Electronics : Philips GoGear SA2840 4Gb MP3 Player

Rating: - You say good buy and I say hello
I have not yet bought this, but my hot-off the-press consumer magazine dated November 2008 decribes says that this offers exceptional value, rating it 73 out of 100. (Other models in the MP3 (not the more expensive MP4) category were rated lower at 57, 54, 51, 51, 49 and 47). It's described as lightweight, tough, and with a battery life of a little over 44 hours. The magazine says it's cheapest at Amazon. I also can't find it anywhere cheaper than Amazon, but the price is not as low as is stated in the magazine. Hope that helps - if this gets past the Amazon guidelines. But I HAVE paraphrased and used my own words!

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Rating: - Very Pleased
Great product, ideal size, easy to use and good battery life. Sound quality is good and for the price it's got a lot of memory. It pays to shop around as I managed to pick up one for £35 (only a fiver more than Amazon are asking for the 2GB version) I won't say where I got it as they will delete this review but to give you a clue it was from a high street chain named after a large rock flying through space. No real problems with use, can take a few seconds to load up the first time you turn it on after putting new files on it. As for the malfunctions others have mentioned (deleting files when down button is held down) this is simply the way you delete files. Avoid holding down the down button or put the key lock on and this problem is avoided. All in all a great little product for the price.

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Rating: - Small and perfectly formed
This is a great little mp3 player:

- appears as a drive in Windows, drag and drop your music, no need to install anything

- radio works well

- three line display puts the ipod shuffle to shame; it's quick to boot and you can find the music you want to listen to in a snap.

- the sound quality is excellent, far better than I was expecting (included headphones are, as exepected, rubbish).

It's pretty small, well built and comes with a neckstrap; I bought this for running with, no need to buy an extra arm band with this player.

The included firmware is now solid - previously it was sold with poor buggy software. A new version is available for download (v.5) though to be honest I found the update procedure to be difficult and haven't noticed any benefits with the update.

If you're after a small cheap mp3 player in the 'shuttle' class I'd highly recommend this. The only real downside I can think of is lack of iTunes support.

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Rating: - Brilliant!
Firstly, i will say that i updated the firmware to 4.something as soon as i got it (anyone can do it, google is your best friend), and so i know nothing of the pre installed firmware.

I have had this player for ~2 weeks now (bought it on offer for £30), and i can truly say it is a brilliant mp3 player.

Drag and drop - No software needed, so much better than Sonicstage, iTunes, etc. Can sync it with WMP11. Also quick transfer rates compared to other supposedly USB 2.0 players.

Size - When i received the package, i thought it was a dvd...the player is 2/3cm squared, ridiculously small. May not be ideal for those who like chunky/weighty mp3 players.

Buttons/Menu - I like the placement of the buttons around the side, and the inclusion of the screen as the main navigator (ie, up, down, left, right) is ingenious. Intuitive and easy, and all solidly built. The menu is uncluttered, clear, concise and responsive, all of which i feel are essential.

Battery life - I charged it when i received it, and i haven't charged it since! Been used for an hour or two every few days over 2 weeks...very happy. Charges through USB, which again is perfect for me.

On the whole, i really like this mp3 player, i did everything i could to avoid ipods (not a fan of having to use proprietary software) and this is ideal. I have had a few mp3 players before (cheap usb stick things, and a creative zen micro) and this out does them all. Highly recommended (if you update the firmware, that is).

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Rating: - Horrible rubbish do NOT be tempted
I got this delivered on the friday at 9am by 12pm i was on the phone to philips direct and suddenly whilst on the phone the thing came alive after sitting untouched for half an hour. I decided to try it over the weekend. Monday morning i try to charge, again not working!! On the phone to philips again plus emailing, they confirm the thing isn't working properly! It is rubbish takes about 2 mins to load up and is annoying to use as the screen doesn't flip with use. Absolute garbage i am never touching philips again! Oh and the phone system they have is crap too! Very bad product pay the extra for an ipod!