Well folks, the reviews are in concerning
Sony's latest and greatest Walkman, the
NWZ-S610 family, and the word is... not bad. CNET is feeling the sound quality, price point, and UI, commenting that the player has a "polished interface overall, and it makes browsing pleasant." The cats from PC Magazine seem to have similar vibes when it comes to the device (which is available in a variety of colors, as well as 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB capacities), though they do take issue with the quality of the earbuds, and the lack of video and photo file options. Skatter Tech just generally seems to be hot-to-trot over the whole affair, loving Sony's new "open" sensibilities (and just about everything else, truth be told). There's no doubt that Sony dropping SonicStage and opening up file formats on the player are value-added in the eyes of these critics, and overall everyone seems to feel pretty positive about the new entry. Don't take our word for it, though, browse on over to the reviews and bask in the critical light.
Read - CNET (7.7 / 10)
Read - PC Mag (3.5 / 5)
Read - Skatter Tech ("Big thumbs up!")
posted Sep 19th 2007 2:13PM
Looks ugly...
ppl learn from Apple. IPhone/Ipod interface/Look'n'feel is the best.
And as soon as they do "learn", these comments will be full of "ZOMG!! They copied Apple!!!!"
Learn from Apple and copy what? The crappy sound? The poor quality? Or perhaps just overprice it to hell and make the battery almost impossible to remove?
Yeah, sounds like a plan.
kiss my ass
I have a nano, and I hate the interface. Scrolling around and then wanting to change the volume level is... well, terrible...
Hmmm.... Not bad indeed... NOW Sony can you please lower the price of PS3?
Console war -> obviously not doing well
Format war -> no clear winner, Hollywood ditching support
LCD war -> no where cheaper, Vizio anyone?
MP3 war -> clearly a loser
DigiCam war -> not a leader
Mobile phone war -> not a 'iPhone'
You forgot... Crayola -> moron
There's an MP3 war now? How'd I miss that?
And if you actually sat down and used a PS3 I think you'd agree it's well worth the price. They sell it way below manufacturing cost already. If it was an Apple product it'd be like $1500, white, and way locked down.
come on, the bar is higher than this. it looks pathetic.
some of us - only some, I want to stress - care more about what a DAP can do opposed to how it looks. While you may resort to pulling out your iPod to win chicks, the rest of us make do with personality and physical appearance of ourselves, not the iPod we named Mary so we can always pretend to have a girlriend.
some of us - only some, I want to stress - care more about what a DAP can do opposed to how it looks. While you may resort to pulling out your iPod to win chicks, the rest of us make do with personality and physical appearance of ourselves, not the iPod we named Mary so we can always pretend to have a girlfriend.
Winning chicks is important :-) Unless you play for the other team of course.
It seems to look fine to me.
Your not accidently looking at a 3G nano, are you?
It looks pretty decent to me. I would suggest they drop the grey edge and use all shiny black. I like how the icons look exactly like their other devices, but it would be nice if they used the XMB interface.
I'd probably never buy one though. My PSP does all that and much more already. Maybe if I took up jogging I'd want something lighter and smaller... But otherwise the PSP is fine for me.
@Larz
You do know that the NWZ-S61x series is available in (matte) black, pink, and red? The silver model pictured is a Sony Style exclusive color.
Personally, I like the simpler design. Plus, it feels nice in my hands.
Coming from a Sony fan here- if this isn't proof that Sony needs to make it's electronics division take notes from the PS division and vice versa(in rare cases) then I don't know what is.
Had they somehow designed this thing with the PS family in mind, not only would it look better but would instantly have familiarity with consumers from seeing PS products. It would at very least, take some of the sting out of it being a "meh" mp3 player. The least they could have done was made the XMB a Sony-wide interface.
i definitely agree. sony's gaming consoles have such a recognizable look, and it's actually (other than ps3's size) a pretty good one. everyone recognizes the ipod, and honestly, with it's limited features compared to other DAP's, i'd say that looks might be ipod's selling point; recognizability has made them billions.
so, i think sony should cash in on it's success, and try, like apple, to cover up the fact that it's DAP isn't that great(i own an ipod, and i'll be the first to admit that there are much better out there) and just make it real pretty instead.
Well, i do think that they should put the XMB interface but, if you think about it, i think XMB works great with some products like the PS lineup and TVs, that have tons of menus and submenus, but if you can put all the items on screen from the begining i think it´s better, i'm not a big fan of unnecessary scrolling.
It looks very like a Sony Ericsson cellphone menu, wich in my opinion its very great.
By the way i own a Creative Microphoto and i'm preety happy. The only thing i think that the ipod is better its the click wheel, that is something unbeatable, even the touchscreen approach isnt as good as click wheel.
