Philips HDD100 15GB MP3 Player

I'm currently listening to my HDD100 and it's superb. I have read in some consumer reviews that the sound quality isn't great but as far as I can here it is amazing, though as its MP3 the quality of the recording you put in determines the quality of the output, so all I can guess is that the people who complain about its sound quality have put poor quality recordings in. I have recorded most of my albums from CD using RealOne player at 128kbps and I can't tell any quality difference between my HDD and my top of the range Sony minidisc player. Also it has gained complaints because its volume does not go high enough. I like music to be fairly loud and its fine for me but if you want to cause serious damage to your ear through listening to extremely loud music then this is not for you.

Also people have complained about the enclosed earphones, I can't see any real problems with them. Ok, they're not top of the range but they do the job. However I am currently using my Sony earphones because they are better and I'm much more used to them. The inline remote is small but does not have a screen but is still useful for skipping tracks and volume control if you can't be bothered to get it out your pocket.

The device looks are amazing, in my opinion its better looking than the IPOD but that's up to you to decide. It looks good in photos but it looks 10X better in real life. Its has an inverted colour 4 scale large screen which is very clear and can fit all the info you want on one screen which is, well, good. The on screen info is all very neat, informative and well designed. Between screens there are transitions which do make it look professionally done, but arguably a bit pointless. The whole device doesn't weigh much and easily fits into your pocket, which is something that can not be said about the Zen. The hardware is amazing to put it bluntly.

On the subject of the device freezing which seems to be a big complaint I can't see the problem. Mine which does have the new firmware, has only frozen twice since I have had it, and I believe these were my fault for messing it about too much (i.e. pressing millions of buttons whilst it is busy). When this happened it was just a case of simply pressing two buttons together to safely reset the device. I think why it crashes for other people is because they put file format which the HDD does not support on the device so when it try's to play them it can't and crashed. Though I don't really have experience of this because mine hardly ever crashes but ive heard from other people that secure Windows Media Files rather than normal Windows Media Files cause this effect. On this note, the HDD supports Windows Media Files, which the IPOD does not. This does give the HDD an advantage over the IPOD because these files are of better quality and can be compressed more effectively into smaller files meaning that you can fit much more than the equivalent 15gb of MP3, though to be honest anything over 15gb is pointless and unnecessary.

There have also been a number of complaints about the PC software included. Admitably this is rather shoddy, simple yet awkward at times. But it does do its job so whilst I can unlike all the other complaints see where they are coming from it is not a reason not to get one of these terrific devices as you will only use the PC software for a limited amount of time as you are transferring songs.

I read somewhere that someone had problems reading the symbols on the buttons. Well all I can say to that is I can see them, and do you really need to look at the symbols after a few hours of use because I for one can memorise the different functions of five buttons quite easily. Also it's hard to explain the SuperScroll thing but its buttons with two levels of pressure. This makes it quicker and easier to scroll down big lists. In all very useful when you have 1000's of song's on it like I have.

Battery life is good, much better than IPOD. It uses Lithium ion battery which is the best type of battery however like all Lithium ion batteries will run down over time. If this happened and you had an IPOD you would be in a bit of bother as according to the current media articles an IPOD's battery is not replaceable so you would have to fork out another £300 to get a new one after 18 months. However the HDD's battery is replaceable, it just needs taking to a Philips service place.

Other benefits of the HDD are the direct optical or analogue input which allows you to record from your Hi-Fi so you don't need to use a PC. This is very useful for getting copy protected CD's onto your HDD as copy protected CD's work in CD players but not in PC's.

Can't thing of any other complaints to counter argue but I can't recommend you enough to go and buy one of these. The best hard disk MP3 player around in my opinion and I can only suggest that negative reviews are from Apple obsessives who are scared of the HDD taking over from IPOD's throne as the "best". If you want a stunning looking MP3 player that matches the IPOD for style and hardware performance choose the HDD.

The Bad - The headphone quality is OK for a £50 walkman, but not for a music device you've spent the best part of £300 on. Changing them for something decent makes a big difference. The fact that tracks are all stored alphabetically, rather than the order they are in on the original CDs is annoying and I can't think of a good reason for having done this.

The Ugly- The bespoke transfer software is simple enough to use, but it's simplistic and frankly should be unnecessary. You can drag and drop files onto the device through Windows Explorer, so why can't you just drag music on to it?

The biggest problem facing Philips is that this is their first generation HDD that has come onto the market up against third generation devices from the likes of Creative and Apple. That said it's still pretty good. I'd like to see the sound quality better (even with decent headphones there's room for improvement) and I'd like to be rid of the software, but other than that there is still a lot to like about the HDD100.

Once home I downloaded the software, very simple but did the job. Very user friendly, I was listening within the hour. The menu on the player works a treat but I did find the in-line remote poor quality, to the point that you didn't want to use it.

Within a couple of hours something wasn't quite right about this player, it was locking up frequently. Files corrupted quickly and the bass struggled on many songs. As this was my first MP3 player I wasn't sure if this was right. I had to sample another player so purchased the ZEN for comparison (have you tried to get hold of an ipod this summer......) The Ipod I have only sampled in-store but I was now in possession of both the Philips and Zen.

When it comes to any level of base the Philips really lets itself down. It struggled with Outside (Stained) and made Porcelain (Moby) sound really compressed. Without any equalizer or the extra base setting it sounds good but as soon as you add any level of base it really struggled for me. I like base (mild or heavy) and with music like Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam having no base is like toast with no butter....pointless.

I encoded at 192kbps as sound quality is very important to me. I currently have mini-disc, but i hate travelling with all those discs.

The Zen in comparison has superior sound quality, it's slightly bigger but ask yourself what you want it for. The Philips has no shock protection so you cant take it jogging. The ZEN is slightly bigger but for sitting on a plane, beach, hotel room, office, bus, train it does the job.

The Philips looks good but cost £50 more and has 5GB less than the ZEN. THE ZEN SOUNDS MUCH BETTER.

I'm now very happy with the £300 I have just spent, I was dissappointed when I had first purchased the Philips. I'm just glad i trusted my instinct and purchased the ZEN to compare. The Philips is now back with the store and they can keep it.

If you want a true slinky player that will hide in your shirt pocket do not purchase the ZEN, but if you want very good sound with lots of on-board options this is the baby for you.

Finally, as for MP3 in general, if like me you're not sure, do it. I have 250 albums in my collection, so far I have transferred 132 of them to the ZEN. Going to the US this weekend and to have this choice is going to keep me very very happy

Happy shopping............