Philips KEY006 128MB MP3/WMA Player/Thumb Drive with Neck Strap Remote
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| Connectivity Technology | USB |
| Memory Storage Capacity | 0.13 GB |
| Component Type | Battery |
| Supported Standards | WMA |
| Battery Life | 6.5 Hours |
| Item Weight | 0.08 Pounds |
About this item
- Tiny, wearable 128 MB digital audio player
- Stores 2 hours of MP3, 4 hours of WMA
- Doubles as USB flash drive for storing and transferring files
- Plugs into any USB port, with no need for extra cables, drivers, or any other additional software
- Internal NiMH battery for 6.5 hours of life; external battery pack with 1 AAA battery for 10 hours
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Product guides and documents
Product information
| Product Dimensions | 3.39 x 1.06 x 0.53 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 1.28 ounces |
| Manufacturer | Philips |
| ASIN | B0000BZ40O |
| Item model number | KEY006 |
| Customer Reviews |
3.0 out of 5 stars |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | Yes |
| Date First Available | August 5, 2003 |
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Product Description
Product Description
Incredibly small and versatile, this Philips 128 MB Audio Key Ring matches sleek good looks with unbelievable ease of use. Ultra lightweight and sturdy with it's magnesium body. Like you, nothing shocks your Audio Key Ring. Trust it to deliver up to 6.5 hours of 100% shock free music anywhere, anytime.
Amazon.com
Wear and flaunt the the sleek 128 MB Key003 and enjoy 2 hours of CD-quality MP3 or 4 hours of WMA music on the go. This tiny, wearable digital audio player weighs just 1.2 ounces. Transfer music, data or recharge directly via USB. It's powered by an internal NiMH rechargeable battery that offers up to 6.5 hours of battery life. It can be conveniently charged when connected to your PC via the USB cable. The Key006 also comes with an external battery pack, which accepts a single AAA battery that can power the player for up to 10 hours. It comes with a soft fabric neckstrap with integrated remote control, featuring a flexible, easy-to-use 5-key control panel (volume up/down, play/pause, previous/next track).
What's in the Box
Key006 digital audio player, neckstrap with remote control, ear buds, external battery pack, CD-ROM with Music Match software, printed QuickStart guide.
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However, after using it for about 1 month, I encountered several design flaws that renders the player virtually useless for my purpose. Most of the flaws revolve around the neckstrap control, and some revolve around the player itself.
Here are my lists of complaints:
1. The player WILL NOT WORK unless you have the neckstrap. The neckstrap serves two purposes: it acts as the controller and pipes the sound to a mini connector at the top. You can't turn it on/off, no control of volume, and the connector on the mp3player is a specialized 3/32" connector instead of a standard 1/8". This prevents you from plugging a headphone directly to the player.
2. The neckstrap is very large, containing a huge button for play/pause/on/off, and another connector for the mini plug. In addition to (#1) it makes the player useless without the neckstrap. This completely defeats the purpose of purchasing a small player if the control is about 2x volume of the player.
3. MAJOR DESIGN FLAW: the neckstrap is NOT WATERPROOF. I took it out to do some jogging, and basically the sweat from my neck will soak through the nylon strap and cause some electrical shortage. This causes two malfunctions: a) the controls will start acting crazy as though they are constantly being pressed, meaning the volume could get very loud/soft and you constantly skip songs, b) the audio connection eventually degrades and you start hearing strange stuff coming out. Now, if you read through the manual very carefully, Philips does admit at the end of each language section that the neckstrap is not designed to be waterproof (which also means it's not sweat proof). What is the point of getting an expensive flash-based mp3p layer if you can't even sweat in it? I admit, it only failed when I went jogging for 2 hours on an 85-degree day, so if you are just going through some light walks it's probably fine.
4. Controls are lacking: you can skip songs forward/backward (to the next file), turn volume up/down, and play/pause. That is ALL. I have loaded songs into the player several times, and to date I still can't figure out how it arranges them. This is fine if you just listen to music, but I enjoy listening to audio books and NPR programming. The player completely screws up the order of the audio file, and the inability to fast-forward within a file makes it useless for listening to long programming. For example, I often listen to 1 hr long program. Sometimes in the middle of the program I would be interrupted and have to press pause. This causes the player to shut off after about 10 seconds of inactivity. When I finally restart the file, it would play from the beginning of the file, and there'd be no way for me to fast-forward to the part when I pressed pause.
5. The USB protector cap is very flimsy and fragile. I cracked it after about 1 week of pulling it out and popping it back in.
The good:
This player is not all bad, although the problems with the neckstrap and controls totally overshadows the good.
1. Recharges extremely quickly, I'd say in about 1 hour. The battery last for about 4-5 hr of continuous listening.
2. Relatively small and light.
3. Ease of use: no program required if you are using win2000 or winxp, just plug it in and it shows up as a disk drive.
4. Besides the USB cap, the magnesium shell makes the mp3 player seem very rugged. I think the material is the same as the exterior used by IBM ThinkPad.
All in all, I would not recommend this to anyone. The novelty of the neckstrap wears off when you realize that it doesn't really work all that well. If you only use it to play music in the office or during light workout, you might be able to get away with it. If you want to use it for audio books, listen to long programming, do any form of aerobic exercise that induce sweating, THIS IS NOT THE PLAYER FOR YOU.
The price you pay ($159 retail) and the limitations, you might as well get a hard-disk based mp3 player. You get a bigger drive, and you can't go exercising with either players.
Its quite handy, but it is very basic. I should imagine you could buy a better player for the same money these days though.
I have a strange problem with this player though. When I put it into charge mode and plug it into my USB port on my PC, the indicator doesn't go green. I can only assume that it isn't charging, and I have used up many AAA batteries. One of the things that attracted me to the player in the first place was the fact that it could be charged via USB, therefore cutting down on the need for batteries. Alas, that feature doesn't work for me. I'm currently trying to install the up to date firmware, though I suspect I won't have any luck as the thing is supposed to turn green and doesn't. Anyone who knows anything about this problem, please feel free to email me.
Other than that, the player sounds great, includes the great MusicMatch software for free and has a handy neck strap with those controls. Had it been a year ago, and the recharge facility worked for me, I might have given this a score of 4/5. As it is, I'm being generous with the score I've given it.
The problem can be more or less solved by using MP3-file splitter software. Split your, say, 1-hour long file into 10 or 20 files so that you can jump to different parts of the recordings. You can basically find the software for free. I am using "Fast File Saw & Joiner".
I got the unit from Microdirect for 20 pounds. It's cheap and memory is enough for me because I don't really mind changing music with my laptop everyday.