Sony NW-HD5 20GB Network Walkman
By Peter Rojas 
posted April 5th 2005 10:39AM
posted April 5th 2005 10:39AM
It hasn't been officially announced yet, but a page for Sony's new 20GB NW-HD5 Network Walkman has turned up on
Amazon.co.uk. The new digital audio player is set to come in three colors (silver, red, and black), and is listed as
not being in stock. We did a little digging and found something about a June release date on another retail site, but
we're not sure how reliable that info is, and we couldn't find any other specs for the NW-HD5 like size or weight or
battery life. Click to see a couple more pics.
[Thanks, Matthew]
I don't see why they would... some people already think that a 10 hours battery life is sufficient.
I'm not saying that at all, of course Apple will develop more advanced battery technology in time, and the market already has moved in that direction. Why develop a larger capacity memory but not bother with the battery life.If you look around, the iPod has the lowest battery performance; however I am saying that when people make comments like…
(KK)
“A 40 hr battery is nice, but it doesn't make the product, thank you. Yeah you have a bigger gas tank, too bad it's attached to a Yugo...LMAO.”
Or
(KK)
“What does a 40hr battery offer that everyone needs to have it over a 12 hr battery?”
…are grasping at straws, if things were reversed and the iPod had a 40hr battery life,
we would never hear the end of it!
People like KK are the only reason that I’m writing any of this, how can you knock a product when all you have seen is a couple of specs and 5 pictures?…. KK you are ignorant, simple, and by the way, I’ll save you the trouble of pulling out your calculator……………. The advantage of 40h hours over 12 hours is simple……….. Can you see it coming?…………….yes you can!……….it’s 28 hours
“LMAO”
Yo yo check it.
It doesn't matter what anything is. If one is better than the other. Just read the specs and if you like what you see then take it. Who cares if the Ipod is better than Sony or Sony is better than Ipod. Just buy what you like because in the end, you're going to be using it and I don't think anyone would care if you have an Ipod or Sony at all. Heck, the Zen Micro is pretty cooL too. hahaha. Anyways my point is, who cares.
When choosing between mp3 players, battery life is a big concern. But I don't look at how many hours a single charge can play. The reason why I like the Sony more than the iPod is because the battery is user-removable. And the replacement battery will cost less than 50 dollars. Do you know how much it will cost to replace iPod batteries? it's 100 bucks, and you have to send it back to Apple, and you lose all your songs when you get it back!
Furthermore, we all need to understand something about lithium-ion batteries. Battery life is prolonged when they are kept at around 40% charge, and what do the iPod cradles do? they charge your battery all the way automatically. People think fully charged batteries are better, but the truth is that it's the easiest way to kill it. I just don't want to have to ship my mp3 player back every two years and pay 100 bucks each, and then having to reload my entire playlist again and again. that's all
By the way, I just checked the specs of the Sony player, and it says it'll play MP3s @128kbps for 30 hours. that means for one sony battery charge, I have to charge the iPod 2.5 times. Given that lithium ion batteries last for anywhere from 300-500 charges (let's say 300, because most people charge their batteries fully and that shortens battery life), and that means by the time I replace my original Sony battery, at the same time I would be already halfway through my second REPLACEMENT battery. And if you do the math, by the time I exhaust two batteries on Sony, I would kill 5 on my iPod. 1 Sony replacement battery = 50 dollars. 4 replacement iPod batteries = 400 dollars. There is no way I am getting an iPod. Battery life is enough to convince me.
Sorry, one more thing.
While 400 dollars may seem like it's a lot of money, it is spread over an assumed 8 year period (300 charges = 2 years). And you may not keep your iPods for that long. But seriously, are you going to just buy another iPod anytime soon when the one you already have cost 300+ dollars? Maybe you have that kind of money, but I don't. And Sony's cost of purchase may be higher, but cost of ownership is more important to me.
where can i get one i know it just released in Japan but i want one to ship to the U.S with the sony warranty
its all about trade-offs. the ipod is cheaper, proven to have a reliable harddrive, and has (by far) the best control system out there. i have one and the navigation is better than sex.
however, after getting my ipod, i quickly realized that as much as love it, it sounds pretty weak. no bass response and an over-all wimpy sound (yes, this is with my good headphones which are incredible with any other player i've used/owned). if you're like me, and nothing is more important than sound quality, i'm betting that the sony will sound alot like my previous sony devices, which is a far cry better than the apple, or any other player. of course, the sony comes at a price: both literally and in an inferior control system.
so its a choice: the ipod, with awesome controls and a better price. or the sony, with longer battery life, slightly more compact dimensions, and almost definately a more full-bodied sound. I'll take the sony, but i can see why alot of people would prefer the apple.
I think the real ipod(photo)-buster is gonna be the iaudio x5. it has more features and it has a better sound. And i think it looks really good.
