Things to know:

FM radio feature is available with some versions (K/02, W/02, A/93, B/93, K/93,
P/93, K/97, W/97) not KN/02 or WN/02 and it is not on the MP3 I bought here.
There is a rechargeable battery in an MP3 and it has a limited number of charge
cycles; to conserve battery power, set screen-off timer to a low value (i.e. let
screen light turn off 15 seconds after use). The player has an automatic standb
y and shutdown feature that can save battery power. After 10 minutes in idle mod
e (no play, no button is pressed), the player switches off.
Nice features:
MICROPHONE (hidden in tiny hole) to record files. Good sound on playback when I
tested it. Very easy to record: choose second option on Menu: Recordings. Then c
hoose Start Voice. Press Play then again to stop. It will prompt you to Save if
you wish to. To listen to recordings you have made, go in that same second folde
r called Recordings and choose Recording Library then Voice. These files can be
deleted while browsing folders on your computer. You can also drag or copy&paste
the sound files you have made, into folders on your computer, to store them the
re.
NAVIGATION buttons for the volume or for searching in a file can be used as a pr
ess-once or press-and-hold to move at higher speed.
SCREEN is bigger than my previous GoGear and displays song title (only artist na
me and album name are displayed on a loop), total length of a track and how much
has been played so far (with a timeline that fills up as the song plays), track
number and how many more tracks in the folder (e.g. 003/032). It tells you if r
epeat/shuffle options are on and it shows battery situation.
You can REWIND or FASTFORWARD within a song by using press-and-hold (left or rig
ht).
Philips HEADPHONES provided with tiny removable foam covers for earphones.
3.5 mm headphone jack in which you can plug in a portable speaker such as the ve
ho360.
There is no USB cable to charge on your computer, this MP3 is a USB stick in des
ign. The USB connector is protected by a cap which is itself attached by a flexi
ble plastic strap (so cap won t get lost).
In the settings, you can choose to have the display rotated 180 and that s great i
f you have to plug in the USB on the right off your PC/laptop, that way you can
still read what s happening, e.g. charging, OK to disconnect, etc. (depends where
your USB ports are on your computer).
The on/off power button is also a LOCKING button (if pressed once) which means y
ou can lock MP3 and music won t be accidentally stopped (e.g. if buttons are press
ed while it s in your pocket). The display shows a lock icon but after 4 seconds,
if you click a button, you will see the screen and you can still change the volu
me while it is locked. Press power once to release lock.
The Press-back-one-level button is on top/bottom of MP3 beside power button (not
on front with the screen).
HOW TO FIND YOUR SONG AND SAVE YOUR PLACE!
If you want to find your music easily, use a folder system on your PC (sort your
tracks in artists or albums or whatever you like and give your folders names th
at will be conveniently read on MP3 screen, e.g. playlist 1 , best of Bill
they will c
ome up in numerical then alphabetical order). You can rename a file so you can n
umber the songs by adding a digit in front of the real title. Then move (drag) y
our FOLDERS (with music in them) to your MP3. When you turn on your MP3 don t clic
k first option (Music), go down to option called FOLDER VIEW and choose Music. T
he MP3 should even save that subfolder as a highlight when you click on Folder V
iew on next use.
Note that with your music in folders, you can still choose first option in menu
(i.e. Music), there you will have all your songs (alphabetically), plus the opti
on to pick by artist name (play all or open album subfolders to get songs in the
order you see them on the PC), or even pick by album name. Therefore, the FOLDE
R VIEW is best if you like personalised playlist, rather than listening to an al

