Sony NWZ-A82X-series Walkmans with A2DP hit the FCC

The three desperate Sony fanboys out there waiting for a new Walkman to badly render and incessantly spam our tip jar with just got a treat from the grey suits at the FCC: test reports for three new NWZ-A82X-series Walkmans with sketchy drawings of the backside product label. Apart from finding test results for a Bluetooth 2.0+EDR radio -- which points to A2DP support -- there's not much to go on here. Given the sizes in the diagram, we'd guess that these'll share the basic form factor of the NWZ-A81X units, but you never know how the NWW-A826, NWZ-A828, and NWZ-A829 will rock our world when they eventually hit -- or do you? We await your replies with anxious fervor.

[cswallow01 @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:12PM]

I'm waiting for a Sony iPod Touch, beyond the PSP....

I'd be surprised if they weren't cooking up something.

Wifi first, then A2DP BT second.

Besides, my house is already beginning to feel like a Sony Style/Apple store...

[Anthony @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:15PM]

I agree- I think Sony should "HDNA" us w/ a great PMP.

[Chebwa @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:15PM]

If your house looks like an Apple store, I hope you don't know anybody that eats or drinks.

Could be a catastrophe.

[aguiluz @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:26PM]

Errr... I am waiting for the Playstation Phone. That way I can get rid of my phone, my PSP and my cassette player. No, I am serious of that cassette player.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/22/sony-rekindles-rumors-of-psp-phone/

[nathan @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:22PM]

Have you seen their mp3 players? They're actually really nice. I'm not trying to be a cheerleader for Sony, but you've got to give credit where credit is due. Their players are nice and very functional. No, they're not an iPod, but at least some of them have features that the iPod don't contain unless you buy a third party adapter (such as an FM radio).

[ark_v2 @ Jan 22nd 2008 6:52PM]

I tried one for a few minutes; the sound quality is AWESOME. Bringing an iPod into context is nonsense here.

[Bob @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:24PM]

I'm waiting for the S series to be released in 16gb or higher memory capacity. I've been debating about getting an 8gb one, but that's just not enough space for me. Now that this announcement has hit, I'm going to wait a bit longer to see what's actually released.

I don't like the look of the A series, so my hope is that they release the S series with A2DP support as well as in 16 and 32gb flavors. I don't see them releasing the same 4 and 8gb players that are out now, just with A2DP support in them; Sony has to sweeten the pot a little bit. On top of that, I don't need Bluetooth support. They're already great players according to what I've been reading... they just need bigger flash capacities.

If Creative can do it, so can Sony. :)

[Eric Pham @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:31PM]

I dont think the sony mp3 players look all that great or have an amazing feature set or anything like that. But their sound quality is amazing. I have an ipod touch and the music just doesnt sound as sweet even compared to my psp.

[JD64 @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:37PM]

I love my A-Series. The styling isn't mind-blowing but the sound is just stunning especially when compared to my iPod. Even using the headphones that come with the A-Series on the iPod the sound is OK but not stunning so whatever technology they have in the A-Series is pretty clever.

Also being able to just whack it into a USB socket like a flash drive and not having to use any software is a massive plus for me.

[Michael @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:32PM]

Nilay get a clue. Sony's latest players are among the best out there right now. They are easily the best sounding players I've heard in a long time, if not ever. You can downplay them since it's popular to hate Sony, but it just shows how clueless you guys really are. It's a damn shame.

[silverblackvoid @ Jan 23rd 2008 11:12AM]

a lot of ppl give the impression that they hate sony but in reality they too own a lot of sony gear. its a fact.

[Christian @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:33PM]

I wish for this to be a 20+GB with widescreen and possibly touch screen too. WiFi would be awesome too.

[cstavro2 @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:38PM]

I have an 818, headphones are amazings, 70 dollar headphones included. and 10-15 bucks cheaper then the 8gig ipod nano. Really nice build, great to work out in with buttons! Fantastic screen squality. Drag and drop for mp3 or any other file you want to carry. I dont care about bluetooth because audio quality goes down, so an 828 isnt gonna make me buy. Sony could make a decent ipod touch but nothing innovative with that idea. I'm getting an iphone that reason. I'm not an apple fan but thats my 2 cents.

[Jesse @ Jan 22nd 2008 5:04PM]

I'm guessing people who say the audio quality of Sony's bluetooth a2dp products aren't worth listening to haven't bothered trying them out for themselves. I am an occupational music producer, and not many things come close to Shure E5C's, but my SE w580i phone from amazon.com (for a penny) paired with Sony's HBH-DS980 stereo bluetooth earbuds comes close. Without equalization.

