Phillips Go Gear 8gb Audio Video Player - Argos

Corholio

Dont know if its been posted here already but i purchased one of these today in Argos and it seems like a great deal to me.

Was: 189.99
Now: 79.99

Anybody else get one and what do they think of it?

quarryman

have you got a link? can't find it on the argos site.

tramoredude

They are TERRIBLE

You can get an 8gig Creative ZEN on the Ebay Creative store for 70 euro or so delivered

Korvanica

tramoredude wrote: »

They are TERRIBLE

Very Informative, You are so so helpful. Thanks!

TM

quarryman wrote: »

have you got a link? can't find it on the argos site.

Duplicate thread here?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055289951

Evil_Clown

This looks like a great deal
Why is the product so terrible ?
Is the screen res bad or the interface, I see it can play wmv's so with a converter could you watch movies on this ??
Does anyone own one that could give some opinions
Much appreciated

Quaderno

I have one now.
I ordered it last week (thanks Corholio for posting) and collected it wednesday. They were sold out at the store at both times.
Only downside I can see so far is that the player only plays movies in .wmv-format, which doesn't seem to be a problem because of the converter software that comes with it. You can convert almost anything to .wmv, but it can take quite some time to convert larger movies if you haven't the latest high spec pc...

Apart from that the thing is great, the screen is quite huge and overall it looks nice and is rather easy to control. It shows up in Windows Explorer as mass storage device with ~7.5GB free space, so you don't need to install the Windows Media Player 11 that comes with it. But if you do so it synchronizes automatically with a specified direcory each time you plug it to the computer. Though, I don't know whether other operating systems would recognize the player, maybe they work only with XP/Vista.

First charge of the integrated battery took 3.5 hrs via usb, but I will get a powered hub for it so I don't need to have the PC running all the time.
The integrated FM-Tuner also works great. Although you have to plug in the earphones to use it (they are needed as antenna) you can choose to switch on the integrated speakers. You shouldn't expect too much from such tiny speakers of cause, but they seem to be alright for their size.
Bottomline: I like it and would buy it again for that price.

Evil_Clown

Thats great ^^
I'm sold anyway for that price

Oracle

Yeah lets face it, it'd have to be a complete dud to not be a bargain at that price. The nearest equivalent I can see on Komplett is €85 plus delivery. At Pixmania it's the Galeo 8Gb MP3 Player with only a 1.8" screen at €65.50 plus delivery.

311

I couldn't find reviews for the exact model ,so I found one close.
There seems to be a couple of complaints about it.
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000PF9QD2/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Oracle

I found the model on Philips web site: http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/en/nz/consumer/cc/_productid_SA6185_02_NZ_CONSUMER/Flash-audio-video-player+SA6185-02

I notice most of the complaints are about the interface software. But the web site says the firmware can be updated, so I wonder if another interface could be put onto this, like an embedded Linux OS? It'd be fun to try.

Update: Bought one of these today, returning it tomorrow, I can confirm it is terrible. It's cumbersome to use, seriously DRM'ed and worst of all it's a Windows only device, doesn't even show up under Linux. Plus it only charges using USB, I think thats a disadvantage considering everything else. The DRM is so bad I couldn't every copy an original DVD I have onto the device, I got a message "copy protected." It's no wonder they're selling these at half price, this is a dud, avoid!

Quaderno

Oracle wrote: »

It's (...) seriously DRM'ed and worst of all it's a Windows only device, doesn't even show up under Linux. Plus it only charges using USB, I think thats a disadvantage considering everything else.

True. But didn't you know that before you bought the player?
The web site says:

argos wrote:

DRM compatible.
Rechargeable via USB port.
Minimum PC specification Windows XP/SP2 or Vista.

I doubt they'll take it back...
Mine works still fine, but I haven't bought any copyprotected CDs/DVDs for years and I will not in the future. So no problems with that...

311

Argos always take stuff back ,unless it's stated in the item description.

Oracle

OK I might have been a bit hasty with my post about this player. To be fair it does have a well-designed feel about it, it looks more like an Apple iPod Touch, than an ordinary MP3 player. It has a stylish shiny finish, a solid weighty feel and big 3.5" screen. The playlist and volume controls, lock function and reset are discreetly placed around the edges. If you're a Windows XP/Vista only user it'll probably suit you perfectly. This item is excluded from the Argos 30 Day Money Back Guarantee (the picture in the description is wrong) so it cannot be returned if you change your mind. I might hold on to it for a while and see how it goes. I guess I'll have to force myself to use Windows!

P.S. Anyone thinking about buying an MP4 player might want to check out those available at DealExtreme as well.

ixtlan

Oracle wrote: »

The DRM is so bad I couldn't every copy an original DVD I have onto the device, I got a message "copy protected."

