Sony throws down a new Walkman

Well, well, well — Sony is officially rebirthing the WALKMAN in this device, which'll be rolling out in Q4 in sizes of 6GB (NW-A1000) and 20GB (NW-A3000). It features an organic EL display that makes the readout appear fairly seamless with the rest of the player. On the software side it's got a bunch of bells and whistles to help automagically DJ for you: 'My Favorite Shuffle' will randomly play the 100 most listened to songs, 'Time Machine Shuffle' picks a year at random and plays all the songs from that timeframe, and other functions are available to search and play songs by a number of parameters such as rating, genre, artist, recently transferred, etc. The 20GB version will be available in violet and silver, with the 6GB coming in pink and blue, and all with matching headphones. As far as codec support goes, don't expect anything revolutionary — just MP3 and of course, ever-lovin' ATRAC3plus. Still and all, we must profess excitement at the prospect of this thing.

[Thanks, jedda]

UPDATE: Looking at the Japanese press release, it likewise fails to mention the battery life of either model. But it does say the A3000�s battery will recharge to 80% capacity in about 2 hours using the AC adapter, and the A1000 will take 1 hour. A full charge takes 3 hours and 2 hours, respectively. USB recharging is also supported, and a full recharge on the A3000 will take 7 hours, and A1000, 4 hours. We�ve also seen reports that Sony plans to add WMA playback capability via a firmware update to be released in December. Oh, and prices: Impress Watch is estimating around 35,000 yen (~$317 USD) for the A3000 and 30,000 yen (~$272 USD) for the A1000.

 

[ian spain @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

i love the displays they've been putting on their players. so clean. grr i want one now. damn my ipod-love and nano-desire.

[Kyle Darling @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Hmmm... Looks kinda like a change purse.

[Shermanator @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Sony has longevity. I like my iPod, but they have a shelf life of about 3 years. I just don't understand why everybody shoves the control buttons at the bottom. It is difficult to hold it down there. It might slip out especially with large hands. Try it on the side like the old walkman's. Otherwise I like the design, but Sony's reputation with compatibility and intergration isn't hot.

[msafi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

it sure looks nice. but too late. the ipod nano with its colored screen is gonna beat this.

does it have sound-recording capabilities or any other "hardware" features that the ipod lacks?

[Brad @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

If you want to release a product that will mean nothing the same day, make sure to coincide with an Apple release.

[Rob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Confusing thing is look at the UK SonyStyle store, they have pre-order for a Black and Gold but no silver or pink.

Since its 6GB, I'm guessing the NW-A1000 will be mini-harddrive instead of flash. Very dissapointing, and kinda behind the game with both Apple and Philips releasing a flash 4GB this month.

[jedda @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

This certainly provides a very different styling than what the ipods offer. The screen on these, although not color, looks very interesting and is something I would definately like to see.

Also, in comaparison to the ipod, I think we will find that these provide a better sound quality than the Ipod. This has been noted in the reviews of the previous two HDD-based network walkman models.

[Demens @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Behold! There�s writing on that meteor-rock! It must be alien!

(if i didnt have my ipaq* i would go for that gray one.)

*paque = "i little drarf with magical powers"

[Ben Hou @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

bloody hell
i want one for its screen
how lovely.

[Sledge Hammer @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Why would you want one of these ugly bars of soap when you could get an iPod nano or reg iPod?! Too little too late I say, the Walkman is dead.

Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

[tikkeity @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Man, colour screens on music players are over-rated. Does the colour make your music sound better? Its better to have lo-power display thats still kick ass like the EL.

The 6gb most likely has the microdrive...which means that they could have made this thing even smaller (since they designed for the larger 20gb drive). I hope they put their HD digital amp in their.

[Peter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

I guess the 6GB version is Microdrive based? In that case I might still opt for the iPod nano...

[Tuolumne @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

#9: Sledge Hammer:


Why would you want this?

