Philips Active PSA232 (512MB, red)

Philips has come a long way since the Philips Nike PSA Play 64. The company has not only divorced its newest line of fitness-friendly MP3 players from the Nike brand but has also packed the sporty players with features any gym rat would love. The players are now part of Philips's Active line and include the 4GB microdrive-based PSA612 ($200) and the flash-based PSA232, which offers 512MB of storage for around $120. While this is on the pricey side--you can pick up a 512MB iPod Shuffle for half as much--active users might not mind paying a premium for the features offered by the PSA232.

The Philips Active PSA232 follows in the footsteps of its predecessor's with its round, discuslike design. Of course, with a weight of just 2.2 ounces and a 2.5-inch diameter, this MP3 player is much smaller and lighter than a discus. It's actually much more comfortable in the hand than the larger 4GB PSA612. With its shiny front, chromelike accents, and grippy red-rubber back, the PSA232 walks a fine line between style and sportiness. Aesthetically, this player won't appeal to everyone, but it's not ugly. In fact, we're rather taken by the rocking faceplate that serves to navigate menus, scrub through tracks, and adjust volume--it's really easy to use when the player is attached to your arm via the included armband. Other controls include the play/pause/power button, the menu and the lock keys, and the stopwatch-function rocker.

Along with the armband, the talking stopwatch is the Philips Active PSA232's most useful fitness-oriented feature. The aforementioned rocker serves two functions. One side starts and stops the stopwatch, while the other side has a "voice bubble" graphic and activates a female computer voice that tells you how much time has elapsed--neat. The PSA232 also automatically stores all your recorded times from the stopwatch. You can browse the times by date in the Sport History menu. Unfortunately, this player doesn't include a pedometer (like the Philips-Nike MP3Run) or a heart-rate monitor (like the Samsung YEPP Sport YP-60), so it doesn't track calories burned.

Other noteworthy features you'll find in the Philips Active PSA232 include shuffle and repeat playback modes, a bass-boost option, and six EQ presets: Rock, R&B, Electronica, Hip-Hop, Classical, and Jazz. If you get tired of your digital tunes, you can switch over to the FM radio, which has an autotuner and 10 preset slots. Supposedly, the autotuner will program the 10 strongest stations, but we found that it just picked off the first 10 with any reception. No biggie, though, because it's really easy to manually reset individual slots to your preferred stations. Reception was great with the included headphones, but be forewarned that while the over-the-ear 'buds are convenient for working out, they're not adjustable, so they won't fit all ears.

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