Philips GoGear SA2825 review (2GB)

Features
For less than $50, the GoGear SA2825 packs an decent amount of features, including MP3 and WMA audio playback, FM radio, and voice recording. Noticeably absent from the GoGear SA2825 is support for Audible audiobooks or DRM-protected subscription music tracks--features included on the comparably priced SanDisk Sansa Clip.

Also included on the GoGear SA2825 is a selection of eight EQ presets, including a custom five-band graphic EQ. The product manual for the GoGear SA2825 mentions a radio recording capability, but we couldn't get this feature to work.

The GoGear SA2825 has the same wearable, gemlike quality as the Samsung S2 Pebble. The Pebble is a little less conspicuous and has slightly better sound quality; however, the screen on the SA2825 makes it much easier to use.

Performance
The GoGear SA2825 offers average-sounding audio quality and plenty of volume. The SA2825's presentation of higher frequencies is crisp and clear, allowing high-hats and guitar to shine without sounding brittle. Set with the EQ flat, the GoGear SA2825's low-frequency performance was just average. We tried sweetening the GoGear SA2825's low end with built-in EQ, but only succeeded in turning those frequencies into mush. Normally we wouldn't expect knockout sound from budget-price MP3 players, but recent players such as the Samsung S2 Pebble, Creative Zen Stone Plus, and Sansa Clip have proven that you don't need to sacrifice sound quality in small, affordable products.

The GoGear SA2825's voice recordings are encoded to an unflattering 8kHz mono WAV file, and although recordings are relatively free from background noise, the voice quality is somewhat muffled.

Philips rates the GoGear SA2825's battery life at 20 hours of continuous music playback. We'll update this review with our own CNET Labs results once battery testing is complete.