I liked the idea of essentially having a "playlist" of songs on media that I can keep for a while and not have to erase and rewrite all the time. In the long run, managing a small collection of 8mm MP3CDs is less hassle than constantly reloading a flash based player and losing what was there before. Also, those 8mm CDs will play in 99% of computers and full size MP3CD players.

The sound quality is very good. The unit has an electronic skip protection (ESP). However, I have found that even when I am riding my bike it is hard to make it skip. Leave ESP off and your battery will last about 1/3 longer.

The only thing I wish this player did was display ID3 tags, but maybe I am asking for too much in a player this small.

an mp3 cd player for 50 bux is the best deal u can do

i m very pleased with this product, i bought a 5 pack 8cm cd r two days before i got it and burned those cds on musicmatch jukebox plus, i almost got 80 songs on each and the sound is incredible!!!! i pretty much like this shuffle option, it rocks!
i mostly listn to punk rock music, in a 210 mb disc at 128kbps u can get around 80 tracks

its weight?? dont worry u dont even feel it!

i just have to advise two things:

1. the ear-plug covers comes a little bit damaged because of the way its packed, but its not that bad,
2. before purchase this cd player, u most buy a pack of 2 or 4 rechargable batteries and a charger for those, cuz if u use those standar batteries u are lost and will be mad cuz they only last about 4-5 hours, not kiddin!

thank god my brother had some cybershot sony rechargable batteries and gave me a pair and my problem was solved

i think philips should have think about a carrying case or a clip on for it, i usually use the expanium for jogging or walk on mornings and i have to carry it on my shorts pockets

Solid state players are certainly sturdy, and although entry level players can be bought for less than $100 bucks, if you want any type of realistic storage (256 megabytes) your price point will get very close to an entry level iPOD.

At the bottom of the portable MP3 player bucket though are the mp3/CD hybrid players. These are essentially standard cd players that happen to play burned mp3 disks like a standard audio cd. As far as raw mp3 storage goes they are the bargain of the century - some models can be had for as little as $30 bucks. And the media (a CDR or CDR/W disc) is nearly disposable. Unfortunately a cd player sized object is way bigger than what Im looking for.

Sony has had an interesting player on the market for sometime now - its NetMD line are essentially compact mini-disc players that also play mp3s. The catch is again price point.

So I had pretty much been relying on my Palm Tungsten for mp3 playback - which has the side of effect of really sucking the battery down - when I happened across Philips 8cm expanium disc player on Amazon. It works almost exactly like the mp3/cd hybrid players, except it uses small, 8cm CDR/W discs... what that means is that its cheap storage with a small footprint. And best of all is the price.

Ive only had it for about a day, but so far it works great, slips easily into my jacket pocket and if I loose or break it I wont feel that bad. The 8cm discs are cheap and available just about anywhere regular CDR media is sold - they hold 210mb which is enough to fit 2-4 cds worth of mp3s on depending on the bit rate at which they were encoded in - and because they are so small they wont weigh you down like full size discs.

Battery consumption might be an issue for some folks - but a pack of AA batteries are cheap enough at discount stores and is a small price given this players initial low cost of ownership. (This player comes with an AC adapter too - so if you use it at home or the office you can always just plug it into the wall.) Also - battery life can be nearly doubled by disabling the shock control - which you should only use if youre running or doing some other jarring activity, not sitting on a bus or train.

The sound is great - I tested with mp3s that were encoded at 320kbs and it sounded nearly cd perfect. The player also sports 2 levels of bass enhancement. The navigation buttons arent that complex, but it does allow you to fast forward a track & skip to the next album (folder on the disc) - two basic features that I wasnt really expecting.

The big problem is batteries. It only takes one AA but it sucks the life out of it in record time. And if you happen to put it on the table for a couple of days with a battery in it, expect it to be close to drained when next you turn the unit on. Why? Good question. Ask Philips. My questions about it have gone unanswered.

The resume mode works as advertised. But if you have to replace the battery youll lose the resume memory and have to start over. And since it eats batteries, well ...

Sound is excellent. Ive used it for both contemporary music at the usual bit rates, and Old Time Radio programs at obscenely low bit-rates. It played most of them but has been known to stutter occasionally with OTR material at 24kbps. As I type this Im listening to a Command Performance show from 6/30/44 encoded at 24kbps. 10 minutes in it has only stuttered once.

You could do worse ...