Because the Apple iPod nano sucks?
Because the regular iPod sucks?

*waits to be flamed by extreme Apple or nothing Fanboys"

:eyeroll x 3:

[mtheorist @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

OMG, so many choices, so little dough.
't do 't do...

[Spyvie @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

The edgeless display looks way cool, unfortunately this device suffers from the same limitation as the iPod products...proprietary software and no open mass storage

[Anthony @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

how many songs can this thing hold ? i checked sony style site and it states the flash Network Walkman� Digital Music Player NW-E507 1GB Built-In Memory / Stores 695 Songs.

Are they referring to atrac3 only, or mp3 as well. or is this a error.

[HILTER @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Sony a company which prides itself on quality should take a page from apple and learn how to design (or contract someone who knows what their doing) to build them some new software.

Also if the Sony Ericsson W800 and K750i can play unportected AAC then why can't their walkman? One side of Sony seems to not be talking to the other... Hell even the PSP can play AAC with the new 2.0 firmware!

[Ethan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

I like my iPod and all, but I'd give this a try. Sony needs to get their act together if they expect customers to consider something like this as a replacement for an iPod. First: get rid of the horrible support software and use an open-format XML database or something similar, along with a mass-storage USB driver. Second: support WMV and optionally OGG. Yes, I'd also like dual headphone jacks, an FM tuner, recording, and a replaceable battery. (Notice that I left off the color display requirement.) Asking for these may seem like pipe dreams, but it's what they'll have to do if they want to compete with the ubiquitous iPod.

Companies release so many different portable players that each get close on most of these points but leave out something very important or cost a fortune. Sony has an eye for style just like Apple (albeit a different style, but I usually like it), but they haven't figured out that Apple knows so much more about what people actually want. iTunes isn't perfect, but it runs circles around SonicStage, and the Winamp iPod plugin runs circles around both.

[Akshat @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

It is all sleek and stuff, but isn't it about time sony realised that they must also compete on features instead of killer looks ..why the hell cant they release a bluetooth walkman with a colour screen, or a 6GB flash player (i think they already work with samsung on LCDs, im sure they can negotiate a good deal for flash memory) It's about being ahead of the game, not just shiny armour. And AAC support would be nice too.

[hoob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

#13: Tuolumne.

It's rather stupid of you to say that the nano sucks, since it hasn't been released yet. And as much as you think it sucks, it's a decent player with a great interface. It is far from sucky, though not quite as omnipotent as everyone seems to make it out to be.

And #9: sledgehammer.

It doesn't seem like you know very much about what you're doing. Sony puts out quality players with pretty slick designs and whatnot. The interface isn't too bad, most of the time, either. Their problem is their implementation of ATRAC and their software. It took them too long to finally put mp3 compatibility into their players, and as decent as the ATRAC format is, it's just too troublesome sometimes. And let's not get started on the Connect/Sonicstage software they force you to use.

Anyway, I think the Walkman looks absolutely awesome. I'd get one if I didn't have my Gigabeat already. And if you're gonna bash it for no reason at all, before it comes out, then you're not so good at knowing what you're talking about, hey?

[Mykarol @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

The only problem is the Atrac format like they had with the minidisc player although it is very clear. Hopefully they will make some bigger than 20 gb...

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

I guess they didn't know Apple would be releasing their hottest selling product (over the next 2 years) today

bummer

[Rob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?showtopic=179

Looks like Connect is Sony-branded iTunes, remember that article talking about Sony and Apple teaming up for Japan?

tikkeity,
From the articles and SonyStyle UK it says that the 20gb has a 2" OLED and the 6gb has a 1.5" which prolly means the 6gb is smaller.

[Jorweeck Kingsu @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Sony does make these walkman cool! Apple iPods are nice too but there's already too much of them around and Sony's bringing variety. Sad that they still insist on using ATRAC3 format.

[bazald @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

#9, Sledge Hammer - Please tell me you didn't just imply that these players are styled more closely to bars of soap than iPods. That is totally absurd.