I think ipod is for persons who just want to listen to music, want to have a decent player, which is easy to use and one they can show off to their friends.
I think the sony isn't better than the ipod, but I will go for the sony, because it's light, has a changeable (longlife)battery and probably has a much better sound then the ipod(and I think it looks nice, but that's personal offcourse).
ipod is certainly a masterpiece, but it's not the king of all dap's. Because every dap has his strenghts. Just like "The A-team".
* the ipod is face(looks nice, but isn't that strong/smart).
* sony is hannibal(smart but old).
* the iaudio x5(L) is BA(very strong, but also very large).
* and rio/ neuros are Murdock(looks weird, feels weird, many options(the neuros) and good soundquality, but sometimes crash).
What do you think about that?
First of all I find it hilarious that so many peole are so partisan about which MP3 player they favour! GET OVER IT !!
If style over substance is your thing then sure get an iPod but from where I'm standing the new Sony player looks like a better proposition. I quite like its looks (esp black), but at the end of the day I want it to play music, if I want to spend cash on something to look nice I'll buy a painting!
To the person who stated that it is more expensive than the iPod - dabs have it for £185 (iPod £209). Also the cost of a new (self fit) battery will be £30 - a damn sight cheaper than replacing the iPods (not to mention easier).
As for KK not understanding why a potential 40hr battery life is useful I guess his mummy has never let him go on any long journeys! I flew to Australia a couple of months ago - 24hr flight + several hours getting to and waiting at the airport, my friends iPod bit the dust way before we got near an electrical point. I also spend time climbing in the French Alps away from electrical points for weeks at a time so yes a 40hr battery life would certainly be a deciding factor for me.
As for the new sonys usability and sound quality, well we can only speculate on that as none of us have actually used one. Knowing Sony the sound quality should be up to par and the build quality excellent. I'm looking forward to checking one out - long battery life, line out (headphone socket switchable like on Sony minidiscs), self replacable battery, native MP3 support, drive letter support (act as storage for any file type), playlists, G-Sensor disk protection etc - looks to be a winner - if only SonicStage wasn't so god awful!!
Well, one thing I see that Sony has over Apple, is their willingness to change. I went to the apple site and saw their list of models. To my surprise, they all have the same boring design. I went to their site to look at pictures for the new iPod Photo. I admit for a while I couldn't find it, but then I realized it was right in front of me. I knew the picture was their, I just thought that it was an advertisement of their other models... You would think that Apple would have a more creative mind to change the look just a little bit? Excluding the colors of course. And if you didn't notice, this comment is only applying to those with the larger hard drives. But yea, that's my main concern about the iPod, it's plainess. For Sony, each new model is a bit different while keeping the same sense of style. For the iPods, it's just something new inside.
Sony makes their Walkman MP3/Atrac3plus players in Japan which is reserved for high quality items. Unlike other company's who make their digital audio players in China - I would spend the extra dollars for the Sony from Japan! Any item Made in Japan in today's market is a symbol of high tech - top notch quality!
I own the NW-HD3 - in my opinion it is much better looking then the new NW-HD5. The pros of the new unit are that they added 10 more hours to the battery life and have made the battery user replaceable. They are also offering a limited edition 30gb unit.
All in all - Sony has always been the best and I think we will see this tradition continue. An example would be with their Atrac3plus system - it performs BETTER at 64kbps then MP3 at 128 kbps!
Link to test results supporting this claim,
www.sony.net/Products/ATRAC3/tech/lab/TESTfactory_Listening_test.pdf
www.minidisc.org/keep/TESTfactory_Listening_test.pdf
You can argue with that? And let me kill the rumors that you have to convert your MP3 collection now! Not only can you play MP3's with the Sony unit... you can MAKE MP3's with the SonicStage software that comes with the unit! So, the unit and software is in fact an Atrac3, Atrac3plus and MP3 player!
Alright, most of the ipod fanboys here keep giving the same argument...what good is a 40 hr battery over a 12 hour ipod battery. Here's why its better:
Fact one-When your battery runs out, you need to recharge it.
Fact two-Every recharge on a lithium ion battery reduces its overall power output by a small amount
Fact three-The typical number of recharges for a lithium ion battery is about 500 charge cycles. This is true for nearly every device that uses these batteries
An Ipod is going to lose its charge and have to be recharged 3 times just to keep playing when the NW HD5 runs out of power. This means its battery will die out three times as quickly than the Sony's which leaves you with a paper weight. Even if you argue that by that time, it'll be time to upgrade to a new player, there are people such as myself who like to know that even our obsolete stuff works when we pull it out again.
Why I will never buy Sony again:
1) I bought a Sony MD for €300 more than it is bought for now. Robbed! Sony IS expensive. Sony is not the best value for your money.
2) The Sony software is specifically designed to protect Sony's extensive music rights.
