Written By: Kaelyn Harding
Not a fan of the iPod? Tired of your apple products erasing your music just because it’s something a friend sent you? The Phillips GoGear Connect 3 SA3CNT08K is not the solution. While this MP3/Video player offers all of the latest advances in android and web-browsing technology in a small, lightweight package, it was a mediocre addition to the Phillips line of products.
The Connect 3 sports touch-screen technology as well as WiFi connection, apps downloads, and an HD supportive media player. You can watch your favorite movies with the surround-sound headphones immersing you in the action. Compact and lightweight, it is just as portable as the leading electronics of the day. Phillips promises a new dimension of music and video with its Fullsound technology which is designed to revive compressed audio files so that you can have the high quality CD sound anywhere you go.
As far as the pro’s of this device go, users are excited about the Surround-sound and Fullsound features of this device. Even the best MP3 players can be bested by a poor sound file. The noise-cancelling earbuds are comfortable and fit snugly. All in all they provide a pleasant listening experience.
Unfortunately, where the Connect 3 excels in sound quality, it becomes mediocre in browsing functions. While it is compatible with most browsers and the internet pages, many of its menus are remarkably lackluster, especially when it comes to apps. The touch screen is slow to respond on occasion, but with some getting used-to it is passable. The biggest disappointment of the Connect 3, however, is the low quality resolution of its screen. While it is HD compatable, its concentration of pixels is a sadly small number, lending to less-defined picture quality on your video files and games. It also lacks the built-in camera feature that several other earlier models of the GoGear have had, so no one is really sure where or why that went.
The Connect 3 sells on the manufacturer’s website for $179.99. Comperably, other 8GB MP3 players start at $199.99, at least for iPod touch models. Phillips’ Muse collection also shares the Connect 3’s Fullsound technology and its starting price is a more manageable $129.99.
In sum, if you feel like breaking away from the iPod and taking a look at some of the non-Apple products, the Phillips line is a good place for sound quality, but perhaps that is the most you should expect from the Connect 3. New incarnations of the Muse may fill the void the Connect 3 has left, but only time will tell.