Philips Songbird: one simple program to discover, play, syncOne simple, easy-to-use program that comes with your GoGear player, Philips Songbird lets you discover and play all your media, and sync it seamlessly with your Philips GoGear. Its intuitive and powerful music management features let you discover new artists and music styles directly in the program through music and media stores, services and websites. Play your own library and media from the internet and seamlessly sync all of it from your PC to your Philips GoGear.
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Your music and video clips on the move. Philips GoGear ViBE Portable AV Player packs big entertainment in a superbly small design. Its 1.5” full color display shows off album art and folder view ensures easy file navigation and organization. Enjoy unrivalled sound on the Philips GoGear Opus Portable AV Player featuring FullSound™. Prepare to be entertained on the go - record online videos directly to your player and then view them on the cool 7.1 cm (2.8') QVGA color screen.
Fullsound™ to bring your MP3 music to lifePhilips' innovative FullSound technology faithfully restores sonic details to compressed MP3 music, dramatically enriching and enhancing it, so you can experience CD music without any distortion. Based on an audio post-processing algorithm, FullSound combines Philips' renowned expertise in music reproduction with the power of the latest generation Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The result is fuller bass with more depth and impact, boosted voice and instrument clarity, and rich detail. Rediscover your compressed MP3 music in true-to-life sound that will touch your soul and move your feet. FM radio with RDS and 20 presets for more music optionsRDS (Radio Data System) is a communications protocol standard that allows digital information to be transmitted over FM radio broadcasts. RDS-enabled FM radio receivers can display this useful information that includes station identity, program details and song title and artist, etc. At anytime, you can store a desired station as a preset channel on your GoGear player.
With 20 preset radio stations that can be stored, you can quickly access your favorite radio station without having to manually tune the frequencies each time. Easy and intuitive user interface with album art displayGoGear’s easy and intuitive user interface is powered by an advanced navigation technology. It not only helps to ensure quick and smooth navigation but also an enjoyable multimedia experience that doesn’t take long to master.
Smart features like Album Art – which displays album artwork embedded in music files – enables you to have a richer experience, just like in the good old days when you would view the cover of a CD or LP while enjoying your music. Voice recording to take notes or record anything, anytimeVoice recording converts your GoGear player into a handy dictation machine. Besides playing music or listening to radio, you can also record notes or reminders for work or school, record shopping lists and phone numbers – even song lyrics. By pressing the recording button and speaking into the built-in microphone, voice messages are compressed and stored in the built-in internal memory. Voice recording gives you a highly portable voice recorder allowing you to record anything, anytime and anywhere!
OK - its 8gb, I can use BBC iPlayer - what can I moan at?Well let's start with the pluses and there's plenty;As I said.8GB memory, iPlayer friendly but it also has;Good picture qualityGreat (Full)SoundGood array of music optionsEasy controlsNeat little pouchGood battery life (usually around 20hrs on shuffle)Transfer of music is easySmart stylingVery tactile (to me.perhaps I'm odd!)This is 5 star stuff, surelyBut then.WHY OH WHY OH WHY does it freeze so often?I should not have to (but I do) carry a cocktail stick in the case to reset it!! We have put man on the moon, we have the internet, wireless technology, rear heated windscreens and Stuart Baggs, but I have to carry a cocktail stick. No cherry.just the stick!Okay, it HAS been better of late BUT that's the rub.
Just when I think it's got over its PMT (Philips Mystery Trait) it'll go on me again, I know it. Historically in times BC (Before Cocktailstick) I'd get so frustrated, because I don't like not having my music and when it's working, it's a cracker. Lose a star!Is that all.no! I want to see my album covers when I transfer my music - where are they? I just use a jpg file on my phone. Noone on a forum can help, unless I apparently undertake some solution akin to uploading an Mp3 onto the Large Hadron Collider. I want to see Armin van Buren or Phil Lynott or RPWL when I listen to them - not a big mauve double crotchety thing.
The only track images I can see are the ones Philips thoughtfully uploaded for me before I got the device. I don't even want the tracks, let alone the picture! Lose another star!Come on Philips - help!!!
Received this today and here is my review of the product.The first thing I noticed was that when I installed the software and connected up the player, there was a firmware update available for it, which adds a considerable number of features (the unit was supplied with Firmware 1.09, it's now on 2.0). It also told me that installing the firmware would wipe the device, so I would have to copy my music over again, so firstly a word of advice, if you get one, DO THIS BEFORE YOU COPY YOUR MUSIC!!!Onto the review. The device supports a VERY impressive number of file formats, something that should put all other manufacturers to shame, including several lossless formats like FLAC and APE and emerging compressed formats like OGG/Vorbis. I have one gripe and one gripe only with the Opus - who on earth decided to make the Play/Pause button and the On/Off button the same thing?!
