Digital Trends

Philips KEY003 November 18th, 2003 | by Ian Bell

Introduction

Philips wants to create a simple music and storage solution that is both versatile and looks good. Called the Key Ring Wearable Digital Audio Player (Key003), this little device can easily be connected to your computer and can store any kind of data. With an MSRP of $99, this 64MB music player ultimately achieves its goals, but sacrifices some pretty basic functions in the process.

Features

The basic premise behind this music player is that it can be used to store data and music, all the while looking good enough for you to wear. The Key Ring MP3 player comes with a set of headphones that can be used two ways. One way has the headphone plugged directly into the neck strap with only the ability to play and pause music. The second way has the headphones plug into an inline remote control which gives the user the ability to not only play, pause and stop music but adjust the volume, and skip ahead to other tracks as well. This player has an integrated battery which can be charged via the USB bus, and Philips is kind enough to include an external battery pack that stores a single AAA battery for even longer battery life.

The Key Ring Digital Audio Player comes with a CD which contains the players manual, Music Match audio program and Acrobat reader. The Key Ring Key003 supports both MP3 and WMA music formats.

Design

The design of this player is extraordinary. The casing is made from a magnesium alloy which gives the player very light and durable properties. This player is meant to be worn around your neck like a necklace. The neck strap is made from a durable cloth material with nylon properties that looks similar to what you would see someone wearing a name badge with. Located at the apex of the neck strap, right behind your neck is an audio input jack where you can plug in the headphones. This means the headphone cable is actually integrated into the neck strap so that you do not have a lot of cables hanging down.

The Philips Key Ring Key003 without the in-line remote control plugged in

This is a very cool idea, but Philips could have made this better. In its most basic configuration, the only controls you have available to you are the play/pause buttons. If you want more controls, then you need to attach the inline remote which means you will have an external cable in addition to the neck strap hanging down.