As a result:
a)Any music I have already ripped from my CD's for my Creative Zen Touch 20GB using any software other than Sony software is wasted. I have to spend days re-ripping all 300 Cd's using Sony software,
AND
b) Sony software sees all my microphone recordings (like conversations, live music sessions with friends and bird sounds) as 'pirate' so I cannot check it in to my PC from my MD for editing/burning/transferring. Sony presumes I am a thief.
3) The Sony sofware and player does not support all the music formats supported by my Creative Zen. (Even the IPod is limited in this respect) Nobody except Sony uses Atrac. Atrac is a dead-end format.
4) 40 hours of battery life is 'overkill'. I used my Creative Zen Touch every night for a whole week for dinner and fire-side music, and I only had to charge it once as a precaution not a necessity. The Sony battery WILL die one day and you will replace it at inflated Sony prices.
5) The Sony offers absolutely no new innovative aspects at all with this product. The screen feature is pathetic: When would it be preferable to have the screen revolve? It is simply gadgety impracticality designed to justify unnecessary cost.
6) The Sony button/screen set-up is a smoke screen. This product (as with all portable MP3 players) is NOT a DJ's mixing desk. Don't expect it to behave like one.
I got the Creative Zen Touch 20GB. It is completely versatile (data + sound + all formats), it is small enough for the 20GB punch, it has a very long battery life (supposed 24hrs), it is 20% cheaper than the expensive Sony and I can easily move EVERY piece of sound data in any format between my PC HD, external HD, Zen, Hifi and/or burn it onto Cd using simple Creative software.
If you buy this Sony you are buying into the 'Sony Only' product/software/music/atrac prison.
...Go ahead, buy expensive Sony handcuffs.
I have been reading all these comments and have realised one thing. Everyone thinks that they know which is the best player. It looks as though most people have forgotten that the reason there are so many variations of players, is that there are many, many tastes that need to be catered for. Some people, like the IPOD, some like the 'Sony Prison'. I don’t think it matters what player you have, only whether or not YOU like it YOURSELF. I know people that hate the IPOD, and love the HD5, and the other way around. I’m sure there are people that hate both of them. You chose the Zen. As far as I am concerned, I like the HD5. Don’t go saying ridiculous comments like 'Sony presumes I am a thief'. Music piracy is rife, and they are trying to protect themselves, and the industry. (They sell music too)
Just choose a player that you like and use it. Get the best out of it. If you don’t like it, there is bound to be someone you can sell it to and get another one.
Remember, there are too many tastes to cater for exactly. That is why there is no such thing as the PERFECT player. Only the perfect player for a certain person. (or group)
The only thing you need for it to do, is to play your music.
I am sure that if you convert those recordings to MP3, you should be able to get them on to the player just fine. The IPOD and the HD5 can hold data files as well, so the Zen has no advantage there.
Just enjoy your music… YOUR way.
! ! ! H A V E F U N ! ! !
Thank you Gary! Its about time someone said that. Its all about personal taste and needs. I'm not gonna go into a load pf crap about this is better, that is better. Its up to you to choose what you want
I hear what you are saying Gary and Stevie, and I second your opinion. All too often these forums are about justifying one's own purchases.
However, I am not here to brag about my choice of product or indiscriminately or unjustifiably slam another product. I have owned good Sony products in the past. This forum is about opinions and I have first hand experience of Sony's digital music products. It is in the interests of the consumer that they have access to actual user feedback.
The fact of the matter is that Sony products are more expensive, the software is not user friendly, the media format is not supported anywhere except in Sony products and their primary motive is to protect their extensive music rights. This effectively renders the product below consumer's expectations. Sony as a brand is trusted far more than what the product can actually deliver. The public has a right to know that BEFORE they part with hard earned money.
i have read the comments all above.....
right or wrong it depends..
personally speaking, choosing product not just rely on how BIG the brand is , i according to what machines i will buy,what characteristic i need,then i make a decision.
For this case, i need a hard disk and wanna enjoy high quality timbre and lasting battery,fashion aspects, i will buy NW-HD5.
For buying Mobile, now i have MP3, CYBER-SHOT camera, when considering buy mobile, i wonot mind if the mobile phone have MP3 or could take photos, just can use is okay,but must have high quality ^!^
in some extent,i am not a brand-loyal person, i am pragmatistic person..
anyway,the most important thing is :what u choose is just what u like and u want
Most people here talk about Ipod and praise it a lot. Some say is excellent ( a confessed technophile too) but the problem here is the SOUND. IPOD sounds like crap!! If you are a sound oriented guy, you won't buy an IPOD, period. Ipod is for common (deaf) people. Sony has always been the choice for people who want the better sound in the market. That's all. Ipod could be practical, sleek, fashionable, etc, but it doesn't sound as good as any Sony gadget, like md, dap, you name it. This is about music and how good can sound. Sony has always been right in this respect. Regarding how music can sound in any portable device, Sony rules.
