Sony Walkman revamp details leaked online
Another iPod rival?
Sony looks set to launch a fresh assault on the iPod, because pictures and specifications of the electronics giant’s latest Walkman MP3 players have appeared on the web.
Could these be Sony's latest Walkmans?
According to a report by website Sony Insider, Sony’s upcoming NW-E series consists of three players: the 2GB NWZ-E435, the 4GB NWZ-E436 and its flagship 8GB NWZ-E438.
Each model supports a range of audio formats, including MP3, WMA and AAC. The report also claims that transferring music onto and off of the Sony Walkmans is easy, because each player is compatible with both Windows Media Player and iTunes. The players will also be able to support video files, and an FM tuner is included.
The maximum battery life available for video playback is claimed to be up to four hours, but if you opt for plain audio then it’s said you’ll get up to 76 hours of juice.
The trio each have a 2in LCD display, but measure just 8.5mm from front to back.
All three models are expected to appear internationally within the next couple of months. The 2GB NWZ-E435 will be available in black or pink and the 4GB NWZ-E436 will be available in black, blue, pink or red. The 8GB NWZ-E438 will only ship in black. Prices haven’t been heard yet.
Sony UK's website has a section for the E series - but lists no current models. Update imminent, you think?
COMMENTS
re: poor sony
Sony players are officially MTP compliant (and can be forced into UMS). You do not have to use softwares to transfer music. Personally I use Mediamonkey on Windows but I can drag and drop in Linux.
My A818, which I have been using for a few months now, isn't even compatible with Atrac3... and has a battery life of more than 30 hours when playing back WMAs encoded at 160kbps.
Please do more research before leaving snarky comments that make you look like an idiot.
Poor Sony
I've always liked the look of Sony MP3 players but have never taken the plunge because of the awful SonicStage software. Now it seems you need to use Itunes or Windows Media Player to transfer. Why can't they just give us a USB Mass Storage option, then I'd rush out and buy one tomorrow?
Also, I bet the quoted 76 hours' battery life is for 48kbps ATRAC-encoded files, probably more like 20 for mp3s.
S-series replacement
Very nice, this seems to be a replacement for their budget S-series players.
If the sound quality is anything like their A and S-series, then Sony will have another winner from the non-ipod crowd.
re:Deafening silence
I fail to understand your point, many articles here have no comments, you point?
Just to keep you happy...
I'm almost tempted to upgrade my NW-A3000 to one of these, but the step back from 20GBHDD to 8GBflash is too much. I might be tempted at 16GB unit, but would more likely wait for a 32GB unit.
When will vendors realise that people don't want iPod clones, and be brave enough to move away from the do-it-all format?
I just want a music player, that has a nice, easy to use UI, sounds great, and has ooddles of space.
Everything about the iPod is so wrong, the sound quality is abysmal, as is the build quaility, it's packed with useless non-core features like video playback and such. About the only thing they got right, is the UI.
Deafening silence
I think the fact that, after a full day, no-one has posted a comment on this story yet speaks volumes.
If these were sans Sony and Walkman badge, would anyone give 'em a second look?
