Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: sony, walkman, zune, ipod | Themes: Digital Entertainment, Audio/Video Players
Sony is releasing two new Walkman models next month.
Earlier today, Sony announced that it is introducing two new models to the Walkman series next month, taking on the upcoming release of Microsoft's Zune HD device and Apple's planned revision to the iPod Touch. Long time Walkman consumers will need to throw out images of the bulky cassette player that revolutionized portable music, as both the "S" and "E" series provides video playback and decent storage capacities in an iPod-like package.
According to Sony's press release, the S Series will provide more feature than the E, featuring a 2.4-inch QVGA display, voice recording, an FM tuner with recording capabilities, built-in stereo speakers, and a battery capable of up to 42 hours of music playback and up to 6.5 hours of video playback through the headphones. When using the stereo speakers, the battery can provide up to 17 hours of music playback and up to 5 hours of video playback. The device is also compatible with iTunes 8.1... until Apple decides to kick this device off the service as well.
The E series, on the other hand, isn't quite as feature-oriented, serving as a basic player while sporting a 2-inch QVGA LCD screen and video playback at up to 30 frames per second. The E series doesn't provide the same battery support either, with up to 30 hours of music playback and approximately up to 4 hours of video playback.
As for pricing, the S Series offers 8 GB and 16 GB models costing $110 and $130 respectively. The E Series will be less expensive, costing $80 for the 8 GB version and $100 for the 16 GB model. For more information, head here.
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Nice, I always liked the walkman series for their sound quality and long battery life. 130 dollars for 16 gb doesn't hurt either.
Heh, if it keep susing SonicStage software it will be the epic fail of all times... man that crap makes even Creative look good.
Heh, if it keep susing SonicStage software it will be the epic fail of all times... man that crap makes even Creative look good.
Sony got rid of Sonic Stage two years ago. They now use WMP. Based on previous sony mp3 players, this one should have good sound quality and a great screen. We should find out soon enough.
I believe Creative was first to market with a digital music player, (long before Apple). Admittedly it was a pig ugly device (similar to the Sony 'discman' if I recall) but kudos to them for the innovation....
You guys at Tomsguide are so funny. Thanks for the laugh! So true!
Sony got rid of Sonic Stage two years ago. They now use WMP. Based on previous sony mp3 players, this one should have good sound quality and a great screen. We should find out soon enough.
My last phone was a Walkman w580i and it had the best looking screen of any compact cell phone I'd seen. I never got a chance to use the music player though so I have no comment about that...
Heh, if it keep susing SonicStage software it will be the epic fail of all times... man that crap makes even Creative look good.
The Creative software might've been horrible but you didn't even need to use it since you could just use WMP or another music program, or even just drag and drop from Windows Explorer. I've had three Creative players and I loved them all, they were nice PMPs, had great sound, screens, and features.
I love my Zune but I'm glad to see this. The more players there are in the PMP game the better for the consumer.
I bought a Sony Walkman a few weeks ago and it is fantastic. Designed for those who love music and actually care about sound quality at a reasonable price (so not iPod buyers).
"The device is also compatible with iTunes 8.1... until Apple decides to kick this device off the service as well"
iTunes isn't a 'service' its a piece of software... its not like it costs Apple money to support the third party, probably costs them money to make sure they DON'T support third parties... its just a blatant anti-competition move, like we've come to expect from apple (well except the EU for some reason...)
My last phone was a Walkman w580i and it had the best looking screen of any compact cell phone I'd seen. I never got a chance to use the music player though so I have no comment about that...The Creative software might've been horrible but you didn't even need to use it since you could just use WMP or another music program, or even just drag and drop from Windows Explorer. I've had three Creative players and I loved them all, they were nice PMPs, had great sound, screens, and features.
I concur. I still have that phone and like it a lot. It's small enough and the screen is pretty sharp albeit small for today's standards. The walkman feature is OK. I wish looking up songs would be easier but it isn't horrible. The audio quality is great though.
I really find this funny. Listen. I use to be on the look for a better MP3 player, ohhh 8gb, wow 16gb, dang.... 32gb...... and then 80 and 120gb using micro drives that skip all the time and never last....
Then I thought about it. Hummm. My cell phone contract is coming up soon. What are my options to get 1 device that does everything really good.