I have recently bought a HD5 to use for a few weeks alongside my iPod to see if it is worth switching.
I've owned both a 3rd gen and 4th gen iPod and whilst they are the current "definition" of what portable audio is, I personally have never been enammoured with them the way it seems the rest of the world is.
To my ears the iPod sound is very dull and lifeless, even with highest bit rates and the best codecs and fancy earphones. This has been the thing that troubled me the most. I've managed with the battery life on long flights - but it does mean you have to be careful and selective of what you do with it, no backlight, no browsing around the the hard drive (i.e sticking to predetermined playlists). So bascailly if you just "listen" to the music then you get 10-12 hours. Which for say, a days worth of travelling aint gonna cut it.
I DO think that the genius of the iPod is its simplicity. Its user interface OS and the neat and tidy syncing is fantastic and it is what has kept me with the iPod for a long time. However I am currently investigating my options because like my 3rd gen iPod my 4th's casing is starting to come apart. (And my ears can no longer take the poor dull sound.)
Which leads me to the shocking build quality of the iPod. Back before it became "the icon" it is today. When my bro picked up a 2nd gen 10GB model back in 2002 it was a solid piece of kit. I'm most certain that they are cutting corners with the quality conotrl because not only are both of mine failing but also people that I know are always complaining about having to get theirs serviced. Both sets of my headphones/remotes have broken and needed replacing too.
Conversley my 7 year old chunky Sony Minidisc recoder/player, weighs a bit and is bulky, but has seen more action than Paris Hilton. Its been dropped down Texas dirt tracks, its chasis is bent a little and scratched been flooded with sand twice. And the thing is still in perfect working condition. And is the reason I use that mini-disc unit for active stuff.
Of course I've never treated the iPods this way and most certaliny look after them, but it seems like if you dont wrap them in cotten wool they fall apart at the first chance they get.
ULtimatley i'm not a fan boy of anything and I just want the best portable audio player that I can get. How "pretty" the iPod looks doesn't concern me, getting great use from the unit does. The HD5 is definately more cumbersome to navigate but i'm adjusting and learning that there is life without a click wheel. I'm getting a good 30 hours out of 160kbps Mp3 , yep you read that right. 30 hours is not a marketting gimmick its for real. So I would imagein that 40+ hours is not unreasonable with the atrac native.
THe HD5 also feels very solid, and I certailny wont be using on my adventuers but i can still take it around town and handle it without feeling like i'm going to break it or scratch it up, which is a reassuring feeling.
And of course the sound quality. That is the main reason why i'm doing this! And it blows away the ipod in every aspect of that. The sound now has deeper and more realistic bass and there is a richness to acoustic instruments that just sounded lifeless on the iPod. Using the latest LAME encoder at 160 mp3 is definatley not any worse than 128 aac, and on the HD5 its sounding so much better anyway that I dont feel like I need to go any higher.
Of course the things that suck about the HD5 are the software and syncing. However songinstage at this versino is now definatley more stable than the past and its coming along. It is bareable in order just to transfer music and playlists. And to transfer data you can just drag and drop like a normal hard disk.
Apple have definatley got the claws deep into the public conscious with the iPod and I can see how and why. The McDonalds styled commercials and the "exclusive" elure that comes with every iPod is enchanting (which is now ironic as just about every body in the world seems to have one) and for this i applaud them. What they have done is make computer gadest sexy and appealing to the general public whilst hiding from them all the complexities and making it easy to use. For more than enough people just being part of the "buzz word" and having really easy to use player is more than worth the sacrifice of battery life, reliability and "least important" sound quality beucase well the average guy of the 10 million iPod users wouldnt even hear the difference between 2 different branded devies.
The HD5 wont kill the ipod and nothing sony will bring out is ever likley too, it is a shame though because as a MUSIC PLAYER the HD is a much better product. It does what its supposed to do, and does it very well. There's no clock, no games, no text reading, just lots of music, lots of juice, and lots of sound quality.
But in most people eyes it aint as pretty and none of their friends have one, so what ya gonna do! Heaven forbid to actually buy a product cause it actually functions superior!
I'll see how it goes first impressins are that I'm gonna be keeping the HD5, but we'll see after a few weeks. I'm getting used to the navigation and so far so good with sonicstage and the syncing.
Sorry for the rant, but its sooo "in" to bash sony these days, and hell I know they've deserved it with the last few players, but I feel that its definatley not the case with the HD5 most issues apart from not copying the click wheel and the use of sonic stage have been addressed. I'm just giving a little credit where credits due.
David
what is the problem with u guys
look at the specs and then
decide who cares if its
sony or mac or wateva!!
i was wondering for this if u need to buy the music from them or can u just put the mp3s u already have in it
SonyStyle US has the NW-HD5 listed for $299.95. It will arrive on or about June 20th.
