Philips GoGear Connect, an Android alternative to the iPod touch?

In the eternal search for a cheap Wi-Fi enabled PMP, we are heartened by the promise of Philips to offer a GoGear Connect by this summer. While not much in evidence in the US, OK I have never met anyone that has one; GoGear is quite a respectable alternative to an iPod. This new yet unpriced device was shown off in theory at a press conference last week with little hard facts except for promising a touch screen and Android. The demo looks fine so we hope the pricing is too. The Connect is expected to come in sizes from 8 GB to 64 GB and have iPod like features of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a touch screen with haptic feedback. However it is also suppose to have a microSD slot and a trackball. You know of course it will be able to make VoIP calls, but a microphone doesn’t seem to be built in. That would be a huge plus considering how expensive and fragile those ridiculous headphones with mic built in are. We’ve already had two chewed up the cat. All that talking into it must make it smell good enough to eat.

As is the custom, Philips interface will run on top of Android. In the tiny YouTube demo from the press conference it does show a nice interface for MP3s which lets you easily and quickly get to a song. It doesn’t seem to be any faster than pulling it up on a Touch, but at least it is a little different. Let’s hope Philips makes it cheap enough to sell a few.