Philips Electronics unveiled their latest mobile entertainment products at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the form of two hard-disk drive based audio jukeboxes: the GoGear HDD1850 and HDD6330. The unique selling point mantra for Philips this time around is "usability." According to Philips, "The HDD1850 has an intuitive easy-to-use interface that makes it easy to find just the track or photo desired without having to navigate through endless, clumsy menus."

The HDD1850 offers 8GB of storage - good enough for about 4000 songs or 2500 pictures. Battery life, which can make or break a portable entertainment product, is estimated at about 18 hours of continuous playback - good enough for most users. The battery is rechargeable and features a speed charge capability where one hour of charging delivers 70 percent capacity. This is a big plus for the player. As a bonus, the HDD1850 also features a voice recorder and a FM tuner. Data transfer is through a USB 2.0 connection. Like most modern players, it is PlaysForSure™ compatible.

This compact and lightweight player is designed to slip into your daily routine. Coming back to the usability front, the player features a backlit sensory touchpad and Philips’ acclaimed SuperScroll™ system for easy maneuvering through your collection. And, it looks great! At this point it's tough to find a factor against the HDD1850.

Philips' HDD1850 appears not be competing with the iPod Nano, but seems to be looking to create a niche of its own. It's direct competition would be the Zen Micro Photo from Creative. The HDD1850 will be available in May 2006 and will have a suggested retail price of $249. www.philips.com