Philips Flashes Latest Portable Media Player October 9, 2007

Read more Digital Audio , Gadgets , Gizmodo UK , MP3 , Mobile Devices , Movies , Music

Wee video/music players are the order of the day these days, from any number of the Apple iPods to Creative’s Zen range.

Philips latest offering in this crowded space is the SA9345 Flash-based MP4 player, sporting a 1.8in display with 320 x 240 resolution capable of displaying WMV9 content at up to 348kbps at 30fps. It comes in 2GB and 4GB varieties but if it’s movies on-the-go you’re wanting it for, then plump for the £129 4GB version since the £99 2GB model is really just a waste of time. Not cheap either. At those prices, you’d expect an 8GB branded player for the £129.

The 4GB version is only good for around seven hours of WMV video content. Battery life is nothing to write home about though, delivering a very average 10 hours for audio and just two hours for video. On the music front, the 4GB player can cope with around 1,000 MP3s and 2,000 WMAs, and there’s also an in-built FM tuner.

In its favour, it’s a good looking player in glossy piano-black, with a touch-sensitive display and back-lit touchpads. It measures 9cm long, weighs in at 48g and is shipping now.-Martin Lynch

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