Sony unveils Walkman NWZ-X1000 OLED touchscreen player

Just as rumored, Sony's indeed showing up at this year's CES with a touchscreen Walkman, the NWZ-X1000. Front and center is a beautiful 3-inch touchscreen OLED display, which means lower power consumption and a wider color gamut than a traditional LCD, and Sony also worked in WiFi and headphone-independent noise cancellation. The player will come in 16GB and 32GB flavors. Details are otherwise scant at this moment -- we're particularly interested in the software specific and price, which we're guessing Sony will be announcing at its press conference this evening -- but let's just say that faux granite shell is a definite mark in the "please, yes" category.

[Via OLED-Display]

[The Fuzz 53 @ Jan 7th 2009 10:52AM]

I'm sure this will get completely flushed down the toilet when the price is announced.

[Hey Ya @ Jan 7th 2009 10:57AM]

Bingo.

As always, Sony will make this thing impossible to justify purchasing.

[KIFF @ Jan 7th 2009 11:24AM]

You do realise that the S639 16GB costs far less than the equivalent iPod Nano? I got mine for £86, where as the iPod Nano costs £145.

[prateeko @ Jan 7th 2009 11:31AM]

As long as it costs less than a comparable touch and can work with a Mac I'm in. I REALLY miss the audio fidelity and EQs Sony has. I dunno if it's the amplifier or what, but the iPod doesn't quite cut it when you turn up the volume/use the EQs, which is a damn shame because I really love simple and seamless it is.

[Skorpius @ Jan 7th 2009 12:41PM]

I agree prateeko. I use an iPod Nano 4th gen (with Windows), rip all my CDs to lossless, but there is lacking a fundamental audio quality. I like Apple's interface and don't even mind iTunes (save for certain things you can't customize), but I don't understand why they can't focus on the audio quality. My little 2 year old 1 gig Cowon bests it easily.

[bk7 @ Jan 7th 2009 2:02PM]

Have they improved the software for Sony pmps yet? or are they still crippled by Sony Connect :@

[jon @ Jan 7th 2009 3:02PM]

bk7, SonicStage is no worse than iTunes.

But in case you didn't know, Sony DAPs outside Japan has been UMS/MTP (drag and drop) for at least two generations.

[Josh @ Jan 7th 2009 7:55PM]

I'm guessing around £300-350, the Creative Zen X-Fi 32GB can be gotten for around £199. The touch screen, OLED as well as proper web connectivity is going to rocket that price up.

Wonder if it supports widgets of some sort?

[eiki @ Jan 8th 2009 9:49AM]

i'm hoping nearer £150, these components should be fairly cheap now, to add a wifi chip is peanuts, oled screens have been used since before the vision:M, the touchscreen aspect obviosuly places this above the S639 et al and it's the flagship player, but sony have been doing some good prices on high end mp3 for a while as mentioned

[Josh @ Jan 7th 2009 10:52AM]

Sooo getting one.

[Shunnabunich @ Jan 7th 2009 2:32PM]

I know! It's been forever since I could find a PMP that went with my kitchen counter.

[TomServo @ Jan 7th 2009 10:53AM]

Uhh. It looks as if it were peed on.

[Phil @ Jan 7th 2009 10:58AM]

Erm, really? Maybe you need to see a doctor if that's what your pee looks like.......just sayin'.....

[Stereotype @ Jan 7th 2009 12:47PM]

Maybe hes...uh...colorblind?

[iEye @ Jan 7th 2009 7:00PM]

lol no iPods are peed on by steve jobs



-simpsons reference

[Dee @ Jan 7th 2009 10:54AM]

That thing looks sick...literally.

[Gad Get @ Jan 7th 2009 11:35AM]

*Barf*

My Walkman's sick!

[BananaBoat @ Jan 7th 2009 3:25PM]

Don't you dare hurl on my motherf*cking granite counter top....errr...Walkman

[voodoo @ Jan 7th 2009 10:56AM]

That looks awesome.

[Captain Drew @ Jan 7th 2009 10:56AM]

It's the Yabba Dabba Pod

[fieldcar @ Jan 7th 2009 11:32AM]

Yeah, its corian or something rock like... I like it.

[L @ Jan 7th 2009 10:57AM]

Funny that Engadget posted this and referred to Gizmodo, which has now pulled the story :D

Anyway, not feeling that fauxgranitewhatever finish - but knowing Sony, there will be at least a few color variations. Otherwise, sounds good. The screen should have been a bit bigger though...

[ScOObyDoo @ Jan 7th 2009 10:59AM]

Actually looks decent, just hope it has Bluetooth. But it is pretty sad that company as large as Sony takes 2 years to catch up with Apple :(

[TomServo @ Jan 7th 2009 11:02AM]

Here we go..........

[Sarig @ Jan 7th 2009 12:40PM]

That's an interesting conclusion to arrive at...

[Yuri @ Jan 7th 2009 4:09PM]

The iTouch doesn't have bluetooth, unless I missed something.

