In the saturated market of micro-hard-drive digital audio players, Philips's newest addition will find a place in the top third, though not quite as high up as the Creative Zen Micro Photo. On the surface, the 6GB Philips GoGear Jukebox HDD1620 makes a fantastic impression, with a glossy-black casing, a vivid, 38mm (1.5-inch) 65k-colour screen, and a blue-backlit, touch-sensitive navigation pad. Looks aside, the GoGear HDD1620 packages nearly every desirable attribute at a very palatable price of around £160.
Design
At 54 by 86 by 16mm and 87g, the Philips GoGear HDD1620 is approximately the same size and weight as a deck of cards. But in spite of the GoGear's classy appearance and extensive features, it's clear how Philips kept costs low. The sleek-black casing attracts fingerprints like a picnic beckons ants, and the included protective case provides very little protection.
In addition, the firmware is noticeably flawed: the player momentarily freezes when powering up/down and transferring files. The touch-pad navigation system is hypersensitive during scrolling and not very intuitive. Finally, the player is compatible only with PCs due to a contractual agreement with the PlaysForSure conglomerate, making this device unsuitable for Apple users. However, such foibles notwithstanding, the HDD1620 provides an appealing combination of cost, quality and features.
Features
For just over £150, you get 6GB of storage, a voice recorder and compatibility with subscription-music services such as Napster To Go. Compare that to the £179 4GB iPod nano, which has none of these features.
The HDD1620 also allows photo viewing in thumbnail (in a 3-by-3 grid), full screen, and slide-show modes. Album art is supported as well. Unfortunately, the HDD1620 does not act as a USB host, so you cannot directly off-load photos from a digital camera.
Performance
In our tests, the Philips GoGear HDD1620 offered excellent sound quality, even when using the included earbuds. We still recommend swapping these for a better pair, however, as they barely block outside noise. The player's battery life also proved impressive in our tests -- we squeezed out just more than the rated 18 hours per charge.
Edited by Jasmine France
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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Gemma Hadfield 18 January 2007
Good: The glossy black casing, display quality, sound quality and durability
Bad: Difficult to access voice folder via Windows Media Player
Comment: The Philips GoGear was the third MP3 player I purchased in a year (I had bad luck with the other 2) and in my opinion is one of the best MP3 players on the market. Okay, it can't and never will be able to stand up to the might that is Apple's iPod... but we all know that.
However, if your wallet can't take the sting of the iPod, then the GoGear is definately the substitute you should get.
I have the 6GB version and after just over a year of owning it, have still failed to fill it! The added novelty of being able to view pictures is also a bonus, and the lovely LCD display, despite its size it's wonderful and crisp.
The menus are very pretty and being able to add album art gives the whole product a more executive edge.
It sits well in the hand and the touch-sensitive scroll bar and buttons are a very sexy addition. Some reviews say that these are too sensitive... however I've found them to be very functional and haven't encountered any problems with them.
The whole package is nice and streamlined, and yeah, okay the casing is a little prone to smudging and small scratches, but so is the iPod, and do you see that decreasing sales or overall performance?
Like I said previously, I've owned my GoGear for almost 14 months and I've battered it to within an inch of its life; it's been dropped on marble floors, on concrete, on brick walls, on a muddy field and even into my bath (don't ask). It's been thrown about in my coat pocket with keys, nail files and all manner of dusty crud... and still it looks beautiful.
Yes, it has got scratches on its back and a pretty nasty scuff on the top left corner, but these are still barely visible and don't affect the quality of sound and visual content on the player.
One previous reviewer warned that her display leaked its colours after a couple of days and is now virtually unusable. Well all I can say to that is you must have rolled it under a HGV for it to do that! My poor GoGear couldn't have gone through more intense use... with the exception of if I put it into a blender.
I'm being honest, I'm not delicate with this thing... and as of yet it hasn't given me any grief... totally seamless playback... perfect LCD performance etc etc.
Now, after all that glittering advertising for the GoGear, I think I should mention the ONE drawback that I've come across, and I must say it isn't anything major.
On occassion my player freezes up and I have to reset it by holding the power button and the + vol button... but that isn't anything I couldn't bear and it only happens very rarely.
So there's my humble of opinion of the Philips GoGear 6GB player: a great second to the iPod that's a little lighter on the purse strings and a very attractive addition to any music lover's pocket.
Lawrence Wright 26 December 2006
Good: The controls are mega easy to use, bright screen, recording Feature
Bad: Nothing
Comment: Amazing, Can't get much better than this! Ultra bright screen, easy to use controls, skins are really cool, earphones surprisingly decent - sometimes hard to put in but never fall out. Quick song download, even better if you use WMP11.
Overall, the best present I've ever had.
A B 19 November 2006
Good: Sound quality, easy to use, good looks, no quirky software that keeps failing
Bad: Shiny surface does get smudged but who cares!
Comment: After using a Sony and an iPod Nano, it's nice to have something that is so straightforward and reliable to use. My Nano keeps breaking down (and if you look at the review sites, so do many others) and Sony software is only compatible with... Sony. It's so nice to have something that is very versatile and gives great performance for such a good price - I paid just £109 for mine (Comet - UK) which is £20 cheaper than the Nano and 2GB more memory. I can still download tunes from iTunes and transfer to the Philips so it is better all round. For price, performance and ease of use, it's better than anything else I've looked at or tried.
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