Philips SA1110/37 1 GB Flash MP3 Player (Black)

• Wearable personal MP3 player with 2-line LCD display
• 1 GB built-in flash memory stores up to 500 songs
• USB mass storage compliant; built-in digital voice recorder
• 4 preset equalizer settings; high-speed USB 2.0 interface
• Measures 1.12 x 3.27 x 0.87 inches (W x H x D); 1-year warranty

Much bulkier than Zen Nano, nearly twice as long, twice as thick. Looks rectangular in package, but is actually triangular in cross section. The Philips is even bulkier than the Samsung YP which uses an AA battery. That's not to say that the Philips is really objectionably large. In fact, the Philips is a nice size and shape for holding in the hand--if there was any reason to do so, such as recording notes or dictation. But, the REC button is in the wrong place to use the unit this way, and the way the unit operates makes it unusable for recording notes or taking dictation.

Like Zen Nano: 1) has a usable pause function, 2) has a short (90 day) warrantee, 3) has an inadequate user manual, 4) uses same AAA batteries. The Philips claims to remember settings when it powers down on a dead battery, but like all other MP3 players, doesn't.

Inferior to Zen Nano: 1) Customizable functions very limited. 2) No line-in for recording from cassette player, radio, etc. 3) does not support protected WMA (downloaded from libraries or purchased from providers). 4) no neck cord, no belt clip etc. 5) Too bulky to be comfortable in a shirt pocket. 6) Poor for listening to audio books because of extraordinarily slow upload times. It may take 20 min to upload an average size book. 7) crappier earphones. 8) You have the choice between a fast forward function when you hold the >> button or a "skip to next folder" function--you can't do both without altering the settings. 9) the "skip to next folder function" doesn't work if you load a set of folders within a larger folder. You have to load the folders one at a time for this function to work. In contrast, the Zen Nano easily navigates between folders and tracks, regardless of how they are loaded. 10) On/off/pause button not distinguishable by touch from forwards/reverse button--this is far more annoying than it sounds-you cannot pause by touch. 11) No FM radio. 12) A fresh AAA seems to last only about 4 hours. The included Philips battery lasted for only about 3 hours. Compare that to the 40+ hours that the (smaller) Samsung YP gets on a single AA battery. Perhaps you say "I use rechargeable batteries so battery life doesn't matter to me"---however, note that when you recharge the batteries every night, they fail after a few months, so you'll have to replace your expensive "rechargeable" batteries. If not the cost of batteries, the inconvenience of having to change batteries every few hours (and loosing your place in your audiobook everytime) is intolerable.

Better than Zen Nano: 1) Voice recording is much simpler with the Philips than most other MP3s. Voice recording of meetings or lectures may be useable--but the unit lacks voice activation. A cheapy voice recorder with voice activation would be better for this purpose. Not usable for recording notes or dictating because of a long gap between pressing REC and the actual beginning of recording and having to hold the REC several seconds to stop the recording. 2) Full-size USB male plug is nice, but the unit is so bulky that a short patch cord (supplied) is necessary in most cases, and the cover is very likely to fall off and get lost.

The Samsung YP-C1Z/XAA looks to me to be the best choice in replaceable-battery 1G MP3 players. The Samsung 1 year warrantee is significantly better than the 90 day Zen or Philips warrantees.

In conclusion, the Philips is fine if you only listen to music which you have ripped from your own CDs, or unprotected files you've obtained from some other source. There is nothing that the Philips does better than other MP3 players, and almost any other MP3 player is better designed or offers more features than the Philips.

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I cannot use it for longer than a half hour without having to replace the battery! There's no way to rearrange the playlist so I have to scroll through all the songs to find the one i want. The sound quality is good but it's not convenient.

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This things sucks literally--the life out of any battery. The battery it came with died in 1.5 hours. I have tried three other batteries of different brands (one cheap Big Lots brand, an Energizer and a Duracell) and they get sucked dry quickly. Sometimes, right after you insert a new battery, it will already show that it has been depleted on the Mp3's battery meter. It has other good qualities but if you listen to it on the move a lot like me, consider something with better battery life.

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This MP3 player is good for listening to music but not for books or podcasts. It says that it uses usb 2.0 but the upload times are much longer than for other mp3 players I've used. My main problem is that if you listen to large mp3 files (over 40 mins) and then shut off the player it resets and takes you back to the begining of the file. Then if you try to use the fast forward it moves very slow. You might have to hold the ff button down for 10 minutes to move ahead 30. It also seems to burn through batteries much faster than other mp3 players.

This thing eats batteries like a semi chugs diesel!!! I wen't through 3 batteries in one day! Do not buy this! It will quickly double it's cost in batteries!