Is that using the supplied software? Surely the DVD could be ripped in some other way, and then converted to wmv. To be fair to Phillips it was unlikely they would include ripping software to bypass copy protection.

Ix.

psicic

I just bought one of these a few days ago on the basis of these threads. I just want to add my voice to those that think this really is a very good bargain.

It's an excellent player for €80.

Externally, it looks great - black and grey - something close to a PSP accessory if you ask me. (That's actually a bit of a draw back - I'll be crushed if I carelessly damage such a pretty piece of tech through a careless commute! ). It's of a high build quality and just *feels* expensive!

Sound is crystal clear (although I haven't tried the stock earphones that came with it - I'm using one of those high class, delux 'Gadget Tech' set of earphones from the €2 shop!). Seems to render bass extremely well. From Classical to Movie to Rock to Pop the sound is very clear.

Radio reception is fantastic. I live in an area notorious for it's difficulty in receiving clear radio signals and this is great. I actually spent an hour listening to the radio last night for the first time in maybe 15 years. It's that clear.

The screen is fantastic. I've had a lot of portable video players since the first Archos Jukebox with its' tiny, postage-stamp sized screen to much more recent models. I've also had a few 'spurious' players from Hong Kong and the like. This screen is nice and sharp and clear. The conversion to WMV doesn't downgrade the video too much. Ix is spot on - I wouldn't expect the included software to rip a copy-protected DVD, but it does convert any avi file quite nicely...

The first major snag for me, though, is the conversion time. To convert a file can take ages. So far the best time I've gotten was 10 minutes for a 30 minute (180 MB) file. (However, I do have a lot of programs running together which may be skewing my results)

File transfer rate to the player is amazing - I just transferred 470MB of MP3 files (91 separate files) to it in under 3 minutes. Windows machines (XP and Vista) seem to automatically recognise the player when plugged in, so for my purposes, the device works fine as an 8GB portable solid state disk. As an added convenience, while plugged in the screen displays whether it is safe to remove it from the machine or not. It's a simple thing, but very handy.

The real drawback to the machine is that the formats the machine can take in video and music are limited - but it does handle the major stuff and provide conversion software for the rest. Recharge takes place through the USB cable - I've never been a fan of this, though with a powered hub or one of those 5v USB wall adapters this should be okay. Finally, you can't have the thing plugged into a computer and simultaneously use it - which is a pain.

I think a lot of the negative reviews on the web are from people who paid much more and expected not to have to convert video. If you buy the player having read the threads on boards, you will have a fair idea of what to expect and won't be disappointed.

Thanks OP (in both threads) for posting this alert!

Oracle

ixtlan wrote: »

Is that using the supplied software? Surely the DVD could be ripped in some other way, and then converted to wmv. To be fair to Phillips it was unlikely they would include ripping software to bypass copy protection.

That's true, as far as I know though, copying a genuine store bought DVD or CD you own to your personal portable device is not considered copyright infringement. So it's usually allowed even with devices and computers that have DRM installed.

I was trying to use the supplied Media Converter software to rip the DVD. But I think you can only rip a DVD to the player using Windows Media Player 9 or above. Then use the supplied Media Converter software to change the file type. It's probably because of the DRM protections within Vista. That's fine for people who use Windows Media Player already, I don't use it, and I don't want to have to use it just to rip a DVD. Also the whole thing sounds like too much work to me.

311

psicic wrote: »

Sound is crystal clear (although I haven't tried the stock earphones that came with it - I'm using one of those high class, delux 'Gadget Tech' set of earphones from the €2 shop!). Seems to render bass extremely well. From Classical to Movie to Rock to Pop the sound is very clear.

Radio reception is fantastic. I live in an area notorious for it's difficulty in receiving clear radio signals and this is great. I actually spent an hour listening to the radio last night for the first time in maybe 15 years. It's that clear.

Thanks for that info ,I need a decent radio myself. Do you wreckon condensation would build up ,when using it during sports ?

Evil_Clown

I also bought this on Friday
I think it is great value for money, as previously stated it is not the best or most compatible mp3/video player but it is the best at that price
Conversion s/w is slow but I just put about 10 movies converting this morning and all should be done when I get home from work so if you do it that way it should be ok
I'm unable to convert .rm southpark episodes not sure why though everything else was fine
The screen is amazing comparible with psp and watching movies on it is a joy the radio is excellent. If you buy a plug in mini usb charger it's prob worth it and I think some of the creative protective covers can be used on this if you want to keep that lovely screen scratch free, just search player on ebay
It's surprisingly light aswell for the size
Overall great value and I have no regrets

Oracle

Plug-in UK/Ireland USB Adapter $4.28 (€2.77) with free delivery from DealExtreme.