Philips GoGear 8 GB Vibe MP3 Video Player with 1.5-Inch Color Screen Review

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(More customer reviews)Called Philips twice and confirmed the rechargeable battery can not be replaced. When the battery fails the unit should be recycled. Philips customer service said perhaps the battery will last several years, but also admitted some fail within the first year, and there is only a 90 day warranty. Here's the statement on the Philips website that mislead me into believing the battery could be replaced, "Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings." According to Philips customer service the batteries can be replaced by recycling the battery, and then purchasing another GoGear Vibe.

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Philips GoGear ViBE Portable AV Player (8GB) packs big entertainment in a superbly small design. Its 1.5" full color display shows off album art and folder view ensures easy file navigation and organization.

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Philips HDD1630 6 GB MP3 Player Review

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(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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Philips SA61 8 GB Flash Video MP3 Player with FM Radio and 3.5-Inch Color Screen (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)Great device and easy to use. Mine came charged with a tutorial loaded in the video file. The guy on the video walks you through all the functions of this player. It comes with a program to convert videos, a program to link your device with music through Rhapsody. The sound is great and the videos look great, and of course, you can't beat the price!

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Listen to music, watch your favorite videos, record messages or ideas--this 8 GB Philips Flash video and audio MP3 does what you need, and its ample, full-color screen ensures you enjoy every minute of it.
Find it Fast With 8 GB of memory, you can load hundreds of music and video files. Find what you're looking for in a flash using Philips' SuperScroll feature. Move through your playlist one song or video at a time, or press and hold to move swiftly through your catalog to the song you want next.
Hear it All Philips\' innovative FullSound technology restores sonic details to compressed music, so you hear it exactly as the artist intended, without any distortion. The included high-definition headphones enhance the experience even more, providing exceptional noise isolation and amazing comfort.
What's in the Box Philips 8 GB Flash Video MP3 Player with FM Radio, and 3.5-inch Color Screen; CD-ROM with IFU, device manager, media converter and Windows Media Player; high-definition headphones; quick-start guide; USB cable; storage pouch

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Philips GoGear Muse 16 GB MP3 Video Player with Month of Rhapsody Music and Free Audible Audiobook (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Muse has a very bright, detailed screen and a terrific sound. The active noise cancellation, when it decides to kick in, is very nice. However, after a year of use there are two areas of annoyance of which you should be aware prior to purchase.
Firmware issues:
Although the Muse will organize audio clips/tracks from a CD by track number if the file is an .MP3 file, it will default to listing tracks alphabetically by track title if the files are in .WMA format. And that is the track title in the IP3 header, not the file's name. It makes no difference as to what track number is stored in the audio file's ID3 header in a .WMA album - the tracks will always be sorted alphabetically. The simplest way around this it to create a playlist for the album with the tracks in the correct order and use the playlist instead of the album play process. Or edit the track title in the ID3 information and preface each track with the track number.
Also, it sounds as if the firmware turns off/suppresses the audio amplifier between tracks and doesn't enable it again until after the next track begins to play. The result is that you'll miss the first few notes of any track where the music begins immediately. Short of editing every MP3 to add ¼-second of silence before any audio, there is no work around.
The above was discussed with Philips tech support, and using a playlist with WMA's was their only suggestion. Philips has yet to release firmware that addresses either problem, and given the age of this product, it is unlikely they ever will. Presumably, this problem afflicts the entire GoGear Muse line of products.
Finally, the Muse's ability to record directly from the FM radio has been disabled - but only for US customers. According to Philip's tech support, for copyright reasons. (A friend's SanDisk Sansa Fuze will record FM directly, so go figure.) If purchased abroad, recording from FM is enabled on the Muse. You can record using the built-in monaural microphone.
Video/audio Conversion Software (ArcSoft) Issue:
The bundled audio/video download and conversion software has locked default settings into a profile file for the Muse which cannot be edited or overridden. (If this bothers you enough you'll have to purchase the retail version, find a different converter or go without.) In many cases you can just load the video files directly into the Muse using Windows explorer, avoiding the conversion process -- as long as they're recorded at 30 frames per second and the file is in a format that the Muse plays naturally.
The default conversion settings that irked me are:
Screen size. The Muse's screen is 400x240 pixels, very nice for HD and widescreen video material. However, if the video is in a smaller aspect ratio, such as old television and film clips, the conversion software will stretch the video to fill the Muse's screen as much as possible. This distorts the original video and looks bad. There is an option in the conversion software that says "Stretch" and is check-marked. But it cannot be un-check-marked.
File size. When converting video the software tries to convert the source material into the best audio and video quality possible -- even if the source video clip is of poor quality. The result for me, in several cases, was that the resulting video file to be played on the Muse is 2 to 3 times larger than the original file. When you're dealing with mega-megabyte files, this impacts how much video you can store on the player.
File Extension. After ArcSoft conversion, the video file will have a different extension -- i.e.: StarshipGroove.PVI -- which means it is only playable on the Muse and not your computer. However, it turns out that it is still an AVI file, so you just need to rename it -- i.e.: StarshipGroove.AVI -- to play the converted file on your computer. This is just an annoyance and not a problem, per se.
*****
For the most part, I'm happy with the Muse - but, just to have the video capability and the active noise cancellation ear buds. (I just wish that Philips would revise the firmware.) If you just want an audio player, however, this unit is probably not for you.


