Philips debuts GoGear Ariaz, Opus PMPs

Philips has been keeping things relatively simple with its GoGear line as of late, but it looks to be getting back to full-on PMPs with its latest pair: the GoGear Ariaz and GoGear Opus. The GoGear Ariaz is the slightly smaller of the two, with it packing a 2-inch display, along with 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB of storage, an FM tuner, a built-in mic for voice recording, and a somewhat unique interface that includes a combination of "touchscreen buttons" and a large rocker key. The Opus, on the other hand, appears to be an updated version of one of Philips' original GoGear players, and packs a larger 2.8-inch QVGA display, your choice of 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB capacities, built-in Bluetooth, and integrated support for the BBC's iPlayer. No word on a release 'round here just yet, but both will apparently be available in Europe in April for between €79 and €179, or roughly $100 to $230.

Read - Pocket-lint, "Philips unveils GoGear Ariaz media player"
Read - Pocket-lint, "Philips launches GoGear Opus"

[gonintendo @ Feb 19th 2009 8:13PM]

It's nice that companies are bundling canalphones with these pmp's rather than cheapo myPhonies.

[Aaron @ Feb 19th 2009 8:25PM]

Yeah, I was really surprised the first time I bought my Zune 80 and I saw it came with premium in-ear headphones. Sadly I lost them a while back, but they were great while they lasted.

[369EkO @ Feb 19th 2009 8:31PM]

Apple should take notice! In ear headphones with a purchase of an i-Pod would sell good.

[Zephir365 @ Feb 19th 2009 9:06PM]

Nah, they should keep it so when you walk on the street you can distinguish who are the audiophiles and who are the sheeps who follow the popular trend.

[Mobius_1 @ Feb 19th 2009 9:13PM]

Most people don't seem to care, somehow. I personally can't stand using the iPod OE ones and would always spend a little on decent canalphones.

Too many sheep in this world... sigh...

[yopladas @ Feb 19th 2009 8:39PM]

I like the GoGear family. iPod is better; but GoGear is sometimes forgotten as a good alternative to Zunes or Sony PMPs/MP3 players...

[Zephir365 @ Feb 19th 2009 9:07PM]

You lost me at ipod is better.

[Mobius_1 @ Feb 19th 2009 9:15PM]

I actually have no idea of the GoGear family. But I am quite impressed, and iPlayer would be fantastic.

(I'm actually only using iPod because of the very convenient iTunes sync, otherwise I'd have chosen differently, probably)

[yopladas @ Feb 19th 2009 9:18PM]

"You lost me at ipod is better."

Oh I see. It's not allowed to say iPod is better than GoGear, because if I say that, I'm a total fanboy in your eyes. It's a good product. It doesn't beat everything always, but it is better than a Phillips GoGear. Have you had a few GoGears? Have you also had a few iPods? Because I really doubt it and feel that you are just another troll who needs to get a life.


too many trolls like to respond to my comments, and I know... don't feed them, but I think I need a special filter for my e-mail to filter them out as spam.

[Zephir365 @ Feb 19th 2009 9:22PM]

Oh please, you say that GoGear is a better alternative than other MP3 players, and then say that iPod is better. Maybe it just me here, but aren't you saying that iPod is better than other MP3 players?

[Zephir365 @ Feb 19th 2009 9:24PM]

Oh and please, look at your posting history and mine, see who's replying to more articles, before telling me to get a life. What a joke.

[enohPi @ Feb 19th 2009 8:47PM]

i am trying ever so hard to keep my promise and not way anything until June 29th 2009...
......................

SH........aaaaarrrg!

[Nelagster @ Feb 19th 2009 10:08PM]

You should probably stay off of engadget then..

[CJ @ Feb 20th 2009 12:25AM]

Better yet, you should go into your nearest cave system and live there until june.

take some books, learn to use grammar.

[not_me @ Feb 20th 2009 9:30AM]

"take some books, learn to use grammar."

Irony?

[tekdroid @ Mar 27th 2009 10:12AM]

http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/en/gb/consumer/cc/_productid_SA5295_02_GB_CONSUMER/Flash-audio-video-player+SA5295-02
The notable thing here to me is that Philips have (or haven't?) started supporting FLAC (the FLAC logo is seen among the other formats it supports in a JPG image, but FLAC is not mentioned in text for some reason and isn't listed in the Specifications either.

So Philips, does the GoGear Opus support FLAC? If not, why is that FLAC logo used in the graphic there?

The manual, which states:
"Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles. Battery life and number of
charge cycles vary by use and settings."
---
...is not very reassuring when you design devices designed to be disposed of when the internal, non-removable battery can no longer hold a charge after several hundred charge cycles. Perhaps look into removable batteries and removable storage for the future.

[Stephen @ Apr 19th 2009 4:41PM]

Absolutely CANNOT WAIT until these new babies hit the shelves. Currently have an 8gb SA6185. Absolutely adore it - hasn't had a single glitch in about a year of owning it. I did buy a Fullsound model but sold it to a friend. Couple of things I did NOT like about the current model - firstly you can press down on the screen to cause ripples on the lcd. I noticed this when I did it by accident. My older model's screen is rock solid - which is kind of what you want in a long lasting multimedia player. Also the volume control was rather disappointingly flimsy and cheap feeling. Then there's the fact that the SA61 models, after about 15 minutes, shut the screen off COMPLETELY. Surely shutting it off completely would preserve the lifespan for longer ? But what I really miss is FullSound - which in my experience of it, however brief, was certainly not mere hype.
You will so often see reviewers whinge about Philip's designs on their players being bland, "designed by a committee", etc etc. What all of these banal individuals fail to mention is the fact that whilst they may not have the slick, insidious and pretentious marketing of Apple, Philips make players that simply work PROPERLY - something Apple must surely want to achieve some day.