A Slew of MP3 Players from Philips

Philips has recently formed an alliance with RealNetworks to bring Rhapsody to its GoGear MP3 players. RealNetworks' Rhapsody is like a all-you-can-eat music bar, so you can grab unlimited amount of songs given you keep your subscription alive for $14.99 a month. So far, Sandisk and iriver are the ones with players backing the service; Philips makes it the third. Designated SA52x5BT, the $139 DAP also comes with a 2.8" LCD and built-in Bluetooth, which allows the player to pair with a set of wireless headphones and to share files wirelessly with a PC (or maybe another DAP).

In addition to bringing Bluetooth and Rhapsody compatibility, Philips debuted SA65x5 PMP with a 4" 16:10 display. Somewhat unique to the player is the ability to record TV directly, likely from a composite or S-video source; otherwise, the SA6585 will need its own TV tuner. Also included is a timer for scheduled recording. Lastly, Philips SA2845 is the smallest of all Philips DAPs. This particular model isn't exactly newsworthy since the company didn't brag about it too much except stating it has 4-line OLED display, built-in battery and 20 hours of playtime.

Pricing:

• SA6545 4GB for $179, SA6585 8GB for $199
• SA5245BT 4GB for $139, SA5485BT 8GB for $159
• SA2845 4GB for $49