It is funny how some people try to belittle other players based on nonsense. There are better Mac players than Sony and better Sony than Mac. It depends on the models. The guy who said that 40 hours isn't an advantage is quite an interesting character. There are lots of scenarios where it would be to your advantage. I'm sure in the near future Ipods will boast the same and greater battery life simply because it will save us time. Oh yeah I can hear our interesting friend now say" Time its only a few minutes" It adds up. We don't need remote controls either! That's what technology is all about convenience. I don't want to charge my MP3 player after 12 hours. Sometimes I am busy and I forget to charge my cellphone/camera etc. Well with the HD5 you wouldn't have as many opportunities to forget obviously because of lack of necessity. Now another thing to consider is that all rechargeable batteries have a life expectancy. If measured by how many charges then we could clearly say that the 40 hour battery would require less than a third of the charges. How about the times when we don't expect to go on a trip. I have been coerced by friends to do something spontaneous go somewhere at the last minute without going home to pick up the charger. Its nice to have music for the extra day or two, god forbid id be wearing the same clothes, Filthy as I am. I think that fellah should get a 24 hour car battery that requires a plug in every night. After all no one drives more than 24 hours straight right?LMAO LOL
Enough about the battery. I do know a little about the H5 because I have the H5H which is the same just its 30GB instead of 20. I will confess I cant get 40 hours of playback. I have turned off the back light and let it play randomly (high quality MP3's) the bulk of my collection and a few newer atracplus which I copied from CD. the best I got was about 30 hours. a far cry from Sony's 40 hour boast. There are a few other things that bothered me, the EQ and other sound options don't work with the MP3's only with the ATRAC tracks. I use the player in my car with a line out to the stereo. I put the player in the console in a special holder made by Sony but to switch songs its too dangerous so I bought a remote control that I could easily hold in my view without taking my eyes off the road. When I plug the remote control in I lose the lineout option. The sound quality of the ATRACPLUS is amazing and the player's software has been fine for me so far. I did have trouble finding a case to protect the player. There were dozens of cases for the ipod but nothing for the NW-HD5(H). The small soft cloth case that came with it hardly does the trick. I love my player despite the things i've mentioned. Its tiny and it holds an extensive amount of music and its battery life makes things less complicated. And now the rest of the story.....
Isn't it amazing, so many comments, yet only a handfull present a credible argument. Atrac3Plus at 64kbs in my veiw beats AAC at 128kbs. Magnesium Aluminium, compared to plastic, 40hours (29hours real life) compared to 12hours (8-9hours real life), not to mention the ability to be used as a portable hard drive WITHOUT any propietry software. Wake up people, Apple has seduced you all by their elaborate always on advertising involving sillhouettes, much like its beloved player, a silhouette to what a dap really is
I am not going to get involved in the childish petty bickering going on here.
All i can say is that I bought my girlfriend the 20g iPod last year, and needed a player for myself. I did not want to have two of the exact same MP3 players in my house, so i went with the Sony NW-HD5......I bought it at the SONY store here in manhattan, and it cost EXACTLY as much as the 20g iPods do.
I have been totally impressed, more so than the ipod. It is just as easy to use, the transfers are just as fast, and the tactile buttons beat the clickwheel any day of the week.
Apples two main problems of Battery life and Click Wheel malfunctions were both addressed with the sony player.....
I use my sony player on my G5 running virtual PC and I have no problems whatsoever. I would reccomend the HD5 over the ipod any day of the week, and I have been (and will continue) using apples for over 15 years.
A great product
This one is for that ignoramous Jamie Renner:
All about my old ipod:
Battery now lasts 15 minutes. I payed 450 dollars to buy it, and 100 dollars for an additional year of warranty to cover the replacement of the battery. Fair? No. If I were to replace it myself, I'd lose my warranty, so technically, i have to buy the warranty. What a brilliant scam to have the battery die after 18 months.
Apple = THIEVES.
The biggest flaw with the iPod is this:
Anytime you connect it to your computer via firewire, or powersource, it charges. My response: NO! I want to control the charge, and I want to control when to charge! This means that even if the iPod is 90% charged, it still charges! Why?!?! Are Apple engineers lazy or just stupid? Sony Minidiscs charge when the unit is connected to a power source only when you press the "stop" button! Clever, because this saves a lot of battery life in the long run. I take graphic design at school, and I connect my iPod to a mac everyday, and for it to recharge everytime is unnacceptable.
Another flaw is thats its always in standby mode. Even when you press "sleep" its in standby. This means, after a few days or a week (depending how your battery is doing) it will die and need to be recharged even though it hasnt been used at all.
If your given 10Gb or more of space to use on a portable device, should you technically be able to listen to at least 5% of what youve got? I never went through that many songs before the battery died, and trust me, it dies everyday on me.
