Sony X-Series Walkman gets the hands-on video treatment
By Donald Melanson 
posted April 13th 2009 7:58PM
posted April 13th 2009 7:58PM
We've already seen a somewhat underwhelming official video of Sony's new X-Series Walkman (or NWZ-1060, to be specific), but anyone seriously considering the touchscreen PMP will no doubt also want to check out CNET Asia's new hands-on video, which offers a decidedly less controlled look at the device in action. That includes a glimpse of the Walkman's seemingly speedy album art browsing mode, a better look at the trademark granite edge surrounding the device and, of course, a full overview of those dedicated control buttons that allow for non-touchscreen use. Head on past the break to check it out for yourself.
[Via DAP Review]
[Via DAP Review]
I don't like Apple, buy the iPod Touch will destroy this...
People in Asia love devices like this. That's why they keep getting released over there.
If the American market was a tad more sophisticated, we could get these toys too.
there is nothing sophisticated about the latest walkmen iteration. In fact it is just a glorified mp3 player. From my personal experience the walkman series are great but it's really hard to complete with the iTunes Store and plus the iPod Touch has the ability of running application that did not come preloaded with the device. This is a huge plus for pretty much everyone buying the device.
@Look_Around_You
It's not a lack of sophistication, it's a lack of integration.
Americans are more prone to attempting to stand out, which is why the iPod touch is more successful here. Apple products, which are generally seen as 'cool', allow them to dazzle onlookers and attract more attention. The American addiction to attention has gotten so bad that people who aren't getting noticed or appreciated feel lonely and deserted enough to commit suicide.
On the other hand, in Asian market, they don't care as much about standing out (although that is changing as Western ideals are slowing gaining purchase overseas). Traditionally, the average Asian consumers think of themselves not as individuals, but as a part of the whole, and they value the lives of the many more than their own (ever heard of kamikaze fighters?), which is why they don't mind getting something that doesn't look amazingly futuristic and cutting edge, as long as it works for a reasonable price.
Personally, I think both sides have gone a little too far in their respective directions. In my opinion, you'd be better served living your life halfway in-between those ideals.
/Sociology Lecture
ummm... so this means that I should the cowon S9 right?
lol @ saying its a glorified mp3 player, wtf is the itouch then? my god.
No one noticed that he meant "but" instead of "buy"? O.O
" Americans are more prone to attempting to stand out, which is why the iPod touch is more successful here. "
Huh? What? So the many Millions of people who are buying into the " Me too " iPod market are all staunch individualists at heart, just wearing the mask of " Someone who wants to belong to something larger than themselves " ? P Lease. The fact that so many people buy the same devices is not as much an indication that said device is universally determined to be a wonderful device by millions of individuals, as much as it is that most average people are average because they do not want to go out on a limb, because they do not want to make their own decisions, because they do not want to stand out, apart from the group, else they be seen in their full glory in the glare of scrutiny. Most people are sheep who want to follow the leader, and will copy most of their personalty and behavior from those willing to take chances or from those who are willing to direct people's desires.
From here, the differentiation you're describing is perceived difference, not real difference.
@mmmm donuts,. U hve seriously lost it bro.
Do us all a favor never reproduce ,u r basically saying American that buy iPod will commit suicide. Lectures n all, get out of class for once n see life is hard especially as new hurdles at thrown at u in different stages of life. Time to man up n get yourself out of a Bad situation,.
Insane how u compared revolutionary pmp to suicide, bro stop taking that course f'ing with your psyche.
You clearly did not understand the post, Shank. He's saying that people here who are ignored become depressed, not whatever you said.
@ Shank:
Do us all a favor; learn to read and learn to type (U hve 2 lrn dat dis makez u luk evn dumbr den u r).
And I would also tell you to never reproduce, but judging by what I've seen from you on this site already, I don't need to.
Shut up Skunk. COMMA FULL STOP ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,.
@ donuts and shank: shut the fuck up
looks good im interested!
I never realized how hard it is to listen to an Asian speaking English, and this is coming from one too.
On-Topic: Anyone know how much this thing costs?
currently 199 and 249 for the 16 and 32 gigs in the UK
as for what I just saw, seems quite worthy to go head to head to the iPod Touch...just wondering how is the internet capability, 'cause safari isn't that much fun for me on the touch...
*yawn*
ditto
I guess OLED doesn't look that much better?
the interesting question is how did you figure out the screen quality by looking at it on your screen..
LOL at Dave Chappelle.
Wow cool another Ipod touch rip off... SUper cool.... Apple is a AMerican COmpany after all and SOny isn't....
An american company that manufactures their crap across seas in China... >_>
Do you just want one brand of "touch" player on the market?
How on Earth do you think consumers will be served if everyone took your attitude of just dismissing everything that isnt an Apple player?
Can you imagine if people dismissed this site as an Gizmodo "rip off"?
really? And Sony doesn't manufacture their crap in China? Really?
Apple only has an 80% share of the mp3 player market.... not like there dominating like Michael Phelps or anything.... All Profits from Apple run through the AMerican Economy regardless if there assembled in China....
"All Profits from Apple run through the American Economy regardless if there assembled in China"
ye ok noob because Steve Jobs spends all Apple profits at COSTCO.
@cg0def: No, not all of it. While my PS3 was made in China, my TV was assembled in Slovakia, and my current Walkman was made in Malaysia.
Ill wait for a zuneHD tyvm
Looks good Sony... but ya I'm waiting on the Zune HD myself
Microsoft don't let us down and PLEASE include a browser for Christ sakes.
internet explorer on zuneHD ?!?!?!? :D
good luck with that.
