Sony's new E-series flash Walkmans get real

Not that we really had any doubt at this point, but those new Sony E-series flash players from last week? Yeah, they're real. No new info on Sony's official site though, not so far as we can tell: same 512MB / 1 / 2GB capacities as before with optional FM tuner, MP3 and WMA playback, and a 28 hour battery (using ATRAC, of course) with a 3 minute quick charge for 3 hours playback (again, probably using ATRAC), and black, violet, pink, blue, silver, and the "very exclusive lime green." Yeah, whatever. So where are our CE-Ps, Sony?

[Thanks, Colin]

[PDubNYC @ Apr 4th 2006 11:02AM]

"with optional FM tuner, MP3 and WMA playback, "

I took that to mean MP3 and WMA playback were options, even though it made no sense. I see now that it is just poor grammar confusing things. Looks like it might be a pretty good little player. Too bad I don't trust anything Sony makes except for their TVs. I've had too many P.O.S. over the years to trust them anymore with audio players.

[kevin @ Apr 4th 2006 11:03AM]

why is this better than the e507 player? looks like it has the same battery life and comes in the same sizes. the e507 also has an FM radio. and the e507 is cooler looking to boot.

so whats the big deal about these? that it has the usb connector right on the device? so what

[Artr @ Apr 4th 2006 11:05AM]

it seems like an okay design... from the images it looks like the USB interface is already there so no need for annoying cables. it seems that Sony has finally found it's "design" and running with it, it's nice, curved and coloured which apple is currently lacking.

i get a feeling it's like an iPod shuffle with a screen and a few extra features.... personally i love my iPod + iPod shuffle to bits so i won't be buying this but kudos to Sony for keeping on trying.....

[Azulblue @ Apr 4th 2006 11:12AM]

It looks like Sony is two years late with this MP3 player. It's sad to say Sony, but Apple has the portable music business in it's hands. Keep trying...

[daschupa @ Apr 4th 2006 11:27AM]

Looks like nice enough of an mp3 player. FM ability is a plus. If it has playforsure and excludes the ATRAC till death thinking it wouldn't be a bad product.

[Lee @ Apr 4th 2006 11:29AM]

Easy on the anti-sony lads. Just because it's not dominating the market doesn't mean it should just stop producing products.

Personally I have no problem with the ATRAC format, takes a bit longer to put on, for a rewarding battery life. Looks like a sweet little player.

[iDZ @ Apr 4th 2006 11:35AM]

apple has sold 42 million ipods, and if anybody else wants a piece of that, they've gotta offer AAC compatibility. my entire CD collection is already in AAC, and that's that's what keeps me from switching brands, not any kind of loyalty. the format was developed by the same folks that came up with mp3's, but apple seems to be one of the few companies supporting it. why?

[Alex @ Apr 4th 2006 11:52AM]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm kinda getting tired of iPod. Sure it looks pretty and easy to use, but everyone's have at least 1. I don't really wanna be just the same as everyone else (and hey, that's when I decided to switch to Mac in the first place).

So I think Sony may have a chance against Apple if it can differentiate its future products from iPod, and of course other mp3 players and PMPs in the market too. The new product(s) Sony makes has to be something we've never seen before, or has a very slick and useful new feature that nobody else has put on their products yet...

[ty @ Apr 4th 2006 11:52AM]

So many Apple Fanboys. Have ya made your daily sacriface to your god (Stevie J) yet?

Idiots.

[itsonlymonday @ Apr 4th 2006 11:53AM]

Because Apple does not allow other MP3 players to play FairPlay DRM'd aac files.

[PDubNYC @ Apr 4th 2006 12:07PM]

#8, Ty, there is one comment above from someone who mentions loving his iPods, and another that wants another player that uses AAC. That's pretty much it. No rah-rah Apple posts. It is you anti-Apple trolls that bring up the topic more often than not.

F'n douchbag.

[Ipod Fanboy @ Apr 4th 2006 12:17PM]

See sony you are feeling the same way how nintendo feels. Sony took away home console video gaming from nintendo ten years ago, and just a few years ago apple takes away the portable music market away from sony. Like nintendo sony tries real hard to winback what was lost. Sony is a very Samuari company they never believed that they can loose an entire market taht they have created and controlled for sometime. Americans may like the playstation but not many Americans like the walkman anymore. But i give sony props for making mp3 players, but sony your just too late. Well sony keep on trying, even the psp as an mp3 wont do much against the IPOD.

[TIMMAH! @ Apr 4th 2006 12:27PM]

I wish these companies would get off the 'me too' thinking and create something innovative. I'm still waiting on the portable MP3 player that I can fill up at home and then dock in my car's dash. Yes, yes I know there are various iPud docking solutions that allow you to plug in your iPud via a cable to your car stereo, but then you got a stupid cable hanging out or you gotta figure out where to put your iPud. That's not an integrated solution in my book. Sony makes home components, Sony makes car decks, Sony makes computers, Sony makes MP3 players. They have all the ingredients to make a nice integrated solution. (But of course each of these divisions probably don't know anything about what the other ones are doing, so that's probably what's going on over there...)