____________________________________________________________
Ive had numerous complications with mine:
-Battery problems galore
-unit disconnects for no reason when its plugged in via firewire
-it tells me my battery is low when ive just recharged it!
-it switched back to an older version of firmwire on its own, somehow???
-crashes sometimes
General faults and weak-points:
-using a preset equalizer setting drains the battery more so
-non-removable battery. why cant apple just not follow everyone else's trend and allow users to use an external li-ion battery?
-Impedance: 32 ohms = useless. most people, if not, 80% of eveyrone will use low grade, nonstudio headphones. a lower impedence will also significantly increase the battery life. Unless you have 200 dollar sony DJ headphones or something comparable, then you dont need this.
-headphones suck, they fall out of my ears.
____________________________________________________________
Oh yeah, iTunes has customized EQ settings, why cant ipod have them? Or at least the ability to import a custom EQ from iTunes?
Okay, so now the good stuff:
Well, the scroll wheel. Apple has done a really good job of making navigation extremely fast. Scrolling through allbums and artists is a breeze, since the user defines the speed of which his/her fingers slides around the touch-wheel.
True scrolling within a song is my favourite feature, and this alone is worth 100 dollars. Im into trance music, so a lot of my music is a live recording, uncut, 60+ minutes. Going from the first minute to the 50th minute is immediate. This is simply brilliant.
Extra features are nice, like alarm clock, becuase i actually do use it to wake me up.
Instant play from track to track, theres no 2 second pause when selecting a track to play, the unit is able to pickup a track very quickly. This is also a drain on the battery, if apple slowed down the speed of it, it would gain some life!
Illuminated display is nice, but not a necessity. But works very well.
Contrast settings are very good. Going outside or indoors allows you to set it up easily.
Great sound, great volume. Lots of extra's in the unit, but not a functional portable device. It just wont last.
Look elsewhere.
ps. Apple can contact me here for real suggestions: vividmethod@hotmail.com
______________________________________________
Update:
Okay, so after a little over a year, my struggle with this worthless peice of junk have come to an end.
After having the ipod connected to my mac via firewire, i let it charge overnight. The next day i go out for work (30 minute walk) and i try and get the damnn thing to work. What do i get? A caution picture. I reset it, nothing. I gave up. After work i try once more, and still no luck.
The next day i called apple and they said i should be getting it replaced with a new unit, and all of my data from it will not be recovered. I spent 450 dollars, and an extra 100 dollars on warranty, so i could lose 2 months worth of school projects for graphic design?!!?!?
UNACCEPTABLE!!!!
The dispatch for my ipod was supposed to come in on a monday, it came in 4 days later, GEE THANKS APPLE FOR MAKING ME WAIT LONGER WHEN I NEED IT FIXED ASAP, MORONS.
So, now Im playing the waiting game, if i get a new unit (which i damn well deserve one after all the redundant trouble ive had to endure with this expensive crap) im selling it IMMEDIATELY. If any apple zealot still wants it after reading my review, e-mail me: vividmethod@hotmail.com
It still has warranty until August 2005.
LAST UPDATE:
My iPod was sent for service on October 25th, 2004. I received a replacement unit on January 11th 2005. It took apple nearly 3 months to get me my iPod back. Thats 1/4 of my warranty period. Im expecting an extension on it.
DO NOT BUY IPOD. ITS CRAP.
I have had plenty of MP3/Portable Audio players in the past, from various companies, ranging from no-names to Creative, to Apple, to i-River, to Sony, and more. Now, in my view the NW-HD5 is a VERY decent piece of hardware, especailly when compared to other players out there.
I have a 3rd gen 40gig iPod, and I stopped using it as a music player soon after its (the iPod's) purchase. Granted, the iPods looks pretty stylish, and the click wheel feature is nice, not to mention it's various features, like it's timers, alarms, text readers and so forth... Unfortunately for all of its looks and features it just doesn't do anything- well, WELL.
Its battery life was rubbish - the most I've gotten out of it is maybe 4-5 hours between recharges. It did not charge staight from USB, so recharing was a pain. Its battery was non-replacable as well, which had made me very nervous about recharging between uses...
It had built in games and a text reader, both of which were rubbish. I was especially disappointed with the text reader, which could only handle VERY tiny files. Its volume levels were too high either, which make features like the alarm/wake up timer pretty much unless in my view (not to mention the fact that they drain batteries like crazy).
What I was most disappointed was its sound quality. It wasn't terrible per say, but overall I thought it was flat and unexciting, and most of the EQs it comes with IMO were rubbish and did not add too much to my music. I tested it and I actually got better sounds from my 128mb Creative MP3 player... Like I said while the sound of the iPod wasn't bad per say, I must say I was expecting ALOT more from it, given it's high price.
Now, this brings me to the NW-HD5. It's sound quality is actually pretty good, especially with the ATRAC formats. It has a VERY decent battery life (not to mention it has a replaceable/removable battery), and it looks and feel incredible - trust me, it looks better than it actually does in the pictures...
