Philips GoGear -- now in glorious color!

It's true, we were less than impressed with Philips GoGear MP3 squares back when they were first released, so the announcement of the GoGear 2940 isn't really going to shake the foundations of the universe. It's essentially the exact same player as the previous models (MP3, WAV, and WMA playback, built-in EQ, USB 2.0 connectivity, voice recording capabilities, FM tuner) with the addition of a color OLED screen which displays album art or photos. There's something mildly endearing about them, though, isn't there? No details on price or availability.

[Boards of Canada @ Oct 29th 2008 7:42PM]

Its super cute (at least on the picture) minus that big phillips logo... but really I like the compact design.

[SOOPERGOOMAN @ Oct 29th 2008 10:13PM]

Weird I was thinking the same thing. A gadget that is not hard on the eyes. Very pleasing to look at the pic but what is is like in real life.

[Shoumik @ Oct 29th 2008 7:42PM]

Phillips and apple are working together to produce glossy products...

[giuliop @ Oct 29th 2008 9:11PM]

You mean glossy screws and screwdrivers?

[BJ is Gooder @ Oct 29th 2008 7:52PM]

It looks like Wall-E decided to take a nap and listen to Kitty Higgins.

[iEye @ Oct 29th 2008 7:52PM]

Why?

There must be over 100 square generic Mp3 players out there for $20... not to mention direct competitors such as the zen stone..

After you take away the iPod market, how much is there to scrap over in such a saturated market?

[lowdef @ Oct 29th 2008 8:10PM]

apparently enough people don't buy ipods that they can make a profit and still come out with new ones...sadly for you the mp3 market does not solely consist of the ipod because some people hate itunes, miss some features, codecs, etc etc...

[Atropos @ Oct 29th 2008 9:21PM]

"some people hate itunes"

Any of the non-sheeple that have actually tried something besides iTunes generally realize how awful it is very quickly.

[garrenteed @ Oct 29th 2008 9:24PM]

agreed. iTunes needs some work.

[iEye @ Oct 29th 2008 9:28PM]

If you don't use iTunes then how do you sync your iPhone?

...oh wait let me guess.. you all use another brand of phone?

oh the tradegdy

[Atropos @ Oct 29th 2008 9:29PM]

...ew.

I forgot to never reply to you and look what happened.

[Kevlar @ Oct 29th 2008 9:34PM]

And an mp3 library / player / organizer besides iTunes is?
I'm looking for something that is:
a) cross platform: windows / mac / linux (wine is acceptable)
b) not Winamp
c) iPod / Zen / Zune / Sansa compatible (one or more)

If you have any suggestions for a better media player / organizer, I would REALLY like to hear it!
Video organizing and playback is a bonus too.

[Atropos @ Oct 29th 2008 9:37PM]

@Kevlar

Yeah, Linux compatibility is a real deal breaker for the 99% of the world that never uses it.

[ybd @ Oct 30th 2008 9:41AM]

Hey guys. I've been using MP3 players and PMPs that supported hdd browsing for about 8 years before I got a Touch a month ago. Is it okay that I actually like iTunes? Pretty please? I want to be popular too.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 30th 2008 2:00PM]

"Atropos @ Oct 29th 2008 9:21PM

"some people hate itunes"

Any of the non-sheeple that have actually tried something besides iTunes generally realize how awful it is very quickly."

Well that's a load. I've used many from Winamp to amarok to kjukebox (try looking that one up) to Musicmatch and many others as well and I can honestly say that while not perfect, iTunes is not nearly as bad as the haters say it is. There have been some inceptions of iTunes, especially early 7 which were bad on PC. I experienced that myself. And apparently there were problems for Vista users on ver 8. But if we're talking about iTunes when it's working properly, it's pretty damn good.

[BatteryAcid @ Oct 30th 2008 7:00PM]

Rythmbox, Songbird, Amarok, and Banshee are all great.

In general my favorite is Songbird though because it can download free music from Skreemr, supports last fm, and has all sorts of plug ins and themes.

However Rythmbox is simple and flows perfectly with Ubuntu.

[Mile @ Oct 29th 2008 7:53PM]

FM Radio is a requirement on portables.

[2fast4u2fast4u @ Oct 29th 2008 9:37PM]

Who said? You obviously don't know Apple.

[Colin @ Oct 29th 2008 10:36PM]

I have the original and love it. The only thing lacking is a clip of some kind to attach to your clothing (although easily fixable with something you could buy from any local craft-supply store like Michaels). The one feature I wish they included was an AM tuner with the FM tuner. Other than that it's perfect.

