Philips GoGear 2GB SA2820/02 review

Philips' 2GB GoGear is roughly the size of a matchbox.

Apart from the volume controls, hold switch and a combined power, play and pause button, the player uses a control system similar to that of iRiver's Lplayer, where the edges of the screen are buttons. The GoGear's buttons feel more responsive than those on the Lplayer, although your thumb can obscure the small 1.2in screen when you use the device with one hand. The display shows only three lines of information, which makes scrolling through long lists of songs a chore, but the blue text on a black background is easy to read.

There's no equaliser or support for playlists, but you can create playlists of a sort by using Windows Explorer to organise your music into folders. The GoGear is the only player here that can't play any type of DRM-protected music, but this is of little consequence if you buy CDs or non-DRM protected music.

The GoGear has plenty of volume and bass, but it also sound very bright, which can make it uncomfortable to listen to for extended periods. Replacing the included earphones with a better-sounding set improved matters, but the GoGear still isn't ideal for prolonged listening sessions. Although it wasn't the longest-lasting music player in our battery life test, it lasted nearly 22 hours and 28 minutes, which is longer than many of the other players here.

Philips' 2GB GoGear is small and inexpensive, but its small screen and lack of DRM support reduce its appeal. We were also disappointed by its excessively tinny sound. SanDisk's similarly sized Sansa Clip sounds better and has twice as much storage for just £10 more, although its battery life is eight hours shorter. Creative's 2GB Zen Mozaic can't hold as music as the Sansa, but its battery life exceeds that of both the Sansa and the GoGear, making it a better choice if you need a cheap portable music player.