Sony Walkman Bean reviewed
posted Nov 21st 2005 11:55AM
Does Sony's tiny Walkman Bean measure up in any area other than size? CNet Asia checked out the player, and found a few good features starting with its "quirky … cute" design. The reviewer also liked the fold-out USB jack, the one-line OLED display (which is, after all, one line more than you'll find on an iPod shuffle) and the FM receiver. The Bean also won praise for its quick battery charger: 3 minutes with your computer will yield 3 hours on the road. The downside: unresponsive controls, playback hiss and, of course, Sony's SonicStage software, which the company still insists on foisting at customers. However, at about $100 for the 512MB version, the Bean is at least priced competitively with the shuffle, making it a somewhat viable alternative for the anything-but-Apple crowd.
Sony's SonicStage is a non-starter for me. No way would I ever use that program again (my MiniDisc player would work with that or RealOne).
Maybe the bean shape looks cool, but messing around with ATRAC3? Sony Connect? Not a chance.
Boycott Sony
Given recent events, I would think the "anything-but-Sony" crowd would be far larger (and have more legitimate beefs) than the "anything-but-Apple" crowd.
Hold on a second! There's playback hiss and you would even consider calling this viable? That's pretty sad.
@Jeff
I think the "anything but apple" line is supposed to be ironic. Lighten up, dude.
I got 25 free songs from Connect with my Sony car stereo. I couldn't even get that crappy software to install!
Third con for this device, USB 1.1 speed. It's stupid to only support 12Mb/s when USB 2.0 and its 480Mb/s speeds have been out for so long.