was that the TRS Intempo uses the cheap AA sized batteries rather than the expensive C Cells. Put the cheap running costs with the low price tag and the TRS Intempo makes a decent budget entry level into the world of DAB portable radio.

With its aluminium casework with black and silver finish, this is the best looking of all the pocket sized portable DAB radio units on the market.

That’s not the only thing that had the office impressed either. All DAB portable radio sets are power hungry compared to an FM set and its not long before the new owner of a DAB radio is shopping for rechargeable batteries. The Pure DAB 1500 has tackled this problem head on by including the fit and forget ChargePAKA®.

What this means is that the Pure Pocket 1500 gives plenty of portable listening time and then just plug it in to the mains to charge it up without the need to remove batteries, much the same as your mobile phone.

It also comes with high quality Sennheiser headphones to complete the package.

Of all the pocket sized DAB portable radio units, this is probably our favourite so far. The sound is excellent as is the reception and should you enter an area with poor DAB reception on your travels, the DAB 1500 can switch to FM. An option not available on some of the cheaper options.

Get a closer look at the Pure DAB 1500 in the short video top right of the page.

If you do decide to use rechargeable batteries you can expect not much more than 3 hours use between charges so you would probably be wise to invest in Ni-Mh cells rather than ordinary rechargeables and nothing under 2500 mAh.

The Sony XDRS50 Portable DAB Radio has decent sound quality but the volume is barely adequate if you like your music above ‘chat’ level.

It’s hard to call the Sony XDRS50 a true DAB portable radio because of the battery and volume issues. If you are out in the park on your own for a few hours, no problem. Take it to a BBQ with other guests who want you to crank up the volume for an hour or two and you might be struggling.

We found it easy to handle and use (although a left hander in the office did struggle slightly) and pleasing to look at. The big screen is nice and clear and handles full text or text scrolling.

Because of its size you are not going to get all the extras that come with a larger Pure One for instance, but what you get works well and of course what you lose in extras you gain in portability. The RD 14 Roberts portable DAB radio was designed to fit your top pocket and indeed it does.

What you do get is automatic time and date setting on both FM and DAB and automatic shut off at 30, 60 or 90 minutes for extended battery life.

It comes with an AC adapter which we found strange as anyone buying the RD 14 DAB radio is doing so because its size means you can take it with you anywhere. Its not the sort of radio you would be plugging into the mains.

Instead of the AC adapter, coming with a case would have been much more appropriate and more appreciated by the ’sports’ buyer.

Being a Roberts, the sound quality is excellent which is lucky as there are no options to allow you to tinker with the sound but again, you have to give up some options in exchange for the small size.

If you are after a portable DAB radio small enough to be called a personal radio then the Roberts RD 14 should fit the bill.

Also consider: Pure DAB 1500

The Pure One Dab FM portable radio black has a satin coat finish and is the most popular of the various Pure One’s available.

If you get the rechargeable pack (costs extra) you will get 40 hours use per charge. With standard disposable batteries you can expect 80 hours but with 6 C size required, it can get expensive.

Pure One DAB FM Portable Radio Black also includes sleep timers, backlit display and USB upgradeability. Nice addons we did not expect to find included on a DAB portable radio with a price tag of less than £50 is the ReVu feature which allows you to pause and rewind live radio and also the inputs for your ipod/MP3 player would also be expected on a more costly radio but probably not one with this price tag.

Sound quality, as you would expect from Pure is excellent. As the world leaders in DAB technology Pure radios come with a certain expectation of both sound and build quality and the Pure One DAB FM portable radio black doesn’t let the company down on either count.