Philips GoGear Vibe 8 GB MP3 Player (Silver)

The very first portable MP3 players were introduced in 1998 but didn't really catch on en masse until Apple released the iPod in late 2001. Apple chose to use their own audio compression (AAC), which had better sound quality than MP3. Apple's iPods are ubiquitous now with portable music players but believe it or not, there are other music players that offer features equal to those of or better than the iPod. Philips offers the GoGear ViBE as an alternative to the iPod nano by appealing to one very important consideration: value.

PROS:
- Very good value
- Good user interface
- Good sound quality
- Good battery life
- Supports MP3, WMA, and FLAC formats
- Firmware upgradeable
- Decent FM reception

CONS:
- FullSound "feature" is a gimmick
- Songbird application is weak
- Cannot update firmware without Songbird
- Terrible 90-day warranty
- Earbuds are awful

Back in 1998, I bought...Read more

I bought this MP3 player as a gift for Christmas for my son, but it was dead before I could give it to him. I got it out of the package to charge and put songs on it so it would be ready Christmas day. It was doing ok at first, then it said that a firmware update was available. The update caused the player to lock up. The songbird application also failed to execute after that. I tried to re-launch Songbird only to get error messages. I uninstalled it and tried to re-install it... the same error messages. Philips support was NO HELP. They suggested I get Songbird directly from the Songbird site... I did.. It installed. Now as for the player it was locked up.. I ended up having to format it again which erases all of you songs, but I figured I could re-load them. Once the player was turning on and appeared to be working order I hooked it up to the newest Songbird application I had downloaded.. It wouldn't load the songs (errors between the player and software). I went back to support...Read more

Purchased this NEW Philips Vibe 8GB as backup for my other two mp3 players (earlier version 4gb Vibe and 4gb Sansa Clip+) and for the ability to play FLAC encoded music.

Compared to the earlier version of Philips Vibe, this new one have a better and more intuitive menu navigation. The navigation pad now have the Play/Pause button in the middle. The aluminum case give it a solid, well built feel. Clearly, Philips did his homework and corrected the physical and navigation drawbacks of the old one. But they failed in another equaly important aspect. Sound quality!

This new one sounds harsh, dull, opaque, lifeless compared to the Sansa Clip+ and older GoGear Vibe. I used the same mp3 song on all three units for and unbiased comparison. The Sansa Clip+ gives the best reproduction. The sound is lifelike, detailed, with presence and dimension. The older version of GoGear Vibe sounds more detailed and crisp than the new Vibe but lacks the presence and dimension of...Read more