Best equipment I would never buy again!!
Strengths:Great Design, Easy to use, Solid feel and terrific sound
Weaknesses:Proprietary plug, see below..
Posted May 17, 2006 - I really wanted the Zen Vision M, but it was impossible to find, so I chose this one for a couple of reasons. The price was less than the IPOD, and the Zen, it had a 30gb drive, it is windows/WMP compatible, and it looked great. I have to say I am fond of the looks, the controls are terrific, and downloading songs and pics couldn't be easier. You can use Windows Media, Music Match, or simply drag and drop, although if you drag/drop, you may have a problem playing some types of files. The controls are terrific and easy to use, its sensitive but not overly so.
What I can't stand is the proprietary plug. Its not a standard USB 2.0, and its connected to the charger. That being the case, a few times when I plugged it in to charge, the screen says loading when its not connected to the computer. Well, it never changed, and I didn't notice it. Needless to say, I had to unplug it, and it still didn't change screens. I has to let the NEWLY CHARGED battery die out for it to shut down. It has done this twice, and believe me, the thing WILL run for 15 hours as advertised. Unfortunately, I didn't hear any music. Once it ran out of juice, it reset itself and ran flawlessly. Also, with the plug, I can't plug this into a car jack or XM Stereo port, or anything. The lack of standard ports is a serious limiter. Had I known this before I bought it, I would have never bought it.
Another down side is the battery. Its rechargeable, but not interchangable like the Zen Micro, which I had previously. The Zen Vision M is rechargeable also, but you can plug it into your computer, unlike the Philips. The Charger is bulky and awkward.
The software is somewhat slow I think, so there is a slight delay from when you press the button to when you get a reaction. I would say its maybe 2-4 seconds, but if your not paying attention, you may think it locked up and start pushing the buttons like crazy. It has locked on me before, so I thought maybe it was me. This necessitated letting the battery run down AGAIN, then letting it reset. Once I figured out what it was doing, it made it easy. The problem is that I never know what is going to happen when I plug it in.
I wish this thing would play video. 30gb is a lot, and the photo viewer, while nice, and easy to use, is only good if I had lots of photos or I needed something like that. The controls and menus are simple to use
The power switch feels cheap and really kind of sucks. Its in a strange place, and if you have a free fingernail, its easy to use. If you wear gloves, or you use your fingertip, you may not shut it off. Also, it takes like 5 seconds for it to turn off and on, so sometimes I wonder if its working at all.
There is very little in the way of accessories, and I can say there probably will not be any from 3rd party suppliers, since the proprietary plug limits its use. Thats a shame because this is a very nice player.
On the plus side, when I had problems with it, Philips responded within 6 hours to my email request for assistance, so I was rather inpressed. They were thoughtful and attentive, since I am stationed overseas and don't have phone access. The earbuds, with the interchangeable knobs, sound terrific, and stay in your ears comfortably.
I would love to rate this as a 4 star because when it works it rocks, but the cables, software, make this a real loser in my book.
Bottom line: Having to pay 260 dollars for something that may or may not work right is ridiculous. Go with something else.
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Rated 
Phillips HDD6330/17
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I hate this Device
