Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Caution: Mac no longer supported, September 20, 2003
I love the looks of this player and as a runner, its a joy to use. The headphones work for me, but they do come out of your ears easily if you turn your head abruptly. Im glad the remote was not hardwired into the headphones, because I found the buttons too small to use while running, and the "wire management system" (via clever magnets), totally unnecessary. The biggest disadvantage of this unit is the reliance on 3rd party software. The more contemporary players today simply plug into a Firewire port and allow you to drag and drop music on an icon. Clean, fast and brainless, no drivers or extensions to load. As a publishing professional I use both Macintosh and Windows, but I prefer Mac and that's what I use at home. From the Mac users point of view, I feel deceived. This is hard for me to write because Ive been a runner and Nike loyalist for years.In Nike's owners manual (which I read before purchase), it states "software upgradeable and will support future playback formats and software extensions will be made available on www.nike-philips.com," and under system requirements it stated Mac OS9.X. I thought cool; my OS of choice is supported so I purchased the unit. During the install the software automatically took me to the Musicmatch web site, (the software that interfaces with the unit), which informed me that they were no longer supporting Macintosh. "We apologize for any incontinence." Shouldn't this apology come from Nike? And why are they still selling this unit with such claims? I guess Mac users constitute such a small customer base, a class action suit is not likely. Bottom line for Mac users, this unit is not supported by any version of iTunes, the software shipped with the unit (musicmatch) is no longer supported, the MP4 format is not suppored; which means music downloaded from Apple's music store can not be used, and needless to say OSX uses need not apply because the musicmatch software will not run properly in the classic environment.
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43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect MP3 player to use while running, May 19, 2003
The Nike-Philips psa[128 mp3 player is perfect to use while running or working out. It's sweatproof, straps comfortably onto your arm, doesn't get in the way, holds about 2 hours of near CD-quality music, and plays back music skip-free like a charm. The headphones are a compromise between great quality sound versus letting you hear that car coming up behind you. If this compromise doesn't suit you, you can always use a different set headphones you like better. The player uses flash memory for the firmware, which means the player is upgradeable. As with any flash-memory device, if you are not careful about how you connect or disconnect the player to your computer, you can corrupt the flash memory and the player will stop working. The Nike-Philips website ... provides detailed instructions on how to restore the flash memory if this happens. The reason I rated this player a 4 instead of a 5 is because it doesn't have a couple of features that might surprise you. First, there is no shuffle playback option. Second, while you can change tracks before the music starts to play, you can't skip tracks once playing has begun. I understand that Nike-Philips opted to omit these features in order to keep the unit simple and reliable. In any case, neither of these limitations is a problem for me, but some people might wish that these features were available. The MusicMatch software that comes with the player is a decent MP3 music manager. Not everyone likes it, but the upgrade available for purchase is quite a bit better than the older, limited version that comes on the installation CD. Bottom line: This MP3 player is perfect for use at the gym or while running. I personally use it every day and absolutely love it.
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Please read the following before you purchase this product, September 2, 2003
I love Nike products. I love Philips products. When the two collaborated on this MP3 player, I was in heaven. I checked through the feedback and noticed many people saying they were dissatisfied, that the product broke easily, that it was hard to get Phillips to honor their guarantee, but I was enchanted by the player, and, as many of you will after reading this review, I rationalized the situation by telling myself that even if some players are bad, I certainly would get a functioning one. I made my purchase and for the two months, everything was great. Then, when I was five weeks away from a 10K I had been training for, the player stopped working. I called the Philips help line and the gentleman worked with me for about an hour before determining the player needed to be replaced. I asked him how long it would take, and he said it would be inside of two weeks. I told him that I was in training and that I would really appreciate it if he could do everything in his power to get me a new player as soon as possible. After all, I had paid $$$ for a piece of machinery that had broken irreparably inside of two months. He told me he would speak with his managers and have a letter of return and pre-paid postage sent to me immediately.
After a week I called back. I spoke to a different gentleman who told me that there was a note on my account about the call, but that nothing had been sent out. I asked to speak to a manager. I explained the situation to her, and, while somewhat dismissive of the angst I was feeling about getting a replacement, she promised me she would have the letter sent out immediately. I told her I would happily pay the postage myself if she could fax me the letter. She agreed. Nothing the first day. Nothing the second day. I called back, spoke to her again, and she told me their fax machine was down. We are talking about Philips, so why wouldn't they have only a single fax machine, and, without question, allow it to sit in a state of disrepair for several days? She told me she would send me the letter instead via post. I agreed, genuinely frustrated for the first time.
After another week, I called back. The letter had gone out, they assured me, but it had mysteriously disappeared in the mail. I asked for the address of the president and told them I expect a letter, even if it was just one of a taunting face with a cartoon bubble reading "We hate you," in my mailbox within a week. It never came. So I purchased an identical player from the same store where I bought the first one, waited three weeks, and took the broken one back to collect the refund (thank goodness it turned on briefly when they probed it). When the second one broke (completely different problem), I didn't even bother calling Philips. I just pulled the same trick at the store to get my most current player, which is nearing its third month of use (a personal record!).
Sadly, I have one other complaint. On the cord to the headphones, you get a magnetic "snap" that you can use to adhere a section of cord to your clothing, and, hence, reduce how much the wire bounces. The problem is that if you sweat, the magnets start to rust almost immediately. I had noticed a reddish splotch in the same place on a couple of my running shirts that I couldn't wash out. It was then that it occurred to me that this was because of the rusty metal. I cut the "snap" off immediately. If you do buy this product, well, first of all, may God have mercy on your soul, but, also, please make sure to monitor the condition of the magnets so you don't ruin any of your shirts.Good luck. Update (October 10th): my headphones started to malfunction this morning. I can no longer plug them in all the way and have sound in both earphones. Instead, I have to pull the plug out slightly from the player to hear music on the right side. Fortunately, while I'm running, the plug often slips, necessitating me to slow down and adjust it. It is very convenient. Thanks again, Nike!
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