It is strange because they have produced some really nice designs in the past - the NW-E507 and its siblings for instance were pretty slick - but they've kept churning out new models which no one has seemed to notice, or haven't been worthy of notice; and now things are heating up because clearly the next challenge for Sony is to produce a slick software interface on the device itself à la you-know-who, where they particularly seem to lack the expertise...
I actually think this looks kinda hot.
So, in short:
-it is larger than an iPod nano
-it is more expensive than an iPod nano
-it has a smaller screen than an iPod nano
Even without evaluating the UI, this seems a sure fire hit for Sony.
Uh..It's actually cheaper than the iPod nano.
Yes, but the best thing about it, it's NOT an iPod Nano. That alone makes this player into a winner.
Heres why PC-MAG is the worst resource for reviews:
Apple iPod Nano (3rd generation)
Music Playback Formats: AAC, AIFF, MP3, WAV
Photo formats: JPEG
Video Formats: MPEG4
CON:
Cover Flow loses some of its appeal without a touchscreen. Crappy earbuds.
4 1/2
Sony Walkman NWZ-S610
Music Playback Formats: AAC, MP3, WMA
Photo formats: JPEG
Video Formats: MPEG4
CONS:
Lousy earbuds. Limited video and photo file support.
3 1/2
Biased garbage!
Anyone who's seriously into audio (try www.head-fi.org ) thinks that the iBuds are complete crap. No DAP comes bundled with good earbuds, because that would raise the price and the thing they're selling is the DAP itself, not the earbuds.
CNET isn't much beter, look at what they criticise the 3rd generation Nano for
Apple iPod
The bad: We're not crazy about the wider body, the smaller scroll wheel, the lack of video output, and the average-sounding audio quality.
Yet it sill gets 8/10
Then looks at Sony's review
Sony NWZ-S615F
The bad: The Sony NWZ-S610 series doesn't offer any exceptional new technology, and there are cheaper competitors that offer the same features.
The bad: The Sony NWZ-S610 series doesn't offer any exceptional new technology, and there are cheaper competitors that offer the same features.
LMFAO @ Ruben that's hilarious, I'm pretty sure the sony one also supports MP4..and then they penalize it for having limited? ROFL!! What does the nano have then, a "wide" variety? lol, Funny stuff.
It's cheaper
more battery life
sound quality = great with the proper headphones for this one but the nwz-81x series come with nice headphones
you can really play around with the sound settings which is great.
And it looks pretty good.
It is sad reality we are living in, that it took Sony several years/generations to bring plain MP3 player to market.
Why so plain and dowdy? The design is so plain and the button layout so uninspired. Sony don't need to learn from Apples clever design, as Sony HAS (or could buy in) good designers. It looks like another product by a large corporation which has too many 'managers' compromising design, resulting in a mediocre product. Like it or not, regardless of the technology inside, Apple has let it's designers to create a vision. Getting Xbox designers to design a Zune is idiotic. Did anyone look at the Xbox? It's one of the ugliest designs in history (yet inside one of the best consoles). I know it seems shallow, but people do judge books by their cover. Ipods succeed because customers respond favourably to the design first and then the user experience. It's no good crying about how the Zune has better sound quality, when its looks like a 2nd rate Gigabit knockoff. The 'ipod killer' was dead in the water the moment people looked at it. A windows friendly, Microsoft designed MP3 player should have appealed to millions of PC users, unconvinced that an Apple product would work well on their system. Yet the Zune with almost limitless resources of Microsoft scrapped a 9% market share at best. How is a Walkman line, that looks worse than a zune, do any better?
Sony need to rethink their approach, as the creators of the Walkman should be leading MP3 technology (as creators of the PSone and PS2 they should be leading the console market too). Sony have appeared to have dropped the ball on several key products. being thrashed by Nintendo in console and portable gaming should be shaming.
Is this the best a multi-billion dollar company like Sony can do? Really? It's pathetic. It lets companies like Apple get away with murder. The iphone is beautifully designed, yet has basic flaws most people would laugh at if Sony had done them. The iphone is daylight robbery with it's exorbitant costs and low quality Edge service. Yet it's been a huge success that's making Apple into a major mobile phone maker.
Oh and the 'Rolly' isn't what I meant about inspired MP3 player design. Someone needs to be fired for giving that folly the greenlight. What is Sony thinking? Sony seems like a headless chicken desperately poking around, hoping they might get it right eventually.
I'm a function over form kinda guy and I like the design of these new Walkman players. I agree with you that the Zune, while having a nice screen, sound quality, and UI, is brought down by the design of the exterior. Its size, weight, and primarily its thickness (its "brickiness") is what prevented me from buying it. That, and the fact that Microsoft decided to use a unique DRM scheme for the Zune instead of the existing PlaysForSure protocols and a standalone Zune Software for media transfers instead of using Windows Media Player and existing MTP transfer protocols.