It's not perfect though. While the unit itself is VERY well built, and feels amazingly smooth and solid - for some reason it has a VERY flimsy piece of plastic covering its USB and power ports. Those who has done their research would know this already - but trust me, it is wayyyy flimsier than anything you can imagine. It's almost as if it was added as an after thought - and only becasue they had a spare piece of waste plastic (and no rubbish bin) in the design room or something...
Apart from the music player functions, the unit has NO other features. No timers, no text readers, no games, no nothing. Not even a simple clock.
Also, the software it comes with itself. Ahhh, the infamous SonicStage. I've actually had SonicStage since version 1.5 (came with my laptop), but I've never actually used it. Now, to be honest it's not that hard to use, but it is incredibly slow and basic when it comes to features. Like the iPod's iTune, your music needs to go through it before your player will recognise your files. But unlike the iTune, SonicStage seems to recodes all of your files - and I'm not talking about converting your files to Sony's format either. On your unit the files shows up not as *.MP3s, but as some kind of strange new format. As a result it ALWAYS takes a LONG time when you try to transfer or access your music from your computer. Also SonicStage seems to have trouble transfering selected files across, to this day I am STILL unable to transfer some of the songs on my computer. And SonicStage does NOT syncronise with the player properly, so any changes you make will not be transfered over to the unit. By changes I mean like changes in details - if you change the genre of a file you have already copied over for example, the change won't show up on your player when you try to sync the unit to your library. Lastly, SonicStage does not compare its own database with the files on your HD, and it won't pick up any file additon/deletion you have made, or changes you might've made to the names. If you change the name of an artist, for example, from "Smashing Pumpkins" to "The Smashing Pumpkins", SonicStage will end up giving you two copies of the song...
The NW-HD5 is a pretty decent piece of hardware, but it's dragged down heavily by its software and limited firmware. Hopefully both gets updated soon...
Sony is the best, would have bought the NW-HD5, but I more fascintaed by removeable data storage which after a year of dliberation I got sony mz-nhf800, sure the Ipod is stylish, but that's all it is,it's just a fashion accessory,cause when ever anyone has Ipod you know they do without they telling you,cause Ipod users only like to show them off,and please remember MP3 players aren't the oonly market for sony products, they have great products in other areas, take for instance the remarkable PSP, which by far is the best handheld ever, sony is trying to compete in the Portable MP3 players era, I am avid sony fan but I don't bash Ipod, just cause I like sony more, ipod is still a cool product, and sony is trying, and sony have used this so called clickwheel technology, just look at there Hi MD walkmans, the only difference is that sony calls it a 'jog dial'it serves the same purpose as a click wheel, but the thing about Ipod is they go more as a fashion accessory, where as sony is trying to make a MP3 player
and by the way people, when did this Blog became about Ipod for god sakes it's about sony NW-HD5!!!!!
Fred Wilson:
How fast are transfers using virtual PC on the mac if the files are only mp3s? Converting them to ATRAC would take ages since VPC runs slow, right?
Im really curious because if simply transferring the MP3s via USB to the player is quick, then I might buy the HD5 for my Dual G4 Powermac :)
Thanks!
hey, would i be able to upload my current mp3 collection to the nw-hd5? or i have to redownload my collection from sony connect?
I've heard of the HD5's buttons or shell (where the buttons are located) starting to crack with some use. Have you guys experienced or heard this also?
You CAN upload your current MP3 collection... Normal MP3s are okay, but I'm not a 100% about ones with protection encoded onto them though.
The infamous "cracking" of the buttons is kinda misinformed. The "cracks" are common, but are not on the actual button at all, but rather, on the decorative sticker bit that lies underneath the clear plastic buttons (ie. the bit with the pictures of the arrows).
These are very VERY thin hairline cracks, and are VERY hard to spot - and they don't affect the player itself AT ALL. Infact, even up close I can't confirm that there really are cracks on my unit...
Hi Guys, This player is realy cool, except that the software is abit difficult to use, I personaly haven't worked it out how to actually manage my mp3 collections, and the cracking issue with the buttons seem to disapoint alot of people, cause you don't want to pay for something that breaks so easily, It has happened with my player, and I have returned it to sony to look at but I haven't heared any thing yet so I'm waiting to see what they say.
Hi Guys,
I bought a new Sony NW-HD5 hard disk MP3 player, after a couple of weeks a few cracks appeared on the buttons, I took it back to the shop where I bought it, they told me that they would send it to sony, they got it back after 10 days from sony.
but I was told that it wasn't covered under the warranty, whcih sucks because that is an internal damage, that is not a users fault.
but they have refused to fix it, and I am just wondering what would be the next step for me. On this note I would advise any one who wants to buy this particular player mentioned to think very carefuly and weigh up all the risk and the down sides with this player.
im torn between getting the older Sony NW-HD3 or this Sony NW-HD5. the only reason theres any doubt is ive read many reviews of the Sony NW-HD3 saying it crashes and breaks, how reliable is the Sony NW-HD5 for people who have one?
