Philips GoGear SA5285BT 8 GB

Philips is without a doubt a worldwide recognizable electronics brand, chances are you own at least one of their items. The item itself may not be spectacular in any way, it just works and you can't really find any reasons to complain about it. Philips are not leaders in any of their markets, they're not innovators, they don't offer the best quality products, you're not even cool among your friends if you own a Philips product - Everything they do is average from almost points of view and god damn reliable.

Average is the word that best describes this small Philips music player. I got it from my first student salary over 2 years ago and it's still here today, working as good as ever. So what is it? it's a small music player with a small LCD screen, 6 buttons for navigation and one slider for locking the screen. In terms of features, the standard music player offers sorting by Artists, Albums, Genres, years and so on, it has a shuffle function, an FM radio and so on. I got myself some really good headphones (10 quid on amazon?!) and the sound quality is amazing. In terms of battery life, it's usually laying around for weeks without wasting much battery. when I actually get to use it, I get an average of 5-6 hours of continuous playing. I use it 2-3 times a month and only charge it once a month.

It also has a video feature, but a) videos need converting and I'm naturally lazy and b) why would anyone want to watch videos on a 2" screen?

anyway...I once had a problem with it, as it would not boot up and I had to contact Philips' online support in order to sort out the issue. It was all sorted within minutes and my player was back to life and ready for another 4 hour coach ride.

If it has one thing going for itself, it's its build quality. Over the past two years, it has been repeatedly dropped on concrete, scratched by countless keys and dropped even more - other than some minor (yet many) scratches it's in sound condition. Yes it doesn't have a touchscreen, but for what it does, it doesn't need one.

To conclude, if you're not fussed about having an Ipod and just want a music player, I'd suggest you get this. Adding songs is simple and straightforward, the battery life is good and it does exactly as it says on the box. Mine cost 35 pounds in 2010, compared to an 8gb ipod nano which was over 80. The music player market is overcrowded with options, from obscure Chinese brands to apple and Sony - and this is where Philips bet fit in, halfway in terms of everything, providing a quality product from a mid-market position.