It's very easy to accidentally turn the Opus off if you hold the Play/Pause button down a second too long, which is quite irritating.The Opus is lightweight and thin enough to slip into a pocket without you being able to feel it. The device can play music and videos and can display images.
It also comes with a built-in radio.Installation is very simple - you just plug it in to your PC's USB port using the cable provided then drag-and-drop files to the appropriate folders on the device, which shows up on your PC as though it is a USB hard drive. You don't need to install any specialist software to use the device, though you can install a Device Manager that takes care of firmware updates if you like, along with a piece of software that allows you to convert video files to ensure they are in an Opus-friendly format.The headphones provided are unusually high-end for a digital media device - normally you get given really shoddy ones - so I was pleased about that. The device is pretty easy to use, though the controls take a bit of getting used to.
The sound quality with the headphones provided is excellent and it was hard to tell the difference when I tried a pair of my high-quality headphones on it.The quality of the display is fantastic - videos appear crisp and sharp and play smoothly without any choppyness. One of the many nice features about the Opus is that you can download TV shows from the BBC iPlayer website in portable player format and then copy them to the Opus to watch them when you're on the move. This would be excellent for catching up on soaps during the morning commute, for example. With 8GB memory, you could easily fit on quite a few TV shows to keep you (or your kids) entertained on a long journey.The FM radio feature is as good as that on any other portable device. There's not much else I can say about that because it is obviously entirely dependent upon the signal quality wherever you are at the time, but with a strong signal, the sound quality is good.All in all, the Opus is a good quality player, perhaps something I'd be interested in more for the video playback than as an MP3 player.
The BBC iPlayer compatability is a massive bonus and being able to carry last night's TV that I'd missed on the bus to work will be a boon.but not quite.First off you must consider that this device is a lot cheaper than the Apple Ipod, and you do get what you pay for but a lot of people the price point of Apple's music player is a put off. The iPods do come with a lot more memory so for those of you with huge libraries of music and videos the iPod may be a better buy.As far as sound quality goes I would say the Philips GoGear beats my iPod hands down. The headphones are great and the audio options really impressed me. Philips have rightly made sound quality their biggest concern and it reallys pays off here, awesome sound from such a tiny player.
I tested it with various musical genres it performed well throughout.The LCD screen is good, about as good as the latest iPods and much better than the iPod classic that I have. It's robust too, good quality build in the base unit that matches the headphones. The ability to record FM radio might be a big plus for some but I didn't have any call to use.One of the best features is the ability to simply drag and drop within Windows, something the iPod is lacking. When will Apple realise not everyone likes iTunes?Great music player at an attractive price, what more do you want? I've used a variety of MP3 players over the past 5 years or so (ever since I graduated from the ill-fated but much loved Minidisc format). I've spent most time with iPods and my current Creative Zen.
So the Philips GoGear certainly had some stiff competition to try and impress me.First impressions were certainly good - the player is cool, sleek and smooth. It certainly has a distinctive look, and the large screen was gleaming like a gem when I opened it. It has a pleasing weight to it as well, which I prefer but some may want to think of getting something smaller and lighter if they are going to be using it running etc. That said, its still a lot smaller than an iPod Classic or Touch.You can transfer songs over using Windows Media 11, but I am used to just using Windows Explorer as I do with my Creative, so I used that instead. Transfers were fast and hassle free. I particularly like the fact that you can play music when the player is connected via USB, except when transferring files. My Zen won't allow you to do this.Sound wise, the GoGear is certainly one of the best I've heard.
Some of my MP3 files are only encoded at 128kbps, but even these sounded fresh and full on the GoGear. The Full Sound technology makes a genuine improvement and replaces some of the quality that is otherwise lost.
This means you can encode at lower bit rates and effectively fit more tracks on the player, if you are so inclined, without too much loss of sound quality.Video was similarly excellent, though I found the screen a little difficult to get to a decent viewing angle, and it smudges a bit easily. I haven't tried the iPlayer functionality, but from the looks of other people's comments this may not be working anymore. A shame, but I don't watch much stuff from the BBC anyway.The user interface is straightforward enough, and very similar to a lot of other players. I do kind of wish there was a bit more thought put in to the UI on these devices from the lower end of the market as they can be quite dull and generic to use. But then again I got to grips with it within seconds and was scrolling through tracks very quickly, so I suppose a certain standardisation is justified.One thing that really sets the GoGear apart from its MP3 brethren is the inclusion of some pretty decent headphones.