It's a good player I mean the hd5, but there is one issue with that which is that, the tiny layer underneath the buttons cracks, and that is not a big deal though, and is hardly noticable.
I would have to say hd5, because alot better battery life, they have got the new firmware for it, which is called firmware2 and fixes all the tiny issues that there might be. Slick and good looking, well the price probably 10 to 15 percent extra, which I paid, to get the HD5, mine is with the repairer at the moment for the crack issue, and I am expecting it back this week.
One thing which annoyed me was that sony didn't accept the crack issue in the first place and said it wasn't covered under the warranty, but then they changed their mind after I wrote a few emails to them and telling them it's a common manufacturer problem, not the user. But again over all I think it's the best player arround at the moment.
I've just bought the silver hd5. It's perfect. Kick's the ipod's arse!
Reasons? Well:
1) Battery life is absolutely phenominal
2) It's buttons are really tactile, I personally can't stand the ipods clickwheel or Creative's touch scrolls.
3) It looks great, feels robust, and if you drop it, lo and behold, it doesnt break!
4) The sound is amazing, no horrible bass, really crisp.
5) The software's fine, despite what people say.
6) At around £200 I think it's an awesome 20 gb player.
totally cool for an mp3.....
i own one too
the sounds is just too incredible
ps: the software sucks
Just bought the HD5 more than a week ago..
Oberall...i love this player..the sound quality is brilliant..the bundled ear piece is so-so but not as bad as some might say.
just a few minor gripes like the player turning off too quickly...unit play isnt that good..but the good outweighs the bad anyday...sonic stage isnt that bad as long as youre not too dependant on it
dont forget it has dedicated volume control, unlike the ipod. too many incidents of playing it at high volume on the bus, then at home turning it on and its deafening. id rather not have to go through a menu to turn it down. And if you have a program like realplayer you dont need sonic stage or itunes. its way faster and easy to use for transfering songs off and on the computer. who actually buys their music off itunes anyway? i just rip it off cds and p2p networks
Having bought an ipod for my girlfriend because it lookd so simple I was really shocked when I compared it to my creative nomad jukebox. The ipod's sound just doesn't impress me even with my sennheiser hd600. Itunes is difficult. Despite all the complaints creative software gets I actually like because I can actually view my music folders how I have organized in windows explorer (I have about 3000cds). Anyway, I dropped my jukebox after 3 years of owning it. I would say I'm a creative loyalist but I took a leap of faith and purchased the nwhd5 solely because cnet said it was the best sounding mp3 player currently available. I was about to pull my hair out and scream bloody murder when the sony software crashed for the 3rd time when trying to scan my 166gb worth of music. In the end I ended up having to scan one folder at a time, 14 "genres" in all each containing artists, then their respective albums. I don't know why it worked this way, but I'm happy it did. More importantly I'm extremely impressed by the sound quality even compared to my first love, the jukebox. It's a bit smaller than said girlfriends ipod & easier to manage. have some pateince with sonicstage and you'll be rewarded.
okay, here's the deal. I must say. I've fiddled around w/my friends' mp3 players every now and then (despite their crappy music taste) and I've found that those in which you navigate by using a "clickwheel" or anything "touch" are very less reliable. the sensitivity of the touch wear's down after a short while, and it becomes a pain in the butt when your trying to highlight a certain thing and you keep going over it. personally I could wait the extra 15-20 seconds to get where I want on the first try. i must say, iPods are not bad, but I do think they are way overhyped and overrated. the dumbest thing that apple came out with, though, is the iPod shuffle. what the heck is this?! this outraged me. you can't even choose what song you want to play. I could just listen to the radio and get the same thing. I guess the shuffle may be good for some situations, like when you are on the job or taking a jog through the park, or even walking the dog. however, i think apple is just trying to come out with every possible size, shape, capacity, etc. of mp3 player. I say just stick to the basics. keep it simple. let it do only what it was intended to do. play music. none of this other crap like movies or pictures or games. go buy a portable dvd player/digital camera/xbox. If I had zero knowledge of mp3 players and I walked into a Best Buy or any other electronics store, looking to buy one, and I saw one of the iPods sitting next to the sony nw-hd5 (btw, it's not that hard to remember, nw stands for network walkman, lazy bums)I'd probably end up choosing the sony. Not just because of the fact that iPods don't sit well with me, maybe just because they rub me the wrong way or what not, due to the fact of overhype and overratedness, but also because of simple features such as navigation, and battery life. Plus, the nw is just one bombass lookin player.
well, Ive got one and it kicks apples ipod outta the water!