Philips GoGear SA3025

I'd love to own a player that’s versatile enough to allow me to use it for all my media purposes. But having a DAP or a PMP that provides the same is one thing and one that does it well is obviously a horse of a different color. Philips GoGear has a long list of media devices that cater to some of these needs and a few that take care of all. The SA3025 has all the right features, but let me tell you how well those features measure up...

Form Factor
The SA3025 is a small and neat-looking PMP. It has a 1.5 inch display with a 128 x 128 pixel resolution. The five way nav-pad is stylish, and a separate ‘Return’ key takes you back to previous menus. The volume keys are on one side and the Hold switch and Power slider are on the other. You’ll find the mini USB port and 3.5mm earphone socket at the bottom, on either side of the strap loop.

Features and Performance
Starting at the top, the menus are no different than what you’d find in any other GoGear PMP with similar features. It’s clear and easy to navigate – or would have been that way if it weren’t so darn slow. Like most other players (GoGear included), the EQ presets are located in the Settings menu, so while playing a track you’ll have to go all the way back to the main menu and scroll down to the Settings to make any changes. There are no manual EQ settings. Another feature I didn’t like was the lack of a folder search option. Even the video-less SA2825 offered that feature.

The SA3025 doesn’t even allow you to play tracks by creating a playlist. Better prefix your stored tracks with 01, 02, 03 etc. Your other option is to make sure your ID tags are perfect so you would at least be able to find tracks by artist or album. Otherwise all your music files will simply be stored alphabetically, and with the scroll speed being what it is, it will take ages if you’re listening to a track from A-Ha and suddenly want to hear something by Rihanna (if your tracks are stored with artist name and track).