#17, Hitler (I assume you misspelled it) - Actually, if you look at this from a historical perspective, earlier Apple products were designed (or at the very least co-designed) by Sony. So, really, they would be taking lessons from their apprentice. And, as we all know, when the apprentice tries to surpass the master, it is time to kill the apprentice.

[Glenn Gutierrez @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Or it's time for the apprentice to kill the master.

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

You forgot to mention that the units will support WMA!!! This is a big thing...

[DanAmpX @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

wow that screen is awesome. I'd like one

[voodooxradio @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

to be honest i dont see what a color screen adds to the music [agreeing with #10]. I dont need an ipod to hold my pictures when my camera does that already, and im not a crazy photographer and 85% of people with digital cameras arent either [obviously just making that up, dont bash me] I like the look of this and and the screen. its pretty damm sleek and i wouldnt mind owning one. of course, thats for the looks...everyone has yet to see how they run compared to an ipod. i also have a 40gb non-color screen ipod and upgrading to a color screen seems pointless to me. Only if the ipod WAS a camera would i want a color screen [that wouldbe hoooot] but still id opt for a better camera]
I also agree with everyone else on the choice of size. 6gb and 20gb doesnt exactly cut it on same day as nano. and speaking of nano, im extremely disappointed that they got rid of the mini. I never got one cuz i had the 40gb model already, but the lime green one looked so much nicer than the other ones IMO. they should def come out with a 30-60gb model with same look as mini :)

[Ron Holmes @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

I wonder why Apple aren't getting into the OLED display scene? Are they too expensive in full colour?

Last I heard, OLED displays were great in one colour and easy to make that way, but rgb was harder and more expensive. Anyone able to comment?

[Rob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

When is Sony going to release a new sports mp3 player? Their last one was very old, and has recently been taken off their shops. I know the disc-shaped player E107 comes with an armband, but the armband is a joke. I bought an E507 hoping I could figure out a way to use it at the gym, but it just wasnt durable enough. Right now it looks like I'm going to have to see how Philips's new sport mp3 player shapes up, but their track record isnt great (Even though i love my Nike-Philips PSA128)

[Rob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

and forgot to mention, if not go with an iPod Nano... though I hate the trendy sheepness that listening to one usually implies...

[Dan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

#16 Anthony:
> Are they referring to atrac3 only, or mp3 as well. or is this a error.

Either one - bit rate is bit rate. Sony seems to think people won't notice the difference between 128Kbps and 48Kbps bit rates. It's just a ploy to be able to market their 1GB player as a 695 song player vs the poor 1GB iPod shuffle that can only hold ~240 songs by Apple's own estimation.

Not that this is a new trick, back in the day *every* flash player marketed the number of songs based on 64Kbps, that way they could double the capacity and claim a 32MB player could hold a full CD (~60min, which it can at 64Kbps - it can also hold 4 CDs at 16Kbps!)

[Someone @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Battery life is 30 Hrs for the 20Gb & 20 Hrs for the 6Gb... This is based on the ATRAC format of course which is designed to maximise battery life. Take off a few hours for MP3...

[Ghazi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

i dont know why sony isnt making oled mainstream faster.. i am definitely going to wait for a color version of these similar to the oled pda by sony. just check out the quality in the pics below, its even brighter than the psp

http://www.dynamism.com/vz-90/gallery.shtml

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/feature/sony-clie-VZ90.htm

[K @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Sony prides itself on quality? Since when?

[alex @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

wow i did not know the had a OLED pda that looks so great, about the player i think it looks ok but i still hope its not the sucsesser to the nw-hd5. I expect something ...more

[AJH @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

battery life is 20H for the 6GB and 30H for the 20GB.
Rated with ATRAC3+

[Steve @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

...sony software.... *shivers* I agree with the others that the iPod nano is going to mop the floor with this Walkman. I really wish Sony would concentrate on the console business. At least they took a step in the right direction by starting to support SD cards...