Like any other MS device, Opera will work on it and everyone with half a brain will be happy.
SUAMCOSO?
take your subliminal messaging elsewhere!
Looks good. Thank god only the edges are granite. I was under the imperssion that the entire front and back would be granite, which would look horrible.
If it has the typical Sony battery life and sound quality, sign me up for one!
I'd really like to see a side-by-side comparison between this and the ZuneHD. I'm somewhat of an audiophile and I love the sound quality from Sony's devices, but I'm very pleased with my Zune 80 and I like the Zune software as well.
Sony, you need to keep up with the times. Add and app store (like the DSi, Palm Pre, PSP, iPod Touches, etc) make a better and less bland interface. Switch the hold button to the top and get rid of unnecessary buttons and ports. Seriously.
Unnecessary buttons and ports? I for one am glad that it has tactile buttons for all the main features such as volume and pause/play. Something the ipod touch gave up basically just for aesthetics.
Funny enough, I am against the App store. Are there not studies that say people do not use apps after the first time. Beyond that, I think this is great as a PMP, with functionality that is based around music. I love the fact that it has the tactile buttons, since I like to change volume and songs without looking at the screen. The built in noise canceling, along with quick wifi access, it sounds pretty exciting if you ask me.
and im sure a sony app store is in the works.... boring
Sony had an app store long before Apple, it's called the playstation store.
I don't get how he says the OLED isn't as vibrant as the ipod's - that doesn't make sense. Also, what is with the granite look on the sides? I think that is UGLY! Why not make it black or chrome. Lastly, the hold button on the back was a stupid idea - nothing should be on the back of these devices because you will most likely holster them at some point. Agggh so aggravating......
The only thing it brings to the DAP market is touch screen OLED and built-in noise cancelling.
1. It can only playback video with a resolution of 320x240. Laughable. Cowon players can play HD sized videos already, way before this Sony even announced. Today, most videos online are geared for the iPod/iPhone, thus having resolution of at least 480x320. Having to re-transcode videos is not cool.
2. The 2G Touch has bluetooth, which will get A2DP when the 3.0 firmware is out. Sony previous walkmen have bluetooth, but not on this supposedly flagship model?
3. Proprietary earbud for noise cancelling. And no, I have yet to see a 3rd party making one for any of the previous noise-cancelling walkmen.
4. Today, at this price point, people expect apps, or some sort of PDA-like functionality. Forget about 3rd party apps on the Sony. We'll see how good the Sony's web browser is (if it's like the PSP/Mylo, it's going to be dog slow).
5. Gapless playback? Previous Sony NWZ series are only gapless capable using WAV. This is a 180 turn for Sony as their previous Atrac devices are gapless capable, and they even manage to get gapless AAC. But now that the iPod can do gapless on lossy codecs (MP3/AAC), Sony dumped the idea.
I only see the Sony fanboys spending $$$ buying this in the illusion of "superior" sound quality.
Let's face it, the idea of a premium standalone MP3 player is dying, just like the PDA. More and more people (even in Asia), are simply using their cellphones as a basic MP3 player. Microsoft and Apple know this (Zune going to Winmo, Apple is focusing on iPhone/Touch). Sony seems to stuck in the old mindset. Even worse, they couldn't release this fast enough. Anything released around May or June won't be noticed by the public/bloggers as everybody is paying attention to the new iPhone. Sony should've released this sooner if they want to even get noticed. Let's count how many engadget posts about iPhone rumors vs this Sony in the next month or so.
But it is superior sound quality. I have a Sony Ericsson s500i and sounds way better than my friends ipod and louder on speaker too, I don't know about you but if i want to check the internet i use a computer and when i listen to music i used a music product, not some "I'll give you both worlds with mediocre quality" product.
Great post thanks! Nice to see at least occasional posts with content & informed opinions in them.
Agree with most of your comments, esp wrt the app store and cross-pollination with the iPhone. Still, to me this looks better than previous Sony models.
I'd have to see one to tell whether the OLED screen is a significant step. Since there's nothing particularly wrong with the LED screens on the iPods, I have to assume the main improvement would be in battery life. But then there's not a lot wrong with the battery life on iPods these days really.
And the noise canceling doesn't seem like a bad idea either, even if it does mean you have to use Sony headphones to get it.
But if it doesn't play video on the web formatted for the iPhone/Touch, doesn't have an app store, doesn't have a good WiFi web browser, etc etc, then it doesn't have a chance in the american market.
"the illusion of "superior" sound quality"
lol, did you actually compared an iPod with any of the Walkman?
Execpt if your deaf you will notice the difference in sound quality.
You're buying your PMP for its design, I buy mine for its use
@Wam: Exactly, I buy an audio player to playback music properly, ie gapless playback, of the codec of my choice (MP3), not for design like some fancy OLED screen. Have you done an ABX test of any DAPs?
"Have you done an ABX test of any DAPs?"
Kind of, I just compared my Sony PMP (A818) with a friend iPhone and iPod using the same headphones and the same MP3 files (encoded myself in 320kps).
Verdict: Apple sound quality sucks.
This walkman doesn't need an app store - not every product requires an app store.
convergent products are not always the best and there will always be a market for products design specifically for a purpose.
Sony have been licensing their walkman brand to sony ericsson so that covers the convergent side of things.
This is a good product and it will compete with the ipod touch which is hopefully a good thing for consumers.
The Samsung P3 looks better.