Philips today unveiled what should be the first full-fledged, globally available media player to use Android. The GoGear Connect provides full Android, including access to Android Market and even Google Maps, but has a focus on media apps. The device also builds in some phone-like features with a camera, and the option of wireless media syncing over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
Philips in an out-of-season event today revamped its GoGear media players with a pair of new models that are higher-end than usual. The GoGear Ariaz is pitched to audiophiles as a boost in audio quality with Philips' FullSound audio engine improving the frequencies and sound stage of compressed files. A bundled set of noise-reducing headphones also improve sound by focusing attention on the music.
Philips has updated its GoGear SA2925/97 portable audio players with the GoGear SA2940, which adds a 1.5-inch OLED color display. The display can show album art other status information such as track progress and battery status, but the specs are otherwise identical to the outgoing model's, and include 4GB of internal memory, 30 hours of battery life, a bult-in equalizer, and support for MP3, WAV and WMA audio files.
Philips has hoped to boost its GoGear portable audio player line with the GoGear LUXE, a unique player built expressly to tie in with a phone. The device is designed to be wearable as a fashion item and to serve as a Bluetooth headset; the LUXE not only pairs wirelessly with a phone to warn of incoming calls but carries dual microphones of its own to answer the call with active noise canceling. A one-line display shows incoming calls without having to fetch the phone from a pocket.
