Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Some Good, Some Bad, Some Ugly! But useable, and here's how! April 9, 2007
J. Plant (Leicester)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Right,
I own one of these, it's NOT user friendly, and idgnore the 'helpful' philips website, it's not helpful at all. Oh, all right then, go and get the 4.1 firmware update for the device, but I have never got the musicmatch 9.5 software to work properly.
I had a multitude of troubles getting music on to this at first (I bought it to use as speakers for my Zen Vision M 60gb, another plus, the charger for this also fits the zen!!)
I eventually realised that when transferring music, use the 'new' yahoo jukebox 2.0, which is a free download. This is claimed not to be supported at all, but it does work, basically (no playlists or anything fancy, but it was the only way I could even get music on to the device, Musicmatch 9.5 from the philips website put the music into the wrong directory on the device, meaning the sql database that logs the contents couldn't see it!)
Tips
Don't use a USB port! even a power port has fluctuations, and this is very intolerant of such things. Using the PC's own socket resolved this issue. Also, plus it in to the mains at the same time to ensure it stays powered up!
Don't expect it to hold all your music. I have the 512mb version, and a 7mb .mp3 track takes 10mb when transferred!?!?!
For crying out loud, Don't EVER remove it mid flow.
Conclusion, speaker quality is absolutley outstandig, but, like every philips product I have ever used, the people at phuilkips have absolutley no idea or care about consumer desires (drag and drop with no drivers) If Philips used windows explorer, or supported their devices, then this would get 5 stars, as it is, the speakers are incredible, radio and alarm are useful (although the clock loses around a minute and a half per day when in standby mode!)
+
Speaker Quality is astounding and suprising
General package quality and build
added functionality over conventional speakers
case, aerial, charger and line in all included!
-
Philips support 'we won't be offering vista support, ever! live with it'
Software, as other have stated, is truly vile
Temperamental USb requirements
Not the most user friendly interface
 Almost, one of my best buys this year! October 18, 2006
T. Clarke (UK)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Well, what can I say. Philips have really done themselves proud with this superb quality piece of kit.
Upon recieving it, I was suprised just much care and effort had been made to package the player. Its a good bulky box, that has a slip case, then opens up flaps, then another slipcase, and then finally you get the player out! And its all tidly put together.
Value wise, its 11 out of 10 for the quality of this thing. Its not one of your cheap ipod knock-offs - this is built solidly. Its feels nice and weighty, and has gud pads at the bottom for non-slip. The case is made from a resin style material - thick and incredibly strong, looking almost splash proof really. The speakers are protected nicely buy this all in one mould, and all the wires/sockets are at the back. behind a very tidy flap with a silver panel. The screen is small, but easy enough to read off.
Upon use, you have many modes. Plug this player into the provided AC power plug, and you have yourself bedside alarm clock if you wanted, thanks to the fact that it displays the time through a constant backlight, as it not wasting battery energy. Or unplug, and use it on the go, or just put it on a shelf and listen to it. The sound quality is excellent - nice and clear, especially with the bass boost. The EQ settings also provide some variety.
For features, i'd give it an 8 easily. You don't just have to listen to the music you put on, the in line cord lets you plug it into any headphone jack, and you have yourself a portable speaker system. Or of course you can just listen to the radio, using the attenae/cable provided. All can be done in just a few button clicks.
For what 'you get' in the box, i'd give it an 8 again. Not only do you get the special cables required (even ipods don't have an AC cable! They expcet you to pay for a charger...", but you also get an excellent quality cae for you to transport it in - looking rather like a glasses case, with a strap. Sofware is on cd, along with many leaflets/manuals. And 'cause the box is nice and easy to access, you can store everything you wont be needing for a while in it.
As i've said, the presentation is top notch, and leaflets are simply layed out too. The Philips software looked good when I first put the cd in, however, the MusicMatch software is... good and bad. You see, it looks excellet - very clean and modern, easy to use, nice features, lots of help... I like it! But it is bugged in parts. Sometimes you get error messages unexpectedly, and it takes alot of RAM. But it may depend on your computer, so beware! And to clear any unknown answers, you CANNOT use windows explorer to transfer and LISTEN to music - it won't be displayed, as Philips want you to use their software. But, I prefer WIndows Media Player, which is simple and easy.
