Philips GoGear 8 GB Aria MP3 Video Player with 2-Inch Color Screen

by Philips

Product Features

• FullSound to bring CD listening experience to MP3
• High-definition headphones for precise sound
• Playback MP3, WMA or DRM music from subscription services
• 2" Full color display for smooth and intuitive navigation
• Up to 30-hour music or 6-hour video playback

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Product Description

Enjoy an unrivalled sound experience with Philips GoGear Aria Portable AV Player (8GB) featuring FullSound. A real joy to use, you can download online videos to the player and easily navigate content on its 2” full color display.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent MP3 player - once you worked out the kinks September 9, 2009

By NLee the Engineer HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

The Philips GoGear 8 GB Aria MP3 Video Player offers a lot of features for its price: large storage, 25-hour battery life, high quality earphones, FM radio, voice recorder, etc. However, it seems to be poorly received by most reviewers so far. Frankly, my first impression was not entirely positive. But after most initial problems and confusions were resolved, this device(*) turns out to be a very good value as a MP3 player.

(*)Note: The device I bought is the 16GB version, which I feel is a better value given the minor difference in prices.

Some problems and how to resolve them:

1. Documentation:
The enclosed "Quick Start Guide" is quite useless. It is very brief, and printed in tiny fonts. Luckily, there is an "User Manual" found on the mini-CD, which is a lot more comprehensive. You can also go to Philips web site support section, and download the latest documentation/software for "GoGear Aria 8GB" (SA1ARA08K/17)

2. User Interface:
Initially, I was having difficulty with navigation and control. In particular, the PLAY/Confirm button often requires several clicks to register. Finally, I pressed the 'RESET" button to restart the whole device (it does not delete my files, by the way). From that point onward, I never have any problems with button clicks any more.

3. PC Connection:
By default, the device connects to PC in MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) mode. This is required if you want to use the Rhapsody music channel. I changed it to MSC (Mass Storage Class) mode, so that the device behaves exactly like an USB flash drive. This way, I can simply 'drag-and-drop' MP3 files into the player, instead of going through Windows Media Player. File transfer speed from PC to the player is about 3MB/S.

There is one problem I have not yet resolved. I prefer to organize my MP3 files in sub-directories, one for each album. This player allows me to use "Folder View" to navigate and play MP3 files in any directory. Unfortunately, it will not continue to play into the next directory. So after listening to each album, I have to manually navigate to a new album and restart playing.

Other observations:

- The sound quality of included earphones is reasonable, but they need to be inserted deep into ear canals to work correctly. I prefer my old Bose QC1 headphones, since they cover over my ears and are more comfortable over extended period.

- The video player mode is mostly a gimmick. A small screen with resolution of 220x176 is barely acceptable for playing short animations. All video files must be converted into SMV (Streaming Mobile Video) format using the included software. The conversion is slow and inefficient. It takes about 6 minutes just to convert a 90-second anime video, and the resulted file size is even larger than the original (higher resolution) version!

- The GoGear Aria is highly similar to the SanDisk Sansa Fuze in terms of physical size (see my Customer Image), battery life, and features. The Fuze is available up to 8GB, but its capacity can be expanded using Micro-SDHC card.

In summary: The Philips GoGear Aria is hardly an iPod-killer. But considering its low cost and rich feature set, it makes a decent MP3 player for my money.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it. June 4, 2009

By Mr. Italiano

I am a big fan of portable music devices; from mp3 players to iPods, and everything in between, I am the type of enthusiast who could never live with just 'one.' Well, my recent acquisition of the Philips Go Gear Aria is no exception to this rule. I was so pleased with my 2GB Vibe, I decided to try the Aria and give the Vibe to my brother. The Aria is an 8GB, larger screen, larger footprint, thinner, and made of a slightly higher quality plastic/material, and of course has the convenience of Rhapsody To Go, which I love. Rhapsody To Go is a monthly subscription service that is worth the money and definitely worth investigating. I use the Aria not only for music, but also to store pictures, which are clear and large enough to share with friends and coworkers when out and about. Though slightly larger than the Vibe, the Aria is still very portable, stylish, sleek, and fits comfortably in your pocket! I highly recommend this product. Oh, and I have read some reviews where people say that their player just 'stops' working or doesn't respond...try inserting a pin or pen-tip into the reset button (on the side of device), then hold the power button in the 'on' position until the device powers on (this is why ALL these types of devices even have reset buttons...it's not uncommon). Be sure to update software on a regular basis, too.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Battery juice is sucked out even if u dont use it September 27, 2009

By Laura

I purchased this MP3 player from a reputable warehouse store for a great price. Didn't think I needed to do full research on this product...afterall PHILIPS is a well-known brand. Had no problem with Rhapsody on my "Vista" computer, songs downloaded quickly, tricky in setting music tabs however....one thing....dont expect the battery life to last. I did exactly what I was supposed to do....charge the battery in full before use.....used it maybe less than a hour after I charged it and went to go use it the next day and the battery is completely drained. Yes, the plaer was turned off after use.....so of course I thought it was a fluke....so I again fully recharged it overnight....used it one more time for less than an hour....and again the next day DEAD! Of course I returned it for a full refund. The return clerk said I was the fourth person that day to return one. Gee I wonder why. Dont waste your time on the good deal.....and make sure to do your research.