[Amrit @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:55PM]

i agree that nothing beats the sony's at sound quality. have heard that cowon's sound great too.. but hvnt actually tried. for anyone whose priority is sound quality should give this sony player a second look... and trust me on this... not even a glance at ipod !!

ipods have really gud UI, ease of use and software. but the sound quality leaves a bit to be desired. maybe one the reasons is they dont hv user adjustable EQ. it would be interesting to know how they sound with the rockbox firmware, as that provides user definable EQ.

its really ironical how sound quality aint the priority when considering a mp3 player. these days.. most DAP reviews dont even mention much about sound quality. maybe a line or two. but an entire page about features. maybe i have different views that what most people have. but still... this is ironical.


and yes nilay..... you are clueless about these players....

[Febry @ Jan 22nd 2008 5:12PM]

I wholehartedly agree! Every time one of my friends wants a new player i always direct them towards sony..but they all want ipods...i dont realy understand this...if you want too listen too music on the go then surely you want too listen to it with amazing quality!


I realy need sony to release a 20gb plus player....im geting bored of my OLD 20gb VAIO pocket!

[ascariss @ Jan 22nd 2008 5:10PM]

3 models will be released

826 - 4 GB
828 - 8 GB
829 - 16 GB

Headphones will be the same EX 82s as with the current players.

no 32 GB for now, sony only recently introduced a 16 GB memory card so hoping for a 32 GB media player is wishful thinking.

[Jon @ Jan 22nd 2008 5:14PM]

Combined with Ryan Block's "Sony doesn't innovate" article with comments block and this; plus the fact that any MP3 reviews never touch on the most important aspect - sound quality, it does make me question whether Engadget writers are really into technology or are just trend followers.

[T.W.G @ Jan 22nd 2008 5:44PM]

-------------------
I realy need sony to release a 20gb plus player....im geting bored of my OLD 20gb VAIO pocket!
--------------------

That's what I think, too! I REALY hope that Sony will introduce a 24GB or 32GB Flashplayer with the same great sound quality of my beloved Vaio pocket (a great piece of hardware!) and my actual A818.
My vaio pocket felt down to the floor and died. Now I've bought an A818 because the sound quality of my iPhone is just not good enough for me.

I'm using Bang & Olufsen A8 headphones since 5 years and on the Sony they can show what they're a capable of! Great!!

So, Sony needs to get out a replacement for the vaio pocket with drag and drop functionality and physical controls!

Touchscreen-Players are just crap because you can't use them blind in your pocket!

I agree also, that it's a shame for Apple that they don't care about sound quality on their MP3-Player?!

But you can see the lower quality even on the Macbook Pros!
On the MBP I have s.th. like digital fragmented sounds when listening to music when the volume is too low. On my Powerbook G4 Alu I have pure sound!

[Fred Astaire @ Jan 22nd 2008 9:39PM]

Not to burst anyone's bubble here, but Joe Blow dosen't give a shit about sound quality, though for us "elites" it can be awesome. Suprisingly enough, at my school I see these almost as much as ipods... I then promptly ask how they like the sound quality and get blank stares... "WHY DO YOU LIKE IT?" I shout over manufactured bands like My Chemical Romance or the latest Hip-Hop hit... and i really get nothing... sort of like the original iPod revolution, peeps just loved em or hated em, for no reason in particular

[Amrit @ Jan 22nd 2008 9:48PM]

i agree with you... but then nilay or for that matter any engadget writer aint "joe blow"....

[Iain @ Jan 22nd 2008 10:23PM]

They need to actually name it something! Why not just make a few players and call them all WALKMAN. WALKMAN WACKO, DOT, and YACKO. Three quality players with competitive prices.

"Sweet dude I love your NWHZDEWTFWZ-A82X."

[ray @ Jan 22nd 2008 10:29PM]

people who buy sony love their music.

[haixin @ Jan 23rd 2008 1:17AM]

Man, i never thought id seee this day that finally there are people who know the quality Sony has to offer now I love my SOny products they are a good at few things but not good at other things.....but mp3 player.......while everyone buys an IPOD and into the IPOD hype as i like to think it ( i could be wrong) what they don`t know is that Sony is alot and i mean ALOT more durable and a better player in general than Apple`s IPOD.

I also recommend all my friends anf family members to to buy the SOny over anything else and the ones who do, love the product till today and have never looked back.

on another note, though i kow alot of people disliked the sonicstage software. I do have to stick up for it as it was a great way to compress songs with minimal to no quality loss and to get more songs on a smaller sized (storage wise) mp3 players.


And lastely i`ve alwyas bought Sony mp3 players and will continue to buy Sony mp3 players i have even dropped mine and they havent skipped a beat and still work great to this day though i do miss there NW-HD series as those wer probably one of the best ones they had hehe

[WarriorWthn @ Jan 23rd 2008 1:26AM]

" The three desperate Sony fanboys out there waiting for a new Walkman "

what is wrong with u ppl.....Only love apple and hate sony policy is seriously affecting the quality of this site. Have u guys ever even noticed the amount of apple related posts specially during your steve jobs keynotes.