I personally love my Samsung P2. Bluetooth, great sound (though Sony takes the cake on that one), cheaper than the touch, bluetooth, and the ability to sync it with my phone! I can keep my phone in my bag and not dig everywhere for it, my P2 beeps, music stops, and I have a mic on the device itself, great for when I'm walking around the city or between classes and I don't want to shuffle everywhere, and when I'm driving.

I'm seriously considering this, if the price doesn't kill me, and if they get rid of the granite design there. It's Sony though, they'll offer a different color I'm sure. 4GB is the only thing holding me back from keeping my P2.

[Ethan @ Jan 7th 2009 11:02AM]

Not a fan of the shell design.

[Oli D @ Jan 7th 2009 11:02AM]

it looks like its made from recycled tyres

[Brent @ Jan 7th 2009 11:05AM]

Looks pretty slick. I like the A...Z slider and the dedicated volume/play/track buttons. I'm sure it will be prohibitively expensive, though.

[Sarvesh @ Jan 7th 2009 11:20AM]

second the dedicated buttons and also Gorgeous Screen

[Malikye @ Jan 7th 2009 11:06AM]

i recently bought the Cowon s9 Curve. i'm really liking it so far. i knew that Sony was coming out with a new mp3 player at CES. i think i made the right choice by not waiting.

[ilh @ Jan 7th 2009 11:22AM]

Have to agree and glad I didn't wait base on those pictures/brief details.
- Props to the hardware buttons, but prefer my volume controls to be around the buttons for easier in pocket use
- Don't like the case
- Bigger screen on the S9
- If that's a slider thing at the top where you press on a part of it to take you to the relevant list section then it's a bit on the small side
- Personal usage thing - the headphone jack is in the wrong place, my left pocket is my dedicated DAP pocket and so having it on the right would be a pain for my wire and i'm not going to switch pockets.

On the other hand, the Home button will be a bit easier to use than the on screen M button/holding down the play/pause hardware button on the S9 and there's also in menu album art which the S9 doesn't have.

[Malikye @ Jan 7th 2009 11:48AM]

ilh,

i agree with most of what you posted. the headphone jack position doesn't matter that much to me though. i didn't read if this Sony Walkman had an accelerometer so that it switches to landscape mode or portrait mode automatically.

[acme @ Jan 7th 2009 11:07AM]

glitter and marble? wtf? who designs these things

[Jasonbot @ Jan 7th 2009 11:11AM]

same people who make those 'port-a-potties'

[Agent .25i @ Jan 7th 2009 11:08AM]

Return of the early 90's speckle-stone paint. Would have matched perfectly in the dash of my old 89 GTi.
Way to ruin a product. Looks like the front foyer from Lydia's house in Beetlejuice.

[Stephen Lang @ Jan 7th 2009 12:18PM]

Props sir for the 'Lydia from Beetlejuice' reference.

[Frankenstein Black @ Jan 7th 2009 11:11AM]

SOLD! This thing is hot, hot, hot!
And check the scale ratio of the headphone jack. This thing is mad thin.
Oh, it also could be a precursor to PSP2 (or PSP Phone) tech.
Just Sayin...

[Ant @ Jan 7th 2009 11:12AM]

Be good to see the spec of that OLED, I've never had a good look at these screens up close, be interesting. One thing that hits me straight away is how sony seem to love writing all over the case, Vol, Reset, and so on, get rid of all that crap and the walkman blob make it rich black and your in business.

[Tyler @ Jan 7th 2009 11:14AM]

This is everything the yp-p3 should've been.

The marble finish is interesting, but a nice matte black would be appreciated. Sony does that quite well. Also, props on the headphone-independent noise cancellation...I've been waiting for that forever.

[i_am_rich @ Jan 7th 2009 11:16AM]

iMarble?

[STINK @ Jan 7th 2009 11:21AM]

So when you're attending an funeral, blasting Psychostick in your ears won't be as tacky.

[Skorpius @ Jan 7th 2009 11:26AM]

Must not be fingerprint prone and white enough for the Apple fanbois. This looks really great. Throw FLAC and OGG support on there and you've really got something.

[inteller @ Jan 7th 2009 11:31AM]

The interface looks like Zune. The rest looks like crap. WTF is up with that spackled finish?

[Verythrax @ Jan 7th 2009 11:36AM]

If its 1 cent lower than an iPod with the same capacity, I'm sold.

[Fernando @ Jan 7th 2009 11:37AM]

Touchscreen? Et tu Sony? :(

[shugg @ Jan 7th 2009 11:58AM]

can this be the "touchkiller".,???does it have enuff balls 8gb,widescreen browser sensors,speaker.,will it dethrone touch.,?

[Landon @ Jan 7th 2009 12:13PM]

I don't think it ever said it was trying to....what a dee dee deee....

[jonathon @ Jan 7th 2009 11:48AM]

nice looking media player, the buttons on the top are a nice feature the ipod touch lacks, some in pocket control is always handy. mac compatibility would be nice if unlikely feature. not all mac users want ipods and sony could maybe offer us a rival

[L @ Jan 7th 2009 12:37PM]

Pretty much all recent Sony Walkmans support Drag&Drop, so they should work with a Mac just fine...