bum.
There is a Last Played option accessible by not clicking on Music straightaway.
Instead go UP to the last option of Menu. Unfortunately, it doesn t save where I w
as last IN a track (like my old GoGear does so beautifully), it doesn t even resta
rts the last track I was listening to, it seems to go the first track of my firs
t folder!
But I noticed that if (after turning MP3 back on) I go into the first menu optio
n called Music and choose Artist, the MP3 highlights the artist I listened to la
st, and within that folder, the last album I had picked, and within that, the tr
ack I had chosen. So it does remember something (not in the search by album or in
All Songs though! A bit random )
However, if you turn off MP3 in the middle of a track (without using pause), the
player will start where you left off on return! I found, that s the way to save y
our place, without fail.
Other options found in the Settings:
Go in Settings option (in Menu) to find Play Mode and following options: REPEAT
current song, Repeat All songs in folder, SHUFFLE ALL in current folder in rando
m order, If both Repeat All and Shuffle All are activated, all songs in current
folder are repeated in random order.
Sound settings include the options: FullSound (restores the sonic details that m
usic compression loses e.g. for MP3, WMA), Equalizer (you can choose Rock, Funk,
Jazz, HipHop, Classical, Techno, Custom).
Display setting has Dark, Blue or Pink screen background options.
Language option (over 20).
Information lets you see capacity and space available, model, website details fo
r support and current firmware version (check the firmware version when updating
firmware from the support website.)
Interesting or Useful:
It seems to highlight which subfolder I last used when going in the Folder View
(which is perfect as I usually select the tracks from the Music subfolders there
).
You can adjust MAXIMUM VOLUME (MP3 comes preset to half the volume to protect yo
ur ears, it says!) It doesn t save your last used volume, but if you have increase
d the maximum you allow, it will let you increase the volume up to that without
you going into the settings every time. Though it will prompt you to press to un
lock the safe limit (a couple of irritating extra clicks).
MP3 came with a bit of charge and a 2 songs loaded (you can delete them when you
browse thru the folders on your PC or save them there to save space on your MP3
for your music).
You can also find the instruction MANUAL (pdf files) in many languages and there
fore delete the documents you don t need. FAQ folder on MP3 with even more help. T
here is a Quick Start Guide on paper in the box.
Guarantee information leaflet in box and also as a pdf file loaded on MP3 (viewa
ble on computer). Safety & Warranty leaflet in box.
You can restore to FACTORY SETTINGS from the menu. Though there is also a tiny R
ESET BUTTON at the back to be used If GoGearMIX is not working properly or the d
isplay freezes (you can reset it without losing data). If unsuccessful, you can
recover with the Device Manager (see description in Troubleshooting section in M
anual) you will need to have MP3 plugged in computer, using press-and-hold to go
into recovery mode to access Repair option.
A few negative points I discovered:
Every time I turn it on it takes 4 seconds to Update (longer than on my previous
GoGear).
If you are going thru the Settings while listening to a track, and you suddenly
need to pause the song, you have to go-back several steps to re-access the scree
n that shows you what is now playing, to be able to pause or turn volume down.
The silver middle navigation button gets easily pressed in and stuck (doesn t spri

ng back up flush) so must try and press right in the middle of it, but when stuc
k, just re-press it to release. It s not a big problem, I just wonder about lifesp
an of that button.
My previous GoGear was twice the thickness but half the length and sat verticall
y on flat surfaces (like a matchbox), this one can only lie flat
Software updates:
Here is a paragraph from the manual (I haven t looked into this yet): GoGear MIX i
s controlled by an internal program called firmware. Newer versions of the firmw
are may have been released after you have purchased MIX. The software program ca
lled Philips Device Manager can use your computer to check for firmware updates
that are available on the Internet. Install Philips Device Manager on your compu
ter from MIX or download the latest version from [...] Note: your music files ar
e not affected by a firmware update. To manually verify update: click Start >Pro
grams > Philips > Philips MP3 player > GoGear A3MXX Device Manager to launch Phi
lips Device Manager. Click Update Philips SA3MXX Device Manager.
Menu:
Music (all songs/ artists/ albums)
Recordings (start/ library)
Folder View (FAQ/ fscommand/ installer/ manual/ music/ recordings/ findproc.dll/
installer.exe/ install flash player/ mix3.ico)
Settings (play mode/ sound settings/ display settings/ language/ information/ le
gal/ factory settings)
Last Played (or Now Playing if in use)