Philips SA018102P 2GB > Reviews (2)

Most people (at least those I know) will just go for the shuffle - it's sexy, stylish, small and cute - and it's Apple, and an iPod. iPod shuffle is good, I had one of the older versions, and to be honest, and being fair to Steven Jobs, Apple products are great, just that they are twice as expensive as anything else.

So as I had lost my iPod Shuffle, and I wasn't able to spend 50pounds for a 2GB MP3 player, but still wanted the similar form factor of the IPod Shuffle, I did a bit of research and came across this little beauty - Philips SA018102P.

It was available in silver, and was available in 2 memory sizes, 2GB and 4GB. I hadn't really needed a big clippable music player, I purchased the 2GB one for 30GBP (Argos).

This is a great product; you don't need anything. All you need is your headphones, and the USB cable which is supplied in the package. You may be a little surprised at the USB cable, as it goes straight into the 3.5mm jack, where your headphones normally go into. This will allow charging from your computer, as well as music transferring. The good thing is, that this is dead simple to use - all I had to do was to connect the cable, and then the PC will detect the music player in the same manner as a portable memory device - just like a memory stick. You open it and there are default folders, but you can put your music anywhere and the player will detect the music when you play it with your headphones. Or, like me, you can simply create a folder, and put all your music in.

In terms of function - it has the music player. It also has this interesting feature called FullSound TM, by pressing 2 of the buttons together (I can't remember which right now, but this is mentioned in the manual), and this functions like an equaliser, will boost the bass. On one side of the player, there are foward, backward, and volume buttons. They are quite small and sometimes you do tend to mis-press the volume buttons for the directional buttons, but this is not too often. On the other side, there are functions like - random/repeat and FM. FM is of course, for radio. I've never used the radio (gives me headache) so I don't exactly know how that works.

One another great thing about this is that it is small light and clippable - you can clip it to anywhere, your trousers, your shirt or just simply on your pocket and it will stay there.

The battery life is also great, the specs say to be around 10-12 hours, and I think this is very accurate - and I use mine constantly, everywhere. In terms of durability, you can drop it throw it and it won't break - though don't take this for granted! Oh, and it is not water proof - I have once left the player in the pocket then put it in the washing machine - needless to say the player was broken - so I had to purchase another one.

I think this can be very affordable, depending on which shop you buy. The 2nd one I bought, was purchased in Korea, and I only paid 15 pounds and it was exactly the same product. This player is available in various colours (depending on availability) and although it does not have a screen to show the track lists and info, if you want a player which is portable and for running/exercising, and not be a pain because of the size/weight etc, then this is the perfect music player for you. Highly recommended and reliable.