A digital music player for the beach

When digital music first took off a few years ago, it was sadly stuck in the confines of the computer's hard drive, to be rescued only through burning on to a CD.

But as the technology has evolved, so too - thankfully, for music fans - has its ubiquity. Through an ever-growing range and variety of devices, we can now listen to mp3s just about anywhere - on our stereo, personal players or even car systems.

Philips is targeting the beach-going crowd with its new ShoqBox mp3 player/radio, which will be available next month.

It's a sleek, white device - about the size of a small bedside alarm clock - that conjures images of the iPod, which it undoubtedly took some design inspiration from.

Like the iPod, it's a full-blown mp3 player, but its powerful speakers mean it's not just a personal device.

It's supposed to be heard by many people. And boy, will it.

The ShoqBox features twin built-in Neodymium speakers, about 4cm in diameter. The sound is thoroughly surprising, coming in clear and crisp with no distortion, even at its loudest setting.

Philips says this is through the incorporation of XSL Acoustics, which provide output twice as powerful as traditional compact speakers. The device also features extra bass, as well as a series of different equalisers, so users can set pitches to their individual liking.

Although the ShoqBox may not be loud enough to use at a party in your home, it certainly is ideal for rocking out in smaller situations that call for some portable music, particularly outdoors. It's perfect for camping, or going to the beach.

It also has a nice protective plastic casing and although the ShoqBox may not survive being buried in sand or dunked underwater, it should be able to withstand most conventional elements. It also comes with a sturdy carrying case, for further protection.

The device features 512 megabytes of internal flash memory, which stores around 16 hours of music, and the rechargeable batteries boast about 10 hours of playback ability.

Music is transferred to the ShoqBox from the PC through a USB cable, included with the device.

You'll have to install the included MusicMatch software to do transfers. The software is comprehensive, but it's somewhat clunky - I would have preferred a simpler plug-and-play transfer method.

The ShoqBox also boasts a built-in alarm clock, sleep timer and FM radio, which you can tune to using the supplied antennae.

There's also a headphone port and line-in port, so you can connect the device to your stereo for even bigger sound.

If there's a problem with the ShoqBox, it's in its usefulness. It's too big to be a personal mp3 player and too small to be a proper stereo, so it has to fall somewhere in between - much like a boom box might.

With a $299 price tag, the ShoqBox is priced well in comparison with other mp3 players, but poorly against non-digital, CD playback systems, which can be had for around $100.

That's unfortunately the case with all digital playback devices. There's obviously a premium price to be paid for the convenience of portable digital music.

ShoqBox

* Price: $299.
* Pros: Sleek mp3 device with great-sounding speakers.
* Cons: Not quite a personal player, not quite a full-blown stereo.
* Herald rating: 7/10.