Good idea, horrendous implementation
Written: Aug 05 '04 (Updated Aug 08 '04)
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Pros: Quick charge, decent battery life, very small and rugged player.
Cons: neckstrap control makes this useless, limited control option, relatively expensive.
The Bottom Line: Don't buy this player, the neckstrap control does not work and failes too easily. Try those from Creative Labs, MSI, or Samsung if you want ultraportable players.
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| yoyofella's Full Review: Philips GoGear KEY014 (256 MB) MP3 Player |
I've been a MP3 enthusiast since about 1997, when it first became popular. I've owned 3 previous MP3 players, 2 flash based (Samsung yepp and visual land), and 1 hard drive based (Ipod). I tend to use the flash based player for exercising, since they are more rugged and can tolerate the constant movement. I got this player because it has a larger storage space and I like the fact that you can charge this on any computer through the USB port. The built-in lith-ion battery is also a major bonus.
However, after using it for about 1 month, I encountered several design flaws that renders the player virtually useless for my purpose. Most of the flaws revolve around the neckstrap control, and some revolve around the player itself.
Here are my lists of complaints:
1. The player WILL NOT WORK unless you have the neckstrap. The neckstrap serves two purposes: it acts as the controller and pipes the sound to a mini connector at the top. You can't turn it on/off, no control of volume, and the connector on the mp3player is a specialized 3/32" connector instead of a standard 1/8". This prevents you from plugging a headphone directly to the player.
2. The neckstrap is very large, containing a huge button for play/pause/on/off, and another connector for the mini plug. In addition to (#1) it makes the player useless without the neckstrap. This completely defeats the purpose of purchasing a small player if the control is about 2x volume of the player.
3. MAJOR DESIGN FLAW: the neckstrap is NOT WATERPROOF. I took it out to do some jogging, and basically the sweat from my neck will soak through the nylon strap and cause some electrical shortage. This causes two malfunctions: a) the controls will start acting crazy as though they are constantly being pressed, meaning the volume could get very loud/soft and you constantly skip songs, b) the audio connection eventually degrades and you start hearing strange stuff coming out. Now, if you read through the manual very carefully, Philips does admit at the end of each language section that the neckstrap is not designed to be waterproof (which also means it's not sweat proof). What is the point of getting an expensive flash-based mp3p layer if you can't even sweat in it? I admit, it only failed when I went jogging for 2 hours on an 85-degree day, so if you are just going through some light walks it's probably fine.
4. Controls are lacking: you can skip songs forward/backward (to the next file), turn volume up/down, and play/pause. That is ALL. I have loaded songs into the player several times, and to date I still can't figure out how it arranges them. This is fine if you just listen to music, but I enjoy listening to audio books and NPR programming. The player completely screws up the order of the audio file, and the inability to fast-forward within a file makes it useless for listening to long programming. For example, I often listen to 1 hr long program. Sometimes in the middle of the program I would be interrupted and have to press pause. This causes the player to shut off after about 10 seconds of inactivity. When I finally restart the file, it would play from the beginning of the file, and there'd be no way for me to fast-forward to the part when I pressed pause.
5. The USB protector cap is very flimsy and fragile. I cracked it after about 1 week of pulling it out and popping it back in.
The good:
This player is not all bad, although the problems with the neckstrap and controls totally overshadows the good.
1. Recharges extremely quickly, I'd say in about 1 hour. The battery last for about 4-5 hr of continuous listening.
2. Relatively small and light.
3. Ease of use: no program required if you are using win2000 or winxp, just plug it in and it shows up as a disk drive.
4. Besides the USB cap, the magnesium shell makes the mp3 player seem very rugged. I think the material is the same as the exterior used by IBM ThinkPad.
All in all, I would not recommend this to anyone. The novelty of the neckstrap wears off when you realize that it doesn't really work all that well. If you only use it to play music in the office or during light workout, you might be able to get away with it. If you want to use it for audio books, listen to long programming, do any form of aerobic exercise that induce sweating, THIS IS NOT THE PLAYER FOR YOU.
The price you pay ($159 retail) and the limitations, you might as well get a hard-disk based mp3 player. You get a bigger drive, and you can't go exercising with either players.
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As a side note, I called the Philips customer rep and they sent me a replacement neckstrap, no questions asked (after 1 month because they messed up the order). There is also another version of the player (KEY015) that has an inline remote rather than the dumb neckstrap control. From the pictures I've seen, it looks like a plastic controller wire wiring protected by standard rubber exterior. I'm guessing that the inline remote will be workout-proof and probably will make the product a lot more attractive. I'll probably give that version 3.5 stars. It still may have only limited control options.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 139
Recommended for: Beginners - Easy Enough for Tech Newbies
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Epinions.com ID:
yoyofella
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Reviews written: 2
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