12/12/2011

Philips HDD1630 6 GB MP3 Player Review

Philips HDD1630 6 GB MP3 Player
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I have been using this little mp3 player now for a while and I feel I can give it an accurate assessment. I'm going to compare it with the ever popular Ipod Nano just in case you find yourself like I did, stuck between two heavyweight champs.
-Appearance: I found myself taken right away with the gogear. It's about the same height of the nano but definitely thicker. The entire player is a reflective midnight black with silver plating on the sides. It fits nicely in the hand and looks stunning. It shows fingerprints, but those wipe away easily. It doesn't seem to scratch too easily, unlike its opponent which scratches at the lightest of touches. I knew someone that kept his nano in a cloth case and it still found a way to show scratches. Albeit, the Ipod nano is incredibly small and aesthetically pleasing, but the darn thing just can't take its punches. The screen is prone to cracking and I've never seen an Ipod nano that didn't have a million battle scars on it. Which one you like better is a personal choice, but in my books, this round goes to the GoGear if only because it doesn't scratch so easily.
-Functionality, Playback and Features: Let me start by saying duh! Who would buy an mp3 player that only has a capacity of 2gb when they could get a different one at the same price that has 6gb of storage. I call this a nobrainer but whatever floats your boat. You could shell out an extra 50 to get the superior nano, but it still falls short of the GoGear by 2gb. The GoGear is extremely straightforward in its design. My computer had no trouble detecting it. I quickly and easily synched my music library to the GoGear using Windows Media Player. The main menu has 5 options to chose from: music, radio, pictures, recordings and settings. Everything is pretty easy to find. The touch navigation is pretty good. I sometimes have a problem with it going two clicks instead of one, but that's a small annoyance. The playback on this player is good. It has a couple of different equalizer settings to chose from. Hip Hop is my personal favorite. It has dedicated volume, power and menu buttons on the side. I do wish there was a button that took you directly back to the main menu. As it is designed, you kinda have to backtrack through to find the main menu. Again, this isn't really a big deal. One thing I really do like about this player is the fact that it has an Am/Fm tuner. The nano lacks this in its feature set, and it is sorely missed. The navigation on the GoGear is pretty comparable to the nano, though I feel the GoGear is a little more easy to navigate in. Again this is a personal choice, but I feel the GoGear won this round as well. My main complaint with the nano is that it doesn't have a radio tuner. Who dropped the ball on that one?
-Battery Life: I haven't had enough experience with the Nano to really declare one better than the other, but I'll tell you what I know. The battery on the Philips seems to last a while. I would call its 17 hour rating a pretty accurate statement, give or take a little bit. I do know that the Nano is infamous for its suspectable battery life. Most users complain that it just doesn't have the endurance to make it through the day. I'm going to call this round a draw because of the simple fact that I just don't have enough experience with the Nano. Though from other reviews, I would say the GoGear has again bested the Nano.
-What I didn't like about the GoGear: My main complaints about the GoGear were about the accessories. The rubber case that comes with it is more like a rubber sleeve that outlines the edges. It does nothing to protect the front of the player, but I guess Philips didn't have to supply a case at all. I also couldn't stand the headphones supplied with it. They just wouldn't fit comfortably in my ear. Again though, Philips didn't have to supply earphones at all, so I guess I shouldn't complain. These are minor complaints and they don't impact my music experience with the GoGear.
-The Verdict: In the end, the GoGear is the clear winner. It looks good, it works and plays well, and it has 6gb of storage 6gb as opposed to 2gb the equally priced nano gives you. This amounts to about a 1000 more songs, more or less. There are only two reason why anyone would chose the nano over the GoGear: 1) they are ill-informed consumers that just wanted to buy the popular mp3 player instead of researching the issue or 2) they just really couldn't get over the size of the nano. The Nano may win on the coolness factor by a slight margin, but it just can't compete with the features of the GoGear. Do yourself a favor, and put your money on the ultra sleek GoGear.


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Philips MP3, 6 GB Hard Disc Drive, Like Music to easily play 20 songs from same genre, Music Messenger to allow sharing of favorite songs with friends, Color LCD Screen, Microsoft Plays For Sure, FM Tuner, Picture viewing, Senory Touch pad control, Cradle connector/charger, Windows Media Player

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