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Philips GoGear Muse Portable AV Player features FullSound technology and noise cancelation headphones for exceptional sound and inspired music enjoyment on the go. Plus, viewing videos is a joy on its 3-inch Wide-QVGA color display.


Great Sound on the Go
Built-in active noise cancelation for undisturbed enjoyment With Noise Canceling technology, you can listen to music on the go without being affected by ambient noise. Earphone microphones detect ambient noise where it impacts you most and then a digital signal processor creates the necessary equal but opposite waveform to effectively cancel out the unwanted noise, thus bringing you closer to silence. The earphones' special design also provides exceptional sound isolation and a choice of three interchangeable ear caps to ensure a perfect fit.
FM radio with RDS and 20 presets for more music options RDS (Radio Data System) is a communications protocol standard that allows digital information to be transmitted over FM radio broadcasts. RDS-enabled FM radio receivers can display this useful information that includes station identity, program details and song title and artist, etc. At anytime, you can store a desired station as a preset channel on your GoGear player. With 20 preset radio stations that can be stored, you can quickly access your favorite radio station without having to manually tune the frequencies each time.
High-definition headphones for precise sound Designed according to the curvature of the human canals, these ergonomically designed headphones with exceptional noise isolation feature precisely direct soundwaves from the speaker to your ear drums with highest definition.
FullSound to bring CD listening experience to MP3 Philips' innovative FullSound technology faithfully restores sonic details to compressed MP3 music, dramatically enriching and enhancing it, so you can experience CD music without any distortion. Based on an audio post-processing algorithm, FullSound combines Philips' renowned expertise in music reproduction with the power of the latest generation Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The result is fuller bass with more depth and impact, boosted voice and instrument clarity, and rich detail. Rediscover your compressed MP3 music in true-to-life sound that will touch your soul and move your feet.

Your Media Anywhere
Up to 25-hour music or 5-hour video playback Forget about the hassle of having to recharge your GoGear player battery constantly. This longlasting player allows you to savor your favorite tunes for up to a whopping 25 hours of continuous music playback or up to 5 hours of video playback--all on a single charge. Now you can sit back and listen to music all day long or watch the equivalent of 2 movies back-to-back wherever you go.
Audible.com features digital audiobooks and more Audible.com is your destination for the widest selection of digital audiobooks, magazines, radio shows, stand-up comedy, and more available for download. Enjoy books in the car, at the gym, or around the house. Authors and icons read their own works, and famous actors narrate your favorite titles. At Audible.com you can browse and sample over 60,000 selections, including the latest best sellers and timeless classics.
Create playlists or delete songs directly on the device The Playlist on the go function lets you easily create playlists on your GoGear anytime, while on the move. Likewise, the Delete function simply lets you remove any media that you don't want on your player. No need to rely on your home PC to create playlists and delete files. Now you can conveniently manage your music library directly on your GoGear--anytime, anywhere.
Playback DRM-free music from your iTunes library Now you can playback music from your iTunes library--without any conversion--on your GoGear player. GoGear supports the AAC codec used by iTunes library to rip and store music. Simply drag and drop your iTunes music to your GoGear via Window Explorer. Please note that your player does not support music purchased from the iTunes store.

