Philips GoGear SA1982A/02

After my Sony Walkman died mid podcast I decided I wasn't going to spend nearly £100 on my next MP3 player. I hunted around and found this tiny (45mm x 45mm)8gb Philips GoGear SA 1982A/02 player for £30. First off I must say it doesn't have anywhere near the solid feel of the Sony, however as that only lasted 15 months and I've seen other reviews of MP3 players that suggest they are not the most reliable of equipment I'm looking at this as a disposable item this time not a long term prospect.

It is strictly an audio player - no video. The screen and controls are tiny, I find them fine but for some they may be too small. The set up was really easy and I was pleased to see that there is a repair option included on the software. The player is seen as an additional drive in Windows Explorer and it is a simple matter to drag and drop files, in my case from iTunes, or sync with Windows Media player. I am mainly listening to podcasts and the sound quality is fine and perfectly loud enough for me.

Now for the downsides. So far I can't organise the files in an order that suits me, ie by date. The buttons make a distinct click when pressed - I mainly use mine at night if I can't sleep and am a bit worried that the clicking will disturb my partner. You can't delete files on the player so I have to remember what I have listened to to delete it when next connected to the computer.

If I am completely honest if I could have got a replacement Walkman of the same capacity for a similar price that is what I would have preferred, but for those of us on a budget who don't need video this is a perfectly good player.