The iPhonie is nice, but it explodes and it is pretty limited as to memory expansion.
Palm has the pre, and I am not really that familiar with it.
And then there is Blackberry.
1. The Blackberry Bold is small
2. The Bold has a better screen than any of the MP3 players I have seen
3. It may only have 1gb of internal memory, but it has a Micro SD slot that I quickly put a 16gb card in for only $60 (online)
4. When the 32gb cards are out, I can ^^UPGRADE^^ :-) what a concept people
5. While the standard battery may not be "that good", the standard battery will hold its own with a fancy MP3 player, and I get phone, internet, apps, etc. And I went and got a 3500mah extended battery that fits the standard case because it is that slim with the "big battery" Only using the phone as an MP3 player gets me 10 days of battery life... Do that with your Zune, Ipode, etc, right...
6. The Bold has many case options (belt clip, arm band, etc)
7. I know I am stuck in a 2 year contract, but hey, a $99 MP3 Player is not bad, especially with the ability to make phone calls, wifi, blue tooth, and the software is really easy to upgrade.
Couple that with a nice set of Shure noise canceling earbuds and you can throw the other mp3 players out the door, and then in 2 years, I will be looking at a new one that takes a 64gb or 128gb memory card.
Go figure, and the old phone (mp3 player) is very well setup.
anyway. My 2 cents...
^ wow, don't hawk anything to us will you....
hmmm this is Sony right? $130 for a 16GB player sounds too cheap especially for Sony who price their products above the rest (like Apple). If the pricing is correct this will definitely give the Zune and Touch a run for their money as well as other devices.
No. its not too cheap. Everyone has just gotten use to getting wallet raped for PMPs.
I was going to mention that 2.4" is a bit small for a screen...until I remembered that hardly anyone actually uses their PMP predominately for video. I bought my Zen thinking "furk yeah, portable movies!", and now all I use it for is music.
Anyone else have the same experience?
I still have my original sony walkman with a casette player and fm stereo receiver from the late 80's. I also have a sony discman from 1995 which I bought when on vacation for $130 at radio shack, lol. BOTH players still work too. Just a little bit of nostalgia for the masses, heh.
I read a review that rated them well but pointed out some flaws...maybe the next revision will correct them? Personally I look for older players that I can rockbox. I find my rockboxed Sansa e280 to be my favorite mp3 player because it is small, has a micro sd slot for expansion and, of course, because it is running rockbox!
O.k lets see. Do I want a rootkit installing, randomly crashing, over priced MP3 player from Sony? No, I don't think so.
^ wow, don't hawk anything to us will you....
I did not expect that... It does not have to be a blackberry...
When I look for an mp3 player, the first thing I look at is the products history... with the ipod people are pissed off by batteries that cannot be replaced (easily), so I went with sandisk, then sandisk released the view series and guess what the battery is a pain to replace also. (this was not the case with their Sansa series of mp3 players)
Second, how much can I store on the device, most of these devices cannot be upgraded in terms of storage space, you basicly purchase a new one to get more storage.
Third, software that is upgradable or replaceable. There are some open source MP3 Player OS's that can be installed in place of the software that comes on your dedicated mp3 player...
I do not need to "hawk" a blackberry to anyone. I looked at all of the faults of the typical main stream mp3 players and looked for a product where 1. Has a decent history with playing mp3 files and that I can replace and choose a battery that fits the amount of time I use it. 2. I can choose the amount of solid state storage I want, not the manufacturer decides they can charge an arm and a leg for. 3. Software that works.
and all things considered, the Blackberry fit the criteria and it does more.
If you want to spend $135 for a dedicated mp3 player with a short battery life and that has storage limitations, and some half way decent software by all means, its your money. You do not have to get a blackberry, or Ipod, or Iphone, or anything else... and then you can replace it for another $135 6 months later when you need to upgrade, etc...
Not my problem
Cheers
I'm going to say that this is about a new sony walkman( which btw looks sweet) and you are just talking about blackberrys as if you were a telemarketer,
1. Jailbreak
2. Apps for online storage which indefinately inceases storage capacity with wifi
3. If you understood what I meant by "hawk" then you knew what you were doing is somewhat along those lines