Accessories

Philips has taken time out from making feature-rich TVs to grab a slice of the growing music streamer market, bring some considerable design flair to the party. The Wi-Fi enabled NP3700 picks off tunes from devices on your network (or from ‘net radio services and Napster) and pumps them out of its built-in stereo speakers.

As well as a sturdy construction, Philips has endowed its music streamer with an insufferably cool full-colour touchscreen controller (unremovable, unfortunately). This is user-friendly and responsive, displaying album art when available.

If you don’t run a Wi-Fi network, the NP3700 features an Ethernet jack. There’s also a 3.5mm jack for MP3 players.

File support extends beyond MP3 to include WMA, FLAC and Ogg Vorbis. JPEGs can also be streamed to appear on the touchpanel controller.

Setup is aided by the device automatically searching for your Wi-Fi router. Streaming, at least in my  experience, was glitch free.

It’s compatible with Philips’ MyRemote app (for Android/iPhone and iPod touch).

The NP3700 doesn’t offer a USB input, which would have been a sure-fire way to add to its flexibility.

While the sound quality is acceptable for everyday use (crisp, clear and with a surprising bottom end), the 2 x 5W amplification means it may be found lacking when you’re throwing a house party.

Philips NP3700
Price: £200 Approx

Overall: 4/5