Itunes is a wreck of a software program which is why i stay away from that crappy player.

[RichardBronosky @ Oct 30th 2008 9:39AM]

I would say that radio on a PMP that does not include AM is pointless. If you have Gigs of personally chosen music, why would you listen to the garbage on FM radio? Radio is now about real time delivery of news, traffic, weather, and political talk. This is where AM dominates.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 30th 2008 7:34PM]

Why is FM a requirement? I'm listening to my iPod to AVOID all that garbage on commercial FM.

[Connor @ Oct 29th 2008 8:14PM]

For all of you who have always wanted to see what and iPod Shuffle would look like with a screen.
;)

[2fast4u2fast4u @ Oct 29th 2008 9:36PM]

Since when does this look like an iPod shuffle?

[Peter @ Oct 29th 2008 10:54PM]

The Sansa Clip is a iPod shuffle with a screen; not this.

[happy_penguin @ Oct 29th 2008 8:39PM]

That's a neat little player if the price is right.

[go seki @ Oct 29th 2008 8:43PM]

Aren't Mp3 players "past it" ??
This does nothing my phone doesn't do better and its in a single device.

Sorry Mp3 players were fine until about 3 or 4 years ago .. today they're obsolete. (I'm talking Mp3 ONLY here)

[noyp @ Oct 29th 2008 9:33PM]

It also has a voice recorder and FM tuner!

[DarkLight @ Oct 29th 2008 10:00PM]

Low-rank me, but for me cellphones as all-in-one devices suck.

For mini-computing nothing beats an oldschool PDA, and for listening to music just get a small music player (it's not like you can't carry it, just use the armband or the clip).... Cellphones are only for, well, phoning.

But that's just me - the dude who doesn't have anyone to talk with (or anything to talk about)

[kidcanuck @ Oct 30th 2008 5:12AM]

Darklight, I agree with you. I am perfectly fine with carrying an mp3 player for music, pda for computing, etc. I don't like the UI on my phone, and putting anything else on it would make it so cramped I would have a breakdown, not to mention the fact that I would be so distracted by it that I wouldn't do anything ever.

[NorthernAvengeR @ Oct 29th 2008 8:52PM]

So should one go for this or the upcoming Sandisk Sansa Clip 8GB.

[mko @ Oct 29th 2008 9:27PM]

What is the point of a color screen if not used for Video playback

[2fast4u2fast4u @ Oct 29th 2008 9:35PM]

To make it look like you don't come from the twentieth century.
Also, so you can view your photos and album art in color.
Since it's an OLED, the screen should be pretty sharp and vivid.

[craver @ Oct 29th 2008 10:18PM]

looks nice, but video is a must these days

http://topcraves.com

[noyp @ Oct 29th 2008 10:29PM]

No, it's not. I almost never watch a music video more than thrice. But, that's just me.

[DarkLight @ Oct 29th 2008 10:33PM]

No it isn't.

I have a $13 el-cheapo mp3 player with monochrome screen, and am happy with it.

Also, low ranked for having a signature.. (If I could, would be double-low-ranked for it being a link (lame))

[Rudy @ Oct 30th 2008 1:51AM]

Here's my version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac2Z6ZpB2_o

[eric @ Oct 30th 2008 3:18AM]

If it does a good job getting the album art from embedded in the ID3 tag or just an image sitting in the folder, I would love this player!

[Anonymouse @ Oct 30th 2008 8:23AM]

It supports (or should, since the reference software they build it from does):
- WMP Abstract album art objects
- ID3V2 embedded album art
- WMP hidden guid named jpg
- folder.jpg

In that decending order.

[rita hainsworth @ Oct 30th 2008 5:14AM]

You Go Gear!

[AA @ Oct 30th 2008 5:54AM]

Philips makes some nice GoGears-I own a video playing model (SA3115) myself.

I think they've done a good job on adding a color screen version of their square type player.

I've seen a 1GB model of this square shaped player for about AUD$48, plus their earbuds are very nice.

The software used for video conversion or firmware update (Philips Media manager/Device manager) is Windows-only though.

[TehNomad @ Oct 30th 2008 6:13AM]

Sort of looks like a copy of the iRiver S10

[Zeus.:God @ Oct 30th 2008 10:13AM]

Sometimes I miss my old Philips GoGear 6GB player. Great deal at about 130 bucks- excellent headphones, and really good sound quality with SRS WOW equalizer.