[john @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

Color doesn't make the music sound better, but it does make the display easier to read (allows for more effective anti-aliasing). I take a lot of photos, and having the scaled down library on the iPod is handy for quickly showing someone a pic, and it fits my 18gig photo library into 6gigs of space on my 30gig iPod.

[Malatesta @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

I gotta admit, this looks like a sweet DAP (color screens are quite overblown). And IF you get a Sony product without defects (note the big "if") they are usually worth it.

But one thing Apple does right: they announce their product and make it available that day to purchase. I would opt for this Sony player if I could buy it right now but instead I'm going for the Nano. I mean, cut me some slack...I'm upgrading from a MuVo2!

[jeffr @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

This is one ugly walkman. What happened to Sony Style? It looks even worse than the PS3

[Alex @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

ok heres a last ditch attempt. does anyone know how to put pictures on ur myspace about u part thingy? like under Heros and stuff? sorry for spamming....sony sucks at this anyway, the Nano will pwn it

[shidoshi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

I'm an iPod person, but god do I love the "endless" screens like on these. And while of course color screens offer more options, I actually kind of miss the old black and white screen of my old 3G iPod.

If somehow LCD technology came out where we could have a white iPod with a seamless white-background screen with color on top of that = SEX.

[chilko @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

wow!
3 years

"Sony WALKMAN records three years of playback history that can be searched and also features the first ever �Initial Search� on a hard disc device, allowing the user to scroll from A-Z for ultimate ease of use."

[TheGuyNextDoor @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

S'Funny how people will buy a product because they are a sheep and will then continue to knock every other manufacturer's products because they are so drawn in by corporate brain-washing.

And also how people seem to think that because someone had a problem with a brand's product, then therefore all of that brand's products are unreliable, and everything they do is crap, and always will be, because nothing changes. You people are moronic.

I like iPods, you can't knock Apple for creating a desirable product with a lot of support that does things simply and cleanly. However, you can't lose sight of the fact that a colour display on an audio player is a superfluous waste of battery power. The iPod's audio capabilities are outmatched by other players on the market, and their battery life is woeful compared to some.

Sony are a great manufacturer. Like all companies, they've had their period of occasional blooper, but they have a degree of humility which is quite rare in a company of that size - in that they admitted that their lack of mp3 support was a mistake. They have acknowledged that SonicStage wasn't very user-friendly, and have made great inroads into improving that over the earlier versions. They are listening. Also, their players have great battery life (the Flash players in particular), and OLED displays are fantastic. They refuse to go down the colour display route, and quite rightly so. I'm not putting photos on my DAP, and I never intend to, so why would I want a colour screen to work a basic text interface?

The industry is in danger of over-convergence. Phones that are cameras that are mp3 players. PDAs that have phones in that do GPS that can play mp3s. MP3 players that hold photos and play games. Handheld game consoles that play mp3s and movies and browse the web.

What are we the consumer supposed to do? So many products that cover the same bases? Break one device and you've lost everything.

Anyway, I like this new Walkman. I will be looking for a device with up to 6 Gig capacity with long battery live and an FM or DAB Digital radio. When that arrives, I will go for it.

[BLUE @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

This looks to be another ipod killer but it'll probaly be better than the ipod but still it'll fail

[mr black @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

ergonomics!
you can use an ipod with one hand.
this looks like it will need two hands.
as usual, apple design triumphs.
its so simple, but so important.

[Melvin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

2: I thought hockey-puckish

3: Re:"Sony has longevity." Yeah like my PS2, or I mean my 2nd one after the one that broke.

[Nila @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM]

AT LAST!!!
A company has thought about the software on the damn player itself!!
Nice to see the browsing options they've added - a very nice breath of fresh air.
I wish all companies would take a note of this and try improve and look at their software as much as they look at the physical player itself, it makes the world of difference to us users!