Philips GoGear SA5245BT

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Bluetooth wireless transfer and streaming is one of the greatest inventions since sliced bread. A PMP or DAP with Bluetooth only enhances functionality and provides users with much more than just an audio/video experience.

While Philips’ GoGear range has been faring quite well in the Indian market, the company’s latest SA5245BT (Bluetooth-enabled) PMP attempts to increase its popularity further. Whether it will or won’t is a moot question, so let’s seek some answers…

Form Factor
The SA5245BT has a 2.8 inch 240 x 320 pixel QVGA display supporting 262K colors. The design is not unlike the other GoGear PMPs we’ve reviewed in the past, with volume controls on the top and a slider ‘Hold’ switch, mini USB, and 3.5mm earphone socket at the bottom.

For menu navigation there’s a five-way nav-pad bedside the display. You have a return key near the nav-pad as well as a very handy quick access options key. A small LED with the Bluetooth symbol is located just above the nav-pad to indicate if the BT radio is on or off.

The company has included a leather case for the SA5245BT to keep the screen safe. Although I’m not a fan of the canal earphone design, I must admit the bundled earphones are comfortable enough and help enhance the overall sound experience.
Features and PerformanceAudio

The SA5245BT comes equipped with Philips’ Full Sound Technology, which provides great sound quality. However, I felt the highs sound way too bright and sharp if the volume isn’t controlled well. Then again, the player’s dynamic range of audio is not very well controlled. The higher and mid frequencies continue to be on the brighter side. But if the Full Sound engine is switched off, a manually customizable EQ setting can help. This is in addition to the other presets available.

Playlists can be created only via Windows Media Player 11, so if you have an older version you’ll have to upgrade. Thankfully, Philips has provided the same on the bundled CD. You can also create playlists on the go on the device itself. A quick-access menu allows convenient access to audio and Bluetooth settings without the need to navigate back to the main menu and the settings folder. You can also set a maximum level for the volume, and rate tracks.

The integrated FM radio works quite well, even on city commutes. Of course, you can’t expect crystal-clear sound, but it’s not too bad when compared to some of the other players out there. A recording feature is available, in addition to the voice recorder that has really good range.

In the bigger picture, SA5245BT’s audio experience isn’t too bad. Aside from the slightly sharp high frequencies there were no other issues. It’s loud, it’s quite clear, and if the EQs are adjusted well enough, you won’t ever need the volume to be peaked to drown out the noise – and still get a kickass bass line. For a truly great audio experience get yourself a good Stereo Bluetooth headset.

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Visual
JPEGs and video can be easily viewed on the SA5245BT. With normal pictures it’s as simple as copy and paste, though opening high-res image files does take a bit of time. If you do happen to notice jagged edges in professional high-res images, it’s an indicator that the player is not really designed for professionals. However, images from your personal digicam or mobile phone will look fine enough.

What I found to be a bit of a disappointment (but only a little bit) was the video conversion. The converter and device manager worked like a charm on my home PC, but not in the office for some reason. The converted videos didn’t look as good as I’d hoped, though they weren’t altogether bad. You can start any video stored onboard from the point of interruption, which is a definite bonus.

If your videos aren’t adjusted to a 4:3 aspect ratio you’re going to end up losing most of the screen. Naturally, on a portable video player the last thing you want is empty space on a small screen. The converter does give you the option to choose the size, provided the software can locate your device.

Connectivity
The SA5245BT supports Bluetooth v2.0+EDR and profiles for both A2DP (listening to audio via a Stereo Bluetooth headset) and AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile) for controlling other Bluetooth enabled devices. This is the device’s best feature, and is always accessible via the quick access menu.

You can send and receive videos/images and music from your mobile phone or any other BT device. If you’re sending data from the player you can select multiple options and simply let the transfer process continue. You can’t really do anything while transfers are in progress.

Battery
I’ve never had much faith in the battery life claimed by companies. In fact, sometimes I wonder if they randomly pick a number! The GoGear website states that the SA5245BT can provide 30 hours of nonstop audio, which would have been simply awesome. But my tests clocked it at little over 19 hours, which is still very good.

The SA5245BT will allow you to watch at least two full-length movies and still get about an hour’s worth of battery life. However, these tests don’t involve the use of a Bluetooth headset. With BT enabled, you can expect a considerable drop in battery life.

The Bottomline
Available in a 4GB version, the SA5245BT is reasonably priced at Rs 7,205. With good audio quality, a decent battery, Bluetooth, an FM radio with a recorder – and all of them working well, besides – this is one of the better players I’ve reviewed.