The usual bundled phones are cheap, tinny blobs of plastic which I would feel ashamed to even unwrap. The GoGear, however, ships with some great ear-buds - like earphones, but with a rubberised tip which slips comfortably and securely in to the outer ear canal.
This serves to block out a lot of noise from busy roads etc, and means you can have the player on lower volume settings, saving your ears as well as the battery life! The earbuds really do bring the sound to life. I have an expensive pair of Sony earbuds (£50) which I will probably use more, but the Philips ones are certainly no slouch and I would definitely use them if I hadn't already splashed out on the Sonys. This is a great mp3 / video player.
It's very easy to use - pretty much just plug and play. It works easily with Real Player, and you can download and watch programmes from BBC iPlayer easily.It has a curious anomoly though - I have been in contact with Philips, who recommended replacing the product. Amazon were excellent with their return and replacement.
But the problem is present on both devices that I've had. When choosing album 19 through the 'album' menu, rather than choosing album 19, track 19 of the first album is played instead. It doesn't matter what order you put the albums onto the device, nor how you put them on there (I have used both Real Player, and just dragged and dropped).If you choose the albums through the 'album art' menu, this problem does not occur, and since I play most of the tracks through the 'shuffle all' route, I don't have any problems anyway.Other than this, a really nice device with a full sound that's easy and intuitive to use. Right from the up I have to say that it is a good looking mp3 player and the music quality it pretty good but the rest of the package has some problems. It lacks some features that you would expect on one of these things such as being able to make a photo the permanent background. You also have to set the sleep timer before you start listening which is the first time I've seen this as they usually go onto standby after the last track has been played on the album or playlistA couple of the other features are pretty poor such as the photo viewer which displays the pictures in awful resolution.
The video playback is poor too as the sound jerks every second or so making dialogue confusing althought the video quality is OK. Something you might need to be aware of is that you need a fairly up-to-date version of Windows Media Player to convert the video.Other issues include it frequently freezing and it having to be reset which both erases everything and then doesn't the next time. Frustrating!The final point, and it's the one that prompted me to write this, is that I turned it on last night after charging it to find that the whole thing had been flashed. Not one file on it.
I hadn't used for a couple of days and it never ran out of juice.I admit that I might have a bit of a lemon but I won't be the only one having these problems.Edit.Since the original review I have ahd to reinstall the firmware three times after everything was wiped from the memory. I also think I should warn you that the device manager and repair software will install but not run in Vista. If you click in the icon absolutely nothing happens even of you check in task manager. I had to break out an old PC to sort the problem out.
I just can't get over what this tiny little piece of kit can do.It has a radio (that you can record from for up to 5 hours), MP3 player, video player which you can download BBC iPlayer files to etc.Starting with the sounds quality, the Full Sound facility is brilliant, it is like being in the same room as a really good quality pair of speakers. I have to say though I can't use the headphones you get in the box, I have to use other Philips headphones that hook over your ears - personal preference that's all. The player also has a wide range of equalizers they have preset ones and a one where you can alter it.I have looked at one of the videos that was already pre-loaded and the picture quality and colour is fantastic. I can't see myself using it as a portable video player but it is always handy to have.Getting on to the radio, it can auto tune and pre-store radio stations, as well as you being able to scan yourself.You can also store and view photos that you have taken on the player. Yes I know, I am just waiting for it to make me a sandwich and a nice cup of tea!!Another thing I really like is that it has a volume limit in the sound settings, so if you are giving the player to the kids you can set it so the volume does not go above a certain level.There is a little slider button on the bottom of the player that will lock all of the buttons so that when you are walking around with it the buttons will be inactive.
It is right next to a pin hole reset button and the USB port. Very surprisingly, the Opus arrived fully charged so I could get stuck right in to explore the features. As with many devices of it's kind, the simple plug and play nature means its easy to drag and drop media files and get going.
The tranfer rate is pretty good and it doesn't take too long to fill up with your favourite media files. The Opus is lightweight, looks good and is relatively easy to operate although the initial boot-up time can be slightly ponderous once you start maxing-out its 8GB of storage space.Unfortunately, the device doesn't recognise all of the 'standard' video formats, but there is a handy converstion application supplied on disk to make life easier. Video playback is good and the image is clean and smooth, however skin tones can appear slightly blue or washed out at times, and like many LCD screens you have to avoid glare and tilt the screen directly towards you to get maximum clarity.Sound quality is superb, and is amongst the crispest I've experienced with any portable music device so long as you are using 320 kbps mp3 files, anything less tends to suffer from sibilant distortion and hum. Compatability with other emerging file formats such as FLAC is also a great feature and playback of these files is terrific.
