Philips Gogear Muse 3 16GB

In common with the Sony Walkman NWZ-A866, the Philips Gogear Muse 3 offers music, video and photo viewing but without the ability to download apps or browse the web.

The player is made from brushed metal and white plastic with neat touches such as copper power and volume buttons. It had a high-quality feel, and though it was slightly heavy it gave the impression that it would brush off the inevitable knocks of everyday use. The 16GB of internal storage can be expanded by up to 32GB using the MicroSD memory card slot.

A 3.2in touch-sensitive screen on the front was exceptionally bright and crisp, although it lacked the lightning-quick responses of some other touchscreen devices. Watching TV programmes downloaded from the BBC iPlayer in WMV format was a pleasure; there was sometimes a little stuttering during playback but this wasn't too noticeable.

Clear and chunky navigation menus and icons made the Gogear Muse 3 easy to use. Although there are no physical buttons to skip tracks, we liked that we were able to skip through tracks by swiping a finger anywhere on the screen.

Copying music, video and photos to the device was simple and fast using Windows or the included Song Bird software. The ability to delete files from the player itself was also a welcome addition.

Sound quality, through the included sound-isolating earphones, was rich and immersive. Using the Full Sound feature revealed detail in songs that we hadn't heard during previous listening. The internal speaker was also loud enough to be heard in a noisy environment.

Another feature called Safe Sound alerts the user when the listen, unusually, a text file reader.

The Gogear Muse 3 does not support Bluetooth for wireless headphones, and the landscape-only menus mean that it is best used with both hands. These are minor drawbacks, though. This is a great player that covers all the basics and more.