But the Walkman is thin, light, compact, and most importantly to me, not gaudy (at least the non-pink ones are). The video playback is very nice, although somewhat restrictive in the supported format department (the iPod suffers the same drawback). The sound quality is very good once you swap out the supplied earphones for better ones (again, the iPod has the same problem). The interface, while not ground breaking, is easy to navigate and does so smoothly (no Cover Flow slowdown issues).
Not having to install proprietary software to use the player is a GIANT plus in my book. That's one of the reasons I've been using my PSP as a MP3/media player since from day one its been a drag-and-drop device. The PSP's bulk is probably the only issue I have with it. Honestly, DRM schemes aren't a big issue for me since I never purchase music online, preferring to convert music to AAC and MP3 formats instead.
If you want something with more style, I suggest looking at the S61x's sibling the A81x. Its lacking the FM tuner, but it has a 2" LCD like the 3G Nano, comes supplied with much better EX082 earphones, and is slimmer (although a bit taller and wider) than the S61x.
The complaints I have with the new Walkman are that it doesn't support M3U playlists like the PSP, it doesn't come with some sort of video conversion software (pretty significant for average consumers considering that the unit supports only 2 specific MP4 formats), and it doesn't support standard PSP video formats (meaning I'll have to re-convert all the videos I wish to watch on the Walkman).
Let me try again...
CNET isn't much beter, look at what they criticise the 3rd generation Nano for
Apple iPod:
The bad: We're not crazy about the wider body, the smaller scroll wheel, the lack of video output, and the average-sounding audio quality.
Yet it sill gets 8/10
Then looks at Sony's review
Sony NWZ-S615F:
The bad: The Sony NWZ-S610 series doesn't offer any exceptional new technology, and there are cheaper competitors that offer the same features.
7.7/10
The Nano doesn't bring any new technology and there are cheaper players with MORE features (like this Sony player) but they just can't bring themselves to give the Sony a higher mark.
The CNET review of the new ZEN is the same " "but the maximum onboard storage capacity of 16GB is rather limiting for a PMP, especially if one is planning to store mainly video files." Do they crticise the Nano for only having 8GB? Nah, they just tell us that it's a "must-have for the holidays".
Skatter Tech are the only ones brave enough to say that 'they'd recommend the Sony over the Nano.' You better believe they wont be hearing from Apple for a while
When it comes to the review of the Zen, CNET incorrectly classified it as a replacement for the Vision:M. Its not, of course. If they had considered it a replacement of the Zen V, then i can see no reason why it wouldnt get a 10. Its literally got it all (almost).
The Vision:M replacement, if there is one in the works, will most likely be the best player for the holidays (factoring in the rumors that have gone around), and no one will know about it.
Some of these review sites should be dead honest and just come out and say:
CONS: Its not an iPod.
Enough with the bulls**t and reveal the truth of how you feel (or who has paid you off).
the Creative Zen is shipping, and has gotten a 8.X from CNET, which is a great rating (for them). I ordered mine, but they seem to have sold out quick and are on backorder at creative.com.
Like i mentioned above, it really should have been a much higher rating, but they considered it a replacement for the Vision:M, which i dont think it is.
EX. "The bad: The Creative Zen only comes in black, and it doesn't come close to matching the max 60GB offered by the player it's replacing. " (This "bad" applies to the 4gig as well, which makes no sense, as its price is really low).
One thing that didnt make it past their thick skulls. LOOK AT THE PRICE RANGE!! That helps determine the nearest competitor or the ancestor.
Whatever. When it comes to reviews, the only ones i trust are my hands, eyes and ears.
I own a Sony NWZ-S618F
Great product. Plus very long battery life
Connect it with MDR-EX52 Earbuds and you have a winner!
This is a valiant effort by Sony, if they had started making players like this a couple of years ago I might have one right now.
Just to add my two cents to some of the iPod comments, I think I would rather have one of these than a Nano. In my opinion there are many other players out there that preform better and look just as good if not better than iPods, the main reason for the success of the iPod is Apples marketing, no other company comes even close to doing as much marketing for a Media Player as Apple does with their iPod line, not even Microsoft.
Apple has created such a bombardment of iPod advertisements that the uninformed consumer now equivocates mp3 player with iPod. If any company ever wants to present a challenge to the iPod throne they'll not only have to produce a superior product, but probably spend even more money advertising the product than producing it.
I just unloaded my Sansa e280 for this, and it's teh wicked. Sound options and quality are top notch. I checked out the new Nano in store two weeks ago and i'm glad i didn't bite.
Oh and Sony just dropped the price for the 8GB version to $160, while the Nano sells for $200. You know what to do.
I have no idea why you are all complaining so much!!! I like this mp3 player it looks nice it's easy to use and that's all i got to say and quit talking about apple products cos i doubt that there is anything i could hate more than that lousy company