Philips new baby sits in the mini MP3 player category both in it's physical size 86 x 53 x 16mm and in its hard drive capacity of 3gb. Now 3gb doesn't sound a lot and frankly it's not you'll be using the Musicmatch Jukebox software that comes bundled with the player to change it's contents at least twice a week with moderate use.

However the Philips HDD084 is a much better device than it's predecessor. The white backlit LCD screen may only be 96 x 64 pixels but the black surround makes it look much bigger, the controls are improved with a "super scroll" feature which is just marketing speak for a scroll bar. Lets not knock Philips this is small and lightweight device (78 grams) and the menu system is useable if not stunning and the introduction of "SuperPlay" a one touch selection system makes the interface as useable as the competition.

The HDD084 will handle MP3 up to 320kbps, WMA up to 192kbps and also playback and record WAV files, although the recording feature is limited to mono only. Philips seem to have improved the audio performance too, yes there is still a silly equalizer with modes such as pop, rock, cave, wishing well and dungeon (ok we made a few up) but the basic audio reproduction is pretty sorted and there is little hiss or distortion during playback meaning what you encode is what you get. The supplied headphones are frankly pants, but used with a set of Shure E3C's the Philips proved a good performer with a well weighted bass, if a little light and reasonable top end but again a little tinny for our tastes.

Sadly there is no Ogg Vorbis support for us purists but there is support for windows WMA DRM system meaning that fans of Napster and other legal download (read expensive) sites need not fret your Philips will play your purchases.

Battery life is about average with around 12 hours of replay from a 4 hour charge and they've missed the trick of charging via the USB 2.0 connection, however it does make for a speedy upload of new tracks and the whole device can act as a 3gb mass storage device on widows PC's.

Compared to an iPod mini the Philips HDD084 does not fair too badly, it is missing the iPod's style and kudos but then we like something a little different, where it gets let down is the average user interface and the small 3gb drive where for £20 the mini has a 4gb disk. Philips have however pitched the £100 HDD084 at the right point and it makes for a good entry level device, being light, well styled and shipping with Musicmatch which is a very competent software package.

To call the Philips an also ran would be unfair, it's clearly not a bad device and will keep many users perfectly happy, however this is not the best mini MP3 player available and relying on being the cheapest will not keep the HDD084 selling quickly for long.

Published - 05/09/2005

More Mini MP3 Player Reviews -

[ Up ] [ iRiver IFP ] [ MuVo2 mini MP3 player ] [ Rio Nitrus ] [ Philips HDD070 ] [ Zen Micro Review ] [ Sony NW-E99 MP3 ] [ Aiwa HZWS2000 ] [ Rio Carbon Review ] [ iRiver IFP 899 ] [ iPod Nano Review ] [ Archos XS100 ] [ Samsung YP-U1Q ] [ Cowon iAudio 6 Review ] [ iAudio U3 Review ] [ Creative Zen V Plus ] [ Cowon iAudio F2 ] [ Oracom UB890 ] [ iPod Touch Review ] [ 3rd Generation iPod Nano ] [ Sony NWZA818 Review ] [ MobiBlu B153 ] [ New iPod Nano 2G Review ] [ iRiver S10 Review ] [ Sandisk Sansa E200 Review ] [ iRiver U10 Review ] [ iRiver H10 Review ] [ Sanyo HDP MM3000 ] [ Philips HDD084 Review ] [ MPIO HD200 Review ] [ M:Robe MR100 ] [ Monolith MP3 Player ] [ iRiver IFP-599T ] [ Ipod Mini Review ]