Philips Active PSA232 review (512MB, red)

A Mini SD slot for memory expansion rounds out the Philips Active PSA232's feature set. These cards are available up to 1GB, costing about $100. The slot can be accessed by twisting off the back cover of the device. The battery and, unfortunately, the mini USB port also live back here. While the cover isn't difficult to get on and off, we'd prefer not to have to do this every time we want to sync with our PC. The PSA232 uses Windows Media Player (WMP) for music transfers--MP3 and protected WMA (Janus included) are supported--and the package includes an install disc with the appropriate drivers for the program. Tunes transferred to the player without a hitch (at 1.7MB per second), and the WMP playlists showed up as such on the device; tracks are usefully arranged by playlist, artist, and album. You should note that to avoid any issues between WMP and a Mini SD card, you'll need to format the card when it's initially installed in the player and continue to use it with just the player.

In our tests, the Philips Active PSA232's sound quality impressed us overall. Even through the included 'buds, sound was decent, though it was a bit too bright and tinny for our taste. Also, bass was lacking. However, when we subbed in a pair of Westone's UM2 ear monitors, we were shocked by the robust bass response--this little player can really bump it. In fact, turning on the bass-enhance feature was a bit much. Philips's rated battery life of 15 hours for the PSA232 is so-so for a flash player, but CNET Labs tests squeezed out only 7 hours, which is pretty horrible, especially since you'll be payng to replace those batteries every time.

Editor's note: This page has changed from our original version.