Easy and Intuitive
Folder view to organize and view media files like on your PC Folder view is an optional directory view of the GoGear player that lets you view all the files on your player as if it were a computer. Once you select Folder view, opening any supported file (i.e. music, pictures or videos) is as easy as selecting the file and hitting Play.
Easy video downloads from the Internet to your GoGear View videos on the go with Internet Video Download, an easy-to-use feature that lets you download videos from video sharing sites (YouTube, MySpace or Google Video) to your GoGear. Install the PC application provided, connect your GoGear to your PC and use Internet Explorer to visit your favorite video sharing site. Choose a video and click the Download button that appears when you hover the mouse cursor over the video. No need to wait, just move on to other videos and start downloading more.
SuperScroll to find what you want in a fast, simple way Double action search keys allow easy speed control when scrolling through large libraries. You can choose to move through your playlist one song or video at a time or just press and hold down a little harder to SuperScroll swiftly to your desired file.
What's in the Box Philips GoGear 16 GB MP3 video player (Black), CD-ROM, USB cable, Noise cancelation headphone

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Philips GoGear 4 GB Vibe MP3 Video Player with 1.5-Inch Color Screen Review

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(More customer reviews)With a large outdoor project looming on the horizon I decided to purchase an MP3 Player to listen to my tunes as I work. After a lengthy review process both locally and online I finally decided to purchase the GoGear Vibe 4Gig player.
Overall I am very happy with my purchase. It plays my music very well. I even hooked it up to my full over ear headphones and some external speakers and it did quite well. I really enjoyed the equalizer feature as this did an excellent job of improving the music that I like to listen to. There are multiple presets based on Music Genres plus there is a custom setting as well. I advise you to try all the presets as I found the Rap setting improved my tunes the most, though that isn't the music I listen to. The controls are well laid out though the front panel toggle can be a bit twitchy causing mistaken key presses.
The device synch's very easily with your PC and I use the standard windows explorer to edit the files that are on it. The Rapsody player it is bundled with is a bit annoying. Take care when you have the Windows media player synch with the device for the first time. The darn thing went across my entire hard drive and synched every single WMA it could find! My only complaint with that is that it isn't perfect. It took compilations and created folders for each and every artist who was involved making it almost impossible to listen to the work together. Plus I have some older works that I have collected from several different sources that it insisted on making up lots of folders that would contain only 1 song in it. Then it would simply confuse some tracks and place them in the wrong folders. The best way I have found around this is to edit all those songs back into 1 folder to play those selections from the folder option and not the artist option. So far it has randomized my tracks well and I haven't been able to detect a pattern. I would like to try track editing software to attempt a more professional solution but I haven't tried this yet.
I'm afraid I can't evaluate the player for anything other than an MP3/WMA player as that is all I have been using it for although the album art does show up rather well on the very tiny screen (The screen is about the size of those keychain photo viewers.) I did use the FM also and it works well. The device has no expansion slots so you should make sure your music can fit in the 3.6 Gigs of formatted space. I don't have a massive collection of music so 4 Gigs was enough to carry my current collection and still leave a good amount of space for more music or some snapshots. I use the Phillips athletic armband carrier (Not included but I recommend it)to lug it around as it has no belt clip, but the carrier does a great job of protecting the device and gives you easy access to all of its features.
It plays for a very long time on a charge. I have let it run for better than 8 hours and it was still going. I don't yet know how long it will play before it needs a charge. It recharges very easily from a PC USB port fully in about 3 hours. It does have an extremely short recharge cable that only measures 4.75" long from tip to tip, but I have found any standard large port to small port USB cable (Like those of camera stick readers) allows it to recharge. The headphones that it comes with do an okay job of playing but they bothered my ears after a few hours so I bought some JVC in the ear buds for it that I like much better.
A Word of Warning! Only use the reset button in absolute emergencies. I used it casually to try to get it to the set time function and completely locked the player down! It would refuse to do anything after that. I thought I was going to have to take it back to the store, but I was able to get the Philips GoGear VIBE Device Manager to finally see it (Hold the + portion of the volume control down until it sees it) and it was able to update the firmware and restore the device to working order. This was great except it completely erased the Player! I had to restore my entire collection to the device again.
Other than that 1 hiccup (caused by me) the device has performed flawlessly ever since and I am really enjoying it. It has an excellent array of features compared with devices that cost twice as much.


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Philips GoGear ViBE Portable AV Player (4GB) packs big entertainment in a superbly small design. Its 1.5" full color display shows off album art and folder view ensures easy file navigation and organization.

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