I've had the 4gb silver version for a couple of months now. Primarily used at the gym and during some outdoor sports (e.g. biking, snowboarding). Overall I have to say this is good small MP3 player, it has few shortcomings but it still does its job pretty well.
PROS:
1) Size and portability: If your used to the old shuffle, this one compares in size. The clip comes in very handy in the gym, especially when your gym clothes don't have pockets.
2) Construction: This Philips GoGear is solid! The outer shell is a brushed metal and hasn't shown any finger prints or scratches yet. The inner plastic components (under the metal) are plastic but seem pretty durable. I have no fears about dropping this little MP3 player. One more thing, while the MP3 player is solidly built it is very light, the few times it has fallen off my clothes it just hangs off the headphone cord.
3) This is a good looking little MP3 player with the brushed metal finish and curved design. Definitely gives the new shuffle a run for its money.
4) Compatibility: Is recognized right away by windows media player and syncs flawlessly.
5) Price: For less than a new 2gb shuffle you get double the memory. A very good deal.
6) Radio: Having radio functionality on a workout MP3 player is a must if you're into biking and running and want to catch up local news or listen to local radio.
CONS:
1) Sound quality: First I have to say that this MP3 player does sound good, but there are some aspects of the sound that drag it down. While the philips does sound good, it is not the best. I have another 2gb sony that I use for gym at times and there is definitely a drop in sound quality compared to the sony. For me it predominantly has to do with the bass and richness of the music, it seems like the philips is trying to produce too much of it. So what I get alot of times is the sound of static and too much bass for that can't be handled by the headphones, I've tried this with various types of headphones from philips to bose headphones and I get the same thing. Now I'm not sure if this has to do with the file format I have my music in, I have all my music as WAV files for better quality.
2) Music playback: At times the music just cuts out for about half a second and then plays again. This doesn't happen with every song, but it does happen most of the time when I'm at the gym.
3) Software compatibility: There is a manager software that is meant for updating the firmware on the player. Tried using a couple of times to see if it would take care of the sound quality and music playback issues. The software does not seem to be compatible with windows 7. Got it to work on a computer running windows XP.
4) Button sizes: With the exception of the power button. The other buttons are pretty small. For individuals with big hands I can see how this may be an issue.
To be fair to this product I would give a 3 1/2 out of 5 (could only chose 3 stars on menu). If Philips fixes the sound quality and playback issue on this player, that would bring it to a five out of five.
Get more detail about Philips GoGear 4 GB MP3 player.
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