Philips 1GB Flash Audio Player- MP3/WMA/FM TunerBrand: Philips
Binding: Electronics
Features: - Includes - AY4242 Armband, CD-ROM, SHE2550BI/00 Headphones, AY4215 Neck strap, Quick start guide, AY3914 USB cable & User Guide on CD-ROM
- Direct USB for easy file transfers without cables
- Fast downloads from your PC via USB 2.0
- Enjoy up to 12-hour music playback
- Large 2-color OLED display
Great Player, Great Price, but limited to 380 songs [Posted on 2007-05-12]
I got this player 1 week ago, and I can say I am very pleased about it.
It has great display (although difficult to see during daytime), and the sound is excellent -- the bass is especially satisfying.
The FM radio has nothing to complain about. I live in a suburb about 30-mile from downtown Seattle. The reception is very good, comparable to that of the radio in my Toyota Camry, which has a much bigger antenna.
The USB interface is really good. I didn't install the software that comes with it. I simply plugged it into a USB slot on my laptop and did transfer with Windows Explorer. Much faster, and less hassles.
The only issue I had was that it has a hard-limit of 380 on the number of MP3/WMA files it can *recognize*. Even though you can put more than 380 small MP3 files in it, the display only shows / recognizes 380 files. I had several audiobooks with small (about 2MB each) MP3 files, and put 450+ files on to the device, it only shows 380 of those files.
The firmware is upgradeable; you can download the Firmware Upgrade program from Philips website. I had the latest version of the firmware, but the limitation is still there.
I would've given a 5-star if this limitation was not there.
A Decent little mp3 player [Posted on 2007-09-30]
The Phillips 1GB Flash Audio Player is a decent little mp3 player. It has excellent sound, is easy to operate, and has a fair capacity. I would rate it higher if the output volume was higher. In an environment that has a low ambient sound level, it's volume would be perfect. Not so if you work in a noisy area as I frequently do. One other less-than-perfect thing about this player is the built in battery. As rechargeable batteries have a finite lifetime, it is too likely that the mp3 battery would give out long before the player is ready for the scrap heap. In defense of the battery, I will have to say that the player will operate for fairly long periods without recharging. If you can live with the idea of a built in battery and you don't need high sound volume, this is a decent mp3 player.
neither user-friendly nor reliable [Posted on 2007-10-15]
Overall, this player is a good value for 42 bucks. On the bright side, the sound quality is ok, it can be directly plugged into a USB port and doesn't need software, and the price is good. However, it has some very annoyng idiosycrasies, and I wouldn't recommend bying it.
1) The navigation of the media library is somewhat a hassle. For instance, when if you organize media folders into the artist-album hierarchy, it wouldn't be possible to play all tracks for the same artist, or start, with one album of an artist and then automatically move to another album of the same artist when the previous album is done.
2) Fast forward doesn't let you jump from one folder to the next folder. Contrary to what is written in the manual, holding the FF button when the playback is stopped, lets you sequentially jump from track to track in the ENTIRE media library (or within the folder, if you selected to play from a specific folder), but not to the next folder. Hence you cannot switch albums with a single push of the button: you have to go to the menue, select a folder play, search for the folder you wanna play, and only then.... Pain in the butt.
3) The battery is charged through the USB port. If you don't have a compter around, you'll need a separate USB charger not included into the package.
4) The claim that the fully charged battery gives 12 hours of playback is slightly exaggerated: It's more like 6 to 8 hours (which is not that bad, actually) when the battery is fully drained and then fully charged.
5) The earphones included are cheap and won't give you rich bass. You'll have to invest in a pair of good earbuds or over-the-ear phones (if you don't aready have them) to get good sound quality.
6) I don't know why the other reviewer found the radio reception better than in his car -- he either has a very old stereo, or may check if his car antenna is connected to the stero at all. With me it was quite the opposite. Overall, the receiption is stable only for a few "strong" stations; everything that broadcasts from ~15 miles or more is overwhelmed with static.
7) Finally, the player sometimes freezes (that is, stops responding to the buttons) with no apparent reason. (It may just be a pecularity of my paticular player, and no, I'm not an idiot and didn't accidentally locked it with the hold switch.) When it freezes, it's not possible to power it down and restart. One time I managed to revive it by plugging into the USB port, another time (when there wasn't a computer or a USB charger around) I couldn't do anything (din't even had a needle or a pin to engage the reset button), but in an hour or so it suddently started responding. I don't know what the reason for this glitch is.
If there were not points 1) 2) and 7), I would given it 3 or even 4 stars (given the price), but now only two stars, sorry. There are lots of more reliable mp3 players out there priced about $50. In my opinion, the inconviniences listed above do not worth the savings of ~$8-10.
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