Sony hearts its new wraparound Walkman W-series

Sony is expected to unveil this new wearable Walkman here at CES according to SonyInsider. The W-series device is said to feature 2GB of memory with a price in the range of $50 to $75. Magnetic connectors keep the 13.5mm EX earphones with built-in MP3, AAC, DRM'd WMA and PCM player tidy and heart-shaped when not in use. The Walkman charges to 90 minutes playback after just 3 minutes on the mains -- 30 minutes will give you 12 hours. Sounds good, but we'll have to check these out in person to measure the dork-factor.

[schmitt @ Jan 6th 2009 11:18PM]

is sho is perty

[Pedobear @ Jan 6th 2009 11:24PM]

Looks like a stethoscope without the doohickey you point at the kids' heart.

Speaking of kids....

[XpLoiT @ Jan 7th 2009 8:31PM]

u dont fool us mr bear, we know where u want to point that doohickey

[Zeth Ethereal @ Jan 6th 2009 11:33PM]

OH SHI- Hide teh children!! Hide them under teh /b/ed!

[Boards of Canada @ Jan 6th 2009 11:40PM]

of course

[Aaron Brown @ Jan 6th 2009 11:47PM]

I guess it would be good for running...

[pika2000 @ Jan 6th 2009 11:48PM]

Where are the controls? Sony should equip this with a BT remote for easier control. Will it remain on your ears while jogging? Oh, and where are the regular whiners that usually complain about the lack of display?

[XIYL @ Jan 6th 2009 11:55PM]

Whats up with the lack of display, how am I supposed to read my earbud to find out what song I'm listening to even tho I'm the one who downloaded it. On a more productive note these would be awesome if they were just stereo bluetooth headphones, I would use them all the time with my Shadow.

[vvtopkar @ Jan 6th 2009 11:53PM]

Does anyone else see the slight resemblance between this and the MGS4 Bluetooth headset?

[poematik14 @ Jan 7th 2009 12:12AM]

Give it a screen and 16GB flash memory and i will buy

[projekt84 @ Jan 7th 2009 12:25AM]

Please tell me how in the world that is even possible. Why don't they just put in a 120GB HDD and accelerometer while they're at it? Heck, put a web browser and wifi.

[Brian @ Jan 7th 2009 12:35AM]

Why, why, why, WHY!?!?!

Why can't they just put A2DP bluetooth in these and call it a day? I don't want to ditch my MP3 player... just give me a good sounding, aesthetically pleasing A2DP headset!

[pika2000 @ Jan 7th 2009 1:43AM]

sony did a bunch of those already. http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665716568
But they're expensive. The one linked is $200

[Zane @ Jan 7th 2009 12:50AM]

For a second, I thought I was looking at my Gear4 BT headphones..

[Kizul Emeraldfire @ Jan 7th 2009 1:27AM]

With the stand-thing it's on (and due to the narrow window of my browser not showing the full photo), it looked almost like a codpiece to me at first glance. That would actually be kind of cool, in an extremely nerdy sort of way — dress up like a character from the Mega Man series, and the music player could be a part of the costume! :D

That said: it looks awesome. If I spent more time away from my computer and actually did something out in the real world for once, I would want it.

[darkmax @ Jan 7th 2009 3:09AM]

Where can I get one When can I get one!!!!!!

[cduran01 @ Jan 7th 2009 10:11AM]

Now THIS is an iPod Shuffle killer. It's going on my anniversary wish list.

[captainpease @ Jan 7th 2009 10:49AM]

I totally agree...problem is, my Shuffle won't die! This would be great for my workouts. No more clip-on.

[tekdroid @ Jan 10th 2009 1:08AM]

*fixed storage (being Sony, even their M2 card would have been better)
*non-replaceable battery (that I can tell; more disposable devices when battery dies)
*same old codec support (PCM, MP3, WMA)
*2009?
*less comfortable to wear? (due to additional weight of each headphone)
*indentation in cable to make heart shape (gimmick?)
*difficulty of finding track you want (to be fair, it's a basic limitation with no-screen devices)