Raga, Spark, and LUXE – New GoGear DAPs From Philips

Philips has announced the latest additions to their GoGear line of digital audio players. The Raga, Spark, and LUXE provide increasing levels of sophistication with the Raga being the basic version and the LUXE being high-end. Spark carries intermediate enhancements. The Raga costs between $35 – $45 depending upon your choice of flash storage – 2GB or 4GB. The Raga features plain vanilla looks and a tiny multi-line display. It has an impressive battery life of 27 hours.

Things start looking up with Spark which offers a 1.5″ OLED color screen that lets you display images, Rhapsody integration, “FullSound” EQ tech from Philips, and easy navigation a la a Clix media player. Spark puts you back by $50-$60.

LUXE, the most feature-rich of the three, is going to cost $90-$100. Apart from chic looks, Rhapsody integration, FM Stereo, and the “FullSound” technology, LUXE features Bluetooth 2.1 functionality which means that you can answer phone calls via the LUXE if you have a BT-enabled phone in the vicinity and it is linked to the LUXE. Caller-ID lets you decide whether you wish to attend the call or continue listening to the music. No need to change headphones. The LUXE gives you a playback time of 10 hours and 100 hours of standby.

Raga and Spark are already available while the LUXE will be available from January 2009.