Philips SA9200 > Reviews (3)

I like good quality music and was looking for a portable player for my collection of 320Kbps MP3s. I was drawn to the Philips 9200 because of its support for Windows Media Player, small size and expensive looking glossy finish.

In the box you get:
... The player
... In ear phones
... A nice glossy stand (thoughtfully heavy enough to stop the player falling over)
... USB cable (that connects to the player or the stand)
... A soft storage bag
... CD-ROM containing driver and manual
... A better than average quick start guide

USB2 is used for data transfer and for charging, and I found the speed of both reasonable.

Frustratingly, it is nearly a very good product. WMP makes easy work of uploading MP3s but I can’t get the album art to display. The documentation (on CD-ROM) doesn’t help and on-line support is pretty poor as well. The menu structure is very easy to navigate which is as well because the touch sensitive keys are much too sensitive and the scrolling system is miles behind the iPod’s wheel. You have to keep switching to ‘hold’ or the slightest touch will pause or change tracks. On the plus side the display is bright and the touch strips light up when touched which looks good and lets you know whats going on.

The sound quality is perfectly acceptable (and I am really fussy) but the maximum volume is too low.

My wife has a iPod Nano which is an obvious alternative. In my opinion the Nano is cute and stylish, still has the best controls and integrates with iTunes better that the Philips does with WMP. On the other hand, the Philips has a better feel in the hand, looks better put together and just has the edge for sound quality. Overall it's too close to call.