Philips SA230 Review

The User Reviews

Average User Rating: 5.5

1. Slightly Disappointing

   

   By: John
   July 7, 2005 @ 4:49 PM

   Volume output on this player is just adequate and no more. Many tracks need full volume to appreciate, especially above the level of city traffic noise.
   My old Philips Key 003 has far superior volume output and this is rated at only 4mW per channel. The Rush should be louder at 5mW per channel but this is definately not the case.
   Also, it eats batteries for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Top of the range alkaline batteries last under 6hrs continuous play, a good bit less than the claimed 9hrs.
   Case is a bit on the flimsy side as well.
   However, the price is not bad at £40 considering you get an FM radio as well ( who cares about the voice recorder ! ) and the memory is upgradeable.
   I am seriously considering returning mine since I am not 100% satisfied with it.

   Rating: 5 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

2. not too bad. value for $$

   

   By: viv
   March 21, 2005 @ 4:32 PM

   hi just got this…its actually not tat difficult to download music..tho you need to spend some time understanding it.

   you have to start the Cd then record it into music files format…then it can be downloaded…
   still experimenting…quite satisfied

   Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

3. I meant I tried with a 1GB Card!

   

   By: roland
   March 8, 2005 @ 4:02 PM

   See above

   Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

4. Excellent Voice recorder too!

   

   By: Roland
   March 8, 2005 @ 4:00 PM

   I agree with Alan above. There is no need to use the Philips software, not even to format the memory: use Windows to format it but remember-format it with FAT16 or FAT32. Also remember after formatting it to create a folder called “Voice” (without the quotes) or you won’t be able to use the recorder function!
   I find the microphone very good and the voice files can be downloaded onto the computer for storage and editing.
   My only problem is with the overall volume output of this player which, while adequate, is quite low.
   That’s the compromise for using only one AAA battery I suppose…but then again, my old Creative MuVo 64Mb only used 1 battery (AA) but could be turned up so loud that it was painful!
   Overall the Rush 230 is a nice unit and, by the way, I have tried it with a 1MB card and it’s fine.

   Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

5. Easy to use...

   

   By: Alan
   February 11, 2005 @ 12:04 PM

   I don’t know what these people are talking about when they say it’s difficult to get songs into the player. I was worried about buying this, but I decided to go for it anyway…

   So when I plugged it into the provided USB cable, my computer recognized it & then automatically added it into “My Computer” as Removable Disk (D:) & read “Your device was installed & is now ready to be used”. That was it. All I had to do was open the removable disk by double clicking on it. Then I simply dragged the MP3’s into it. I didn’t even bother installing the provided software.

   When I install an SD card into it, it shows the internal 128mb as Removable Disk (D:) & the MMC card as Removable Disk (E:)

   With all due respect, you’d have to be retarded not to figure out how to add/delete songs.

   I’ve read that 384 is the max that this player can handle. My MMC card is 512mb, it’s completely filled & the player can play each & every song.

   It gets a 7 because it’s kind of ugly, cheap looking & the control in the center is very flimsy.

   Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

6. I like it

   

   By: Junky
   January 19, 2005 @ 9:53 AM

   Downloading music is a snap. Just download the plugin software to your computer. Restart. Then hook the MP3 player with the USB cord. You should see the individual hard drives for the player. One for the built-in memory, one for the expandable card. Then drag your MP3 files onto the player’s hard drive.

   Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

7. how do you download music on it?!

   

   By: Jenna
   January 17, 2005 @ 12:24 PM

   Its impossible to download music ..bad instructions! does anyone know how?

   Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

8. bad instructions

   

   By: cs
   January 1, 2005 @ 9:21 PM

   it is impossible to get music downloaded on this piece of junk

   Rating: 3 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

9. Can not download music

   

   By: Anonymous
   December 29, 2004 @ 12:25 PM

   I do not know how to download music onto this player. It is very confusing.

   Rating: 5 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

10. its crap

    

    By: pissed
    December 10, 2004 @ 5:39 PM

    my mp3 player broke in 5 days and i cant get a refund. i took the mp3 player for a run and now it kepps on skipen the music. philips rush mp3 sucks its a waste of money

    Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No

11. Great for runners and joggers !

    

    By: Eric G
    December 17, 2003 @ 5:47 AM

    I run over 20 miles per week, and the SA230 has one of the best armband designs on the market. The player fits secure, comfortable, and easy to access. This is the only non-Nike mp3 player that took runners into consideration. Recommend Sony S2 headphones to finish the package.

    Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No