**Introduction**

I am going to see a couple of concerts in the next few days and you know how boring and monotonous a coach or train journey can be without a bit of music well I was looking to buy something cheap to see me through as my latest MP3 player didn't seem to want to charge so I looked for my old one which I hadn't used for probably over a year but knew I had it somewhere and when I found it I added a battery (It takes AAA batteries) and plugged it into my computer via usb to have a look what was on there and to add or remove files to adjust for my listening pleasure. I bought this player a couple of years ago when I was heading to my Dad's for Christmas and needed a cheap mp3 player to listen to music with obviously. I'd seen an advert on the TV that they were being sold in Halfords for just £9.99 which I thought was an excellent deal for an mp3 from a brand as well known as Philips.

**The Player**

The small size of the player is instantly clear and it features a small screen which is lit Green and shows the text of the various options which the player has and it's easy to scroll through your different folders to find the particular artist, track or album you want to listen to. The volume controls are on the top of the player clearly marked with an up and down sign with "vol" in the middle of that. To the side of that is the menu button and the option up and down and then finally you have the track up and down options which will also allow you to scroll through the various artists, albums and tracks on the player and also the various options. This particular player is 1GB but you can find the same player with larger storage if you particularly like the look of the player, the small capacity may hinder you if you want a lot of music on it so you might need to carefully keep an eye on the capacity left as tracks are added.

**The Sound**

Like with any MP3 player I would recommend you replace the headphones which are supplied for something a little better. Nowadays you don't need to spend too much money to get headphones of a decent quality and if you are like me and sound quality matters to you then it's worth investing in headphones. I use the player with my Sennheiser HD485s which I have reviewed here and highly recommend. The sound is surprisingly good for such a cheap mp3 player but the Philips name impresses again. The bass is strong and detailed and the mid-range and vocals are well displayed. Overall you'd expect the sound to have been from a more expensive mp3 player which is an excellent plus for this particular player. Some of it may be the headphones but you can't produce what the player can't do.

**Overall**

I would recommend this mp3 player to someone who just wants a cheap, good quality mp3 player and doesn't mind using batteries. The playback is dependent on the quality of the battery but a good full battery will give you around ten hours of continuous playback. The pluses are that it's sound quality is very good even for the price and the USB stick is included which allows direct access to your music which you can simply drag and drop into the relevant folder. Overall this is an excellent little player and would be ideal for a second mp3 player for the gym or transporting music to a friends house maybe or for those who aren't fussed about the latest ipod or archos and just want something that will also do what it says on the tin. Play MP3s. The battery life may be too little but the performance is good and you can always replace the batteries.