I think Philips could have given the player more memory for the price (got mine for , which isn't too bad" but since the RRP was over , it is a little cheeky. But 512mb versions are available.
This is one on the best quality Philips products i've bought in a while. Apart from the software which is ok, I think its perfect all round, and ideal for large or small rooms.
iPod's big brother..in many good ways. October 3, 2006
Neo
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I think the best way to describe the shoqbox is that it is iPod's big brother. Clean lines, very robustly built, well laid-out solid feel buttons and tiny speakers with an amazingly rich sound, regardless of how hard you push them. A multitude of pre-defined equalizer settings allows further enhancement to suit personal taste. For extra bass, there is the DBB(Dynamic Bass Boost) button. Also perform briliantly as external speakers for your laptop or iPOD. Sound is rich and clear with no hiss or crackles even at the maximum volume, which fills a small room more than adequately. The bass is deep for a unit this size.
Battery power lasts up to 9-10 hours, giving the unit extra credibility as a failure-proof alarm-radio unit. Also have a built-in overheat cut-off safety feature which was impressive considering the price and the already fantastic overall built quality and multitude of functions.
Radio reception and tuning is excellent with minimal hiss even in a office environment surrounded by multiple office equipment and in a low signal area. Line-in port does what it is suppose to do. Great amplified sound with no appreciable loss of signal or external noise. You can even set the alarm to use the line-in source. Amazing.
Connection ports are hidden behind the unit by a stylish cover. The supplied charger, USB port cable and antenae wire works perfectly. There is even a very well built and stylish semi-hard travel case to boot. The case will ensure "survival" of the unit on long journeys however you choose to pack it.
The Musicmatch software supplied with the original CD have a bug and will display the "No Tracks Found" error even after you have transfered all your tracks over to the unit. This is solved by downloading the upgraded version (Musicmatch Jukebox Version 9.5092 ) from the Philips support website. Just type "PSS110/05" in the model search box on the top left hand corner. The latest firware is also available here and is version 4.1
Updating both leads to a truly excellent unit. The transfered music tracks will now be displayed with their full info on the unit (i.e. title, artist, genre, etc).
After using the updated software for a few months, I have warmed to it and find that it is actually quite useful, especially the automatic volumme leveling and user-specified file compression on transfer features. Avoid using the "Super Tagging" function and you won't be persistently "hassled" to upgrade... Manual editing of the file properties works fine, albeit may become labour intensive if dealing with large batches of files in one go.
The Shoqbox grows on you. Highly recommended for the road warrior or for those looking for a good-looking, well-built, compact, all-in-one music box plus radio/alarm. All these features in about 6 inches by 1.2 inches by 1 inch dimensions. About the size of a pencil box, not a "shoqbox"!!
4 stars because song transfers are not "plug and play", which limits the flexibility of an otherwise excellent unit. Still, very good value for money overall and does what it has been designed to do well.
ps Again, don't get put off by the "Currently not available" messages. Go to the actual product page in Amazon itself and you will find other sellers. At 30 pounds with one seller, its a real bargain that should not be missed if you need something like this.
So much for a cheap price September 16, 2006
Mr. R. Owen (Llandudno, Conwy United Kingdom)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Philips PSS110 ShoqBox is a great bit of kit. Looks really good, totally ruggished and comes with loads of accessories!
Sound Quaility is really vibrant, bright and clear - even at full volume, which is loud for a very small unit. Also the unit has a line-in, so you can plug in a CD player or laptop!
Don't use the bundled software! Windows Media Player 10 supports transfer to this device.
Carn't fault this great little product!
shoqbox not working? September 2, 2006
A. J. Wilson
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
are you having trouble charging your brand new or refurbished shoqbox??? easy!!! plug in the charger, and press the reset switch using a ballpoint pen until you hear a click. your problem should now be solved.
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