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The earbuds supplied are also of unusually high quality and complement the overall quality of playback.Although my weekly usage can hardly be called heavy, the battery life seems quite satisfactory as I've had to recharge for the first time today.Overall the Opus is a smart little device, it looks good, fits nicely into the pocket and playback is satisfyingly crisp and clean. The Package:The GoGear arrives with soft case, USB lead, sound isolation earphones, software CD including Device Manager, MediaConverter and partner offer details.The Device:Key message: install the latest firmware up-front. I didn't, resulting in content reload after firmware upgrade.The GoGear is a nice size with solid feel. Fits into pocket easily, without worrying it will get damaged. Of 8GB, available capacity looks like 7457MB. Consider checking out 16 and 32GB models.Startup and power-off are rapid - hold the button for a second - with a chirpy 'Bye!' On power-down.GoGear has 2 modes 'Charge and Transfer' or 'Charge and Play'.
On connecting via USB, you choose to manage content from PC via Windows Media 11, or to play. On disconnection, 'Updating.' Displays for 5 seconds, and you're left in Play mode.
Simple.Contrast and colour differentiation on the 2.8' screen is fine.One point to consider is visibility during rotation. Tilt the screen vertically, or leftwards, and you can see fine. However, visibility suffers when you tilt the right side away. Left-handed people might want to check this before buying.The usual settings for play modes (shuffle.), backlight brightness and sleep mode are there.The earphones are EXCELLENT for comfort and sound reproduction. The claimed in-ear noise isolation really delivers.Battery life is fine, running much longer than iTouch, although I haven't tested for the claimed 30 hours.Partner Offers:The BBC iPlayer leaflet (included) is out-of-date - iPlayer's user experience has moved on. A fair selection of BBC podcast downloads is available, but with no wireless connectivity, GoGear can't exploit streamed content.The 30 day Napster-To-Go voucher code trumps the 7-days available to any internet user. Latest software (at Aug09) is included.The audible 14 day trial including 2 audiobooks is available to any internet user.Video:Michael McIntyre is as hilarious on GoGear, via iPlayer, as he is on full-screen TV.
Video and sound both very good.You can view youtube (and google, myspace.) videos and simultaneously prepare for GoGear using supplied Stream Ripper software. Converted youtube videos look better than on PC screen, given youtube's modest resolution.Sound:Playing music is GoGear's core strength. All the following are faithfully reproduced:- Acoustic guitar and xylophone in Jason Mraz- Electric guitar and maraccas in Amy Winehouse- Cara Dillon's vocal purity inThe delight of GoGear as MP3 player is the spacious well-designed user interface as music plays away.
Every detail you could want is legibly displayed - album art, date/time, battery state, album, artist, track, track length and how much played. Navigation is well thought out. Scroll through tracks one-by-one, or SuperScroll whizzing through the alphabet.Philips have ensured device support with Napster and Audible. In Napster, tracks are easily dragged onto the 'Transfer to Device' panel. Using AudibleManager, a gratis 5.5 hour, 78MB audiobook 'The First 90 Days' copied to the GoGear on 10 seconds. A useful feature is being able to bookmark useful passages.FM Radio:Radio reception is fine, with an ample 20 presets.
While the voice recording feature might be useful some day, I would valued a scheduled radio recording facility more.Verdict:Philips' strapline is 'SENSE AND SIMPLICITY'. Sure, this GoGear has no WIFI, internet browsing, apps, games.
But the GoGear Opus hits a sweet-spot in terms of functions, superb sound quality, good video, simple user interface, connectivity and price point.Recommended as excellent value for people who, especially for cost reasons, don't need the gilt-edged Apple options. You can't help but notice how snazzy this player is once you open the box, and how small. It makes me think of the new iphones, with the black high-gloss finish and it appears to be around the same sort of size.It comes with a remarkably thick manual, software and driver CD and a set of strange looking in-ear headphones.I couldn't really test the headphones as they wouldn't fit my ears, but the using my own the sound quality of the device was very good, however that's where the positives end.The design is reasonable, but as this is being marketed as an mp3/video player, it really needs work. The screen is far too small to watch anything for any length of time.
The device comes with compatibility with BBC iplayer, but I can't imagine anyone managing to watch more than 10 minutes of video on the device without developing eye-strain (I managed about 4 minutes).
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January 2023
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