[suntiger @ Apr 4th 2006 12:54PM]

TIMMAH! :
DLO TransPod. No wires; I use one on my iPod and I love it.

http://www.dlo.com/Products/car_Prod.tpl?command=showpage&cart=11441695658101407

[Ben @ Apr 4th 2006 1:17PM]

it's the software stupid ...

Sony your music managing software is horrible, there's no way I would use it to manage my music.

[Sp1n @ Apr 4th 2006 1:50PM]

anti-sony AGAIN?

can engadget get off ipod`s johnson? i mean seriously, every article about ANY sony product on here is negative - and again every article ASSUMES half the things written in it.

assuming != reality

yall should chill the funk out forreal...

[resource @ Apr 4th 2006 1:52PM]

Do you have to use the shitty Sonic Stage?

No WMP or Windows Explorer Drag and Drop?

And why does the 2 GB have no radio?

Its always something...

[PEZ @ Apr 4th 2006 2:05PM]

I LOVE how, when I read these posts, some of the retards on here actually think they are talking to the company the item is made by.

Friggin' Hilarious!

[Awesome Man @ Apr 4th 2006 3:58PM]

Maybe the posts about Sony are negative because Sony sucks? Sony is dead in the water. Just as so many other companies, it's not about quality from them anymore. Crap in a box, apply Sony label on box, sell to Sony fanboys, Sony fanboys pick it up by the loads.

"Ooh, look at the cool new pda (or mp3 player, or monitor, or camera, or computer). Wow, why is it so much compared to these over here?"

"Because it's got a Sony label on it."

"Ohhhhhh..."

[Mark D @ Apr 4th 2006 4:05PM]

Is it me or is Sony going through a bad patch at the moment? This is more of the same uninventive stuff. If blu-ray goes the same way as Betamax then I don't think Sony will survive. Shame really as they used to do nice stuff. But they seem to have lost the plot a bit recently.

[Brian @ Apr 4th 2006 4:16PM]

I have a Sony NW-E107 and I am very happy with it.
Sony has always been known for putting out audio players with a very good battery life. I don't know what happened with this one, but mine gets 80 hours of playtime off of one AAA battery.

Brian

[Torontoguy @ Apr 4th 2006 4:33PM]

LOL! It does appear to be always the same reaction to any Sony product announcement...nobody gives it a chance...they sort of stop at the Sony name and dismiss it out of hand.
It is a bit like deciding that some people are of less value than others because of the color of their skin or the shape of their eyes. It is the same mindset.

[Trey @ Apr 4th 2006 4:47PM]

No. 20. Ditto 'Apple'

Ipod's really do suck. The masses really can be wrong. I'd rather drive a Porsche than a Ford Taurus. Go figure?

Why Apple Ipods are just soo great. I guess it's Myth vs Reality time...

They have excellent battery life. It's about 4-6hrs max right?

They're really portable. Well if you don't stray more than a 100 metres from a power point?

They have great sound quality. What from a compressed MP3 file?

They have great functionality. Thats why everybody has to take it outta their pockets, then outta their fancy cases just to change the tracks over.

They're great value. Until you have to pay for the additional accessories like a mains adaptor.

They are a really great design. If you like scratched plastic and you don't mind sending it back to Apple to get the battery changed.

They're cool. Hmm white ear buds. Only one place for 'em. On the ears of the special Ed kids.

It's all about freedom. Thats why I can only play the music I have paid for on my Apple!

[Echo_ @ Apr 4th 2006 4:49PM]

hey idiots

wah wah why wont sony support aac on their players waah wahh apple is awesome

first off sony developed aac
sony is not using aac because atrac3+ is actually pretty decent
how is sony 2 years behind? they have already developed a player like this. If that was the case we could say apple was 4 years behind with the shuffle.

btw this has a screen and the shuffle does not


and to engadget shut up with your anti sony crap and i love apple and try to be as unbiased as possible

there is a world where apple/sony/microsoft/all major companies can live together in peace. believe me i use all those companies products and respect them for what they are good at.

[Drew @ Apr 4th 2006 5:02PM]

20: Conversely, "Oh it's by Sony, it HAS to suck". Granted they generally are higher priced, but they do have many excellent products.

As a basic flash mp3 player, these players are fine. In fact, I would say that the battery life + 3 minute charge time for 3 hours makes this a worthy player.

27 hours for mp3 isn't bad and 27 minutes for a full recharge is pretty good IMO.

[Gman @ Apr 4th 2006 5:08PM]

I'm using e400 and i have no problem with Sonic Stage..
And if u have problem using Sonic Stage, than use Mp3 Manager. I found it easier than itune.
20//i usually buy sony products not because they have a Sony label one them, but they are better than others.

