Sony strides onward with Walkman range
Wider Walkman collection now includes 'A' and 'S' series
IFA 07 Sony has announced two additional ranges to complement its existing Walkman multimedia collection. Three variations will be available in the new A-series and five models will make up the new S-series.
Three A-series models will be available: NWZ-A818, A816 and A815
Both the A-series and S-series digital media players support WMA, AAC (non-DRM) and MP3 music formats, plus JPEG files, and all except the NWZ-S516 and NWZ-S515 support AVC (H.264/AVC) Baseline profile and MPEG-4 video codecs.
The S-series will be available in a total of seven different colours...
Each model in the A-series measures 8.8 x 4.38 x 0.91cm, weighs 53g, features a 2in colour TFT screen with white backlit LED and offers a claimed 33 hours music playback or 8 hours video playback. The NWZ-A818 (8GB) is available in black, white, pink and violet, the A816 (4GB) comes in all of those again plus silver and the A815 (2GB) is available in an uncomplicated black or white.
Each model in S-series measures 7.95 x 4.2 x 1.15cm, weighs 50g, features a 1.82in colour TFT screen - also with white backlit LED - and offers a claimed 33 hours music playback or 9.5 hours video playback. The NWZ-S618F (8GB), the NWZ-S616F (4GB) and the NWZ-S615F are available in black, silver or red...and the NWZ-S516 (4GB) and NWZS515 (2GB) come in black, white, pink or blue.
COMMENTS
@ JB - No need for Sonicstage
Still using my trusty old 20GB NW-HD1 (had to pay £15 for the upgrade to support MP3 natively).
I use a tool/utility from Sony called 'MP3FM' (MP3 File Manager), run directly from the HD1 (once it appears as a folder on my PC), and it lets me import MP3s directly to the device without the slightest hint of Sonicstage on my PC.
Mines 2.0.0.6240 - no idea if it'll work on these newer models, though.
There are alternatives to the truly terrible Sonicstage, and this one is even from Sony themselves!!
WMA!
I got an email from Sony connect today that they will stop using their own ATRAC music format and will be switching to WMA. Further, the CONNECT music store will be phased out. This is a major step for Sony, because previously (AFAIK) all Sony Walkman, walkman branded phones, and in car CD players devices would not support WMA format music.
SONICSTAGE
I've always wanted a Sony MP3 walkman; the hardware is fantastic. But the deal-breaker for me is that God-awful SonicStage software! Why can't Sony wake up and let us have USB Mass Storage (yes, I know that's alot to ask!). Until then, I'll stick with my venerable Iriver H320 that I can use on my Linux machine!
20Gb?
Does anyone know if they are doing a 20Gb or 30Gb (or bigger I guess) ??