P.S Sony Walkman sound quality kicks the ipod in the apples.

[BLee @ Jan 23rd 2008 4:37AM]

man.. i was gonna go pick up the samsung p2.. now i gotta wait and see wat this is all about..

[Poom @ Jan 23rd 2008 5:55AM]

Errr... Is this meant to be a post about upcoming walkmans or a provoke at Sony fanboys? Seriously, are we gonna see posts like "Sony fanboys, go die." next? o_O

Seriously, I'm growing more and more discontent... not because of all the anti-Sony and pro-Apple alone... I also hate how badly the articles are written. What's with all the long sentences with weird sentence structure in this website? Look at this article, for example. 4 Sentences only. Three of them are frigging long compound sentences which really should be separated... Go learn how to write well before you get paid to write.

Yeah, I hate you, Nilay.

[Poom @ Jan 23rd 2008 5:57AM]

Hmmm... Sorry. I meant the first sentence should be separated.

[theFanboy @ Jan 23rd 2008 7:01AM]

I love my new walkman, nwz-a81x, sound quality is just mind blowing.

and why is that you ppl always post everything against sony ? and that last post by dumb Ryan is a cheap act. and simply blocking the comments and selectively deleting shows how far you wud go to protect your narrow mindedness !!

[Geonerd @ Jan 23rd 2008 7:55AM]

Loving the A2DP !!!! been waiting for so long for ipods or iphone to include it that this is just the best news ever...

Would love a 32 plus Gs of storage.

When is it coming out??

[dennis @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:39AM]

It's nice to see Sony focus on making good sounding DAPs (a needed area of improvement in the market) and stop trying to own the entire process of ripping and transferring digital audio files. Sony is still paying for ATRAC, Sonic Stage, and minidiscs (a great hardware system in its time but clearly outdated for listening purposes now). Their earlier approach to DAPs would be analogous to trying to make a magnetic tape Walkman that responded to the growing market of tape technology by making customers buy a new kind of tape with a different shape and hardware specification. Sony should start an advertising campaign inducing nostalgia for the old tape Walkman, in order to inform consumers that yes, they are trying to make functional, good sounding portable audio devices again.

[James @ Jan 23rd 2008 11:32AM]

Oh look, more Sony hate from iEngadget. What a surprise.

[R1R @ Jan 23rd 2008 11:35AM]

Does anyone care about sound quality anymore? Nilay, you seriously need to get a clue. These new Sony players not only look good, but they also have amazing sound quality. The UI and screen are also look great. Sony needs to do a better job marketing these things, because people are really missing out. There are many different sound and EQ settings. For people who actually care about sound quality, these are probably the best on the market.

[kisut @ Jan 24th 2008 9:28AM]

i always admire sound quality from sony , since sony walkman, i mean walkman with cassette player.

until now.

ipod not good with sound quality. believe me, i've tried some pmp.

[Peter @ Jan 30th 2008 3:41PM]

I have had ipods for awhile, got a zune 30 off of woot and my most recent mp3 player purchase is the nwza818. I have to say I dont use any of my other players anymore now that I have the nwza818. I switched from 5g ipod to zune bc i have so many artists and like to change them around a lot that scrolling on the scrollwheel would KILL my thumb. I switched to the zune 30 which I liked but still had issues with, pretty bulky, better controls (in my opinion) than ipod and i still got to drag around my 25gb of music but i HATE the zune software. since i got the sony walkman a month ago, i havent picked up the zune or ipod once. I only wish they had a 16gb or 32gb version, other than that, the thing is nearly perfect, incredible sound quality and great earbuds come with it, battery life is also phenomenal. I don't understand why Engadget would be such a negative nancy about the sequel to a product that has gotten so much positive reviews (CNET, Amazon, etc). i agree with a previous post that sony needs to market this better, its a beautiful player that knocks the ipod nano out of the water.

in an unrelated note, i am not an audiophile but i feel there would be a market for a player that has 80-160gb but has phenomenal sound quality and allows you to listen to ogg, flac, etc so people can put on albums that are not compressed into shitty 128kbs mp3 format. skip out on the newest and most high tech 3" screen with video and just get down to basics, great battery life, great sound quality, etc.

i think all these convergence devices (iphone especially) frequently lead to a product that does a lot of things average rather than just 1 or 2 things great.

[Tonedeaf @ Mar 12th 2008 5:34PM]

I was unsure if I wanted to buy a 16GB player for over 300 USD, but if the bluetooth headphones do the player justice AND have decent battery life, I will not regret the purchase. I look forward to the reviews once these babies come out in April.