[zoara @ Apr 5th 2006 7:54AM]

Trey, #20, if you're going to spend the time bashing a product (one that this item isn't even about!) by shouting about "myth versus reality", you can save yourself from looking silly by actually checking your facts first. It helps.

[zoara @ Apr 5th 2006 7:56AM]

Sorry, I meant #24, not #20. Ironic, huh?

At least I got the name right.

[Jat @ Apr 5th 2006 8:16AM]

Do you need the Sonic Stage software for this mp3 player or is it a plug and play USB player, where I can open it in 'My Computer' and drag and drop all my files on to the USB Drive?

[Drew @ Apr 5th 2006 4:13PM]

Many of Sony's mp3 files are compatible with program called (and I'm not sure of the exact name) Mp3 file manager. This lets you drag and drop your files.

Of course, people like to complain that you can only use sonic stage on Sony's mp3 players without actually looking into alternatives.

As for whether or not this model is supported, I'm not sure but I don't see why it wouldn't.

[Trey @ Apr 9th 2006 12:24PM]

No. 29 / 30.

Dude,

WTF are you on crack? The comments I made are based on FACT, first hand use of ipod's and comment from my peers.

Re: 'Battery life'.Based on usage of 4th and 5th gen 'pods.I have a daily communte of about an hour, as do my friends. Even by keeping volume or track changes to a minimum 'we' have found that the max bat life is about 6 hours. FACT. Also you have to send an ipod, to Apple, to get the battery changed a cost of almost a quarter of the original retail price. FACT

Re: 'Sound quality'. This is subjective but have you compared the sound quality of an MP3 track compared to an ATRAC track? IMO ATRAC ALWAYS sounds better.

Thats from a peer group survey of 25 commuting folk. FACT.

So if you don't mind to keep using an ipod don't stray more than 100 metres from a charge point. FACT

Re:'Pockets'.Unless you have one of the lame in line remotes, you need to take the 'pod outta your pocket to change tracks. FACT. At least with, say a Sony MD player, you had a cool stick remote to do the job for you. So again the pocket thing is a FACT doofus!

Re:'Scratches'.If you're telling me that you've never seen an ipod, that gets daily use, without a scratch on it. YOU'RE A LIAR! Ipods are prone to scrathing. it's that simple FACT.

Re: 'DRM'. I admit I'm a bit shakey on this so feel free to educate me but Apple tracks are locked into the ipod? I don't think that this is fair. You should be able to 'share 'em around' Just like passing a CD from stereo to car etc.

The reason for my rant is that, whilst I'm not a Sony fanboy it's nice to be able to point out the flaws in a product, like the ipod, which has reached iconic status even though it's design is soo weak. Compare this to the new Sony product which has superior design features but doesn't get a look in?

[Blish @ Apr 9th 2006 7:19PM]

this is a great new product from sony in my book- long battery life is a given- people are tired of their ipods lasting an hour tops before it gives up, and besides apple's customer service is shit.
you dont need to use sonic stage, u can use yahoo music and loads of other platforms to download from onto walkman. i think these new flash players are going to be pretty neat.

[Blish @ Apr 9th 2006 7:23PM]

this is a great new product from sony in my book- long battery life is a given- people are tired of their ipods lasting an hour tops before it gives up, and besides apple's customer service is shit.
you dont need to use sonic stage, u can use yahoo music and loads of other platforms to download from onto walkman. i think these new flash players are going to be pretty neat.

[Sly @ Apr 10th 2006 2:59PM]

I have the Sony E-407 and it works amazingly well. The job dial is very intuitive and easy to use. Seems most of the complaints are about SonicStage. No problems here, and if there was, I could always use mp3 file manager for drag and drop. Oh and if you're listening to compressed mp3 files anyway, atrac3/atrac3+ shrinks those files to about half the size and retains the same sound quality. I went through conversions on my computer, testing mp3s at various bitrates (usually 128/192) and converted to the lowest possible atrac3+ format at 64kbps. Sound quality is identical, to my ears. So really, 1 GIG on this player can fit nearly 500 songs. Only gripe I have about mine is that the OLED display is unreadable in bright daylight. It looks uber cool anywhere else though:)

[mark @ May 3rd 2006 3:07AM]

I have the black version of this player and it is a winner, fast battery charge , cheap , tiny size, great sound.
I posted a short review here http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1593&pid=11971&st=10&#entry11971

[basit @ May 24th 2007 6:38PM]

hi
well guys u all seems to be a nano fucker. well how can u say that nano has taken away the mp3 market from sony. well to be honest sony has never loose its mp3 market and nano is very ugly and worst in terms of battery life. well i have been using this nwe005 with 2 gb fm and it sounds very bassy. well nano does not have fm. thats fail them in my opinion and gama mp3 players are alot sleeker and slim than nano.and have 30 hrs battery life. and 3 min charge 3 hrs playback. and very smooth mp3 playback. while even the new generation ipod sucks.