Sony Europe announces E-Series Video Walkman
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Jul 14th 2009 1:29PM
posted Jul 14th 2009 1:29PM
Sure, dog -- after seeing that OLED Walkman do its thing, anything less from Sony is kind of a let down. But if you're a music lover and not on an OLED budget, this new device might have to do the trick. Just announced for Europe, the Walkman E-Series Video MP3 players come in your choice of either Black or Red, and sport a five band EQ, support for rights-managed WMA and WMV files, and an FM radio tuner (with one-touch recording). This bad boy will be available overseas from the end July. No word yet on price or Stateside availability, but you'll know as soon as we do. In the meantime, peep that gallery below. Tiffany Giardina won't mind.
Sony likes to make alot of Walkman's.This one is nice looking though.
Is that Mickey Mouse in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
I wish they had a streamlined and consistent product lineup. It seems like Sony is spitting out electronics of every style and flavor without building a comprehensive brand.
Also, their last player i had used really craptacular software, which is a HUGE turn-off.
Looks good? I disagree. I think it looks like a bad mash up of a Zune flash and an iPod.
What software? Their Walkmans for the past 2-3 years are MTP/UMS compatible.
Why are those buttons intruding on the wheel?
Dumb.
What is up with the buttons intruding into the wheel?
Dumb.
Why is Engadget double-posting?
Who knows.
This is not a wheel, just a simple keypad.
The Mickey Mouse silhouette button layout has now morphed into a bear's instead of just going altogether.
What are the screen sizes on these badboys?
From the link 2" HQVGA
This is very nice, I am going to buy this and I used to be one of the first iPod users. Apple is no longer the connoisseurs choice.
AM Radio so I can listen to the White Sox games, please.
If this player sounds anything like their current devices, this should be another hit with the audiophiles-
Only if you're listening to recordings pressed before the late '90s.
Everything since then has been destroyed by dynamic compression, so it doesn't matter what you play it back on.
I was buying a sony next week. May as well wait until end of july.
Hope they don't come with those headphones in the picture.
Those are better than the iPod's headphones anyway, or at least equal...
Looks very cool. I'm getting nostalgic about my first walkman!
Very yum. Will be interested to see how many GBs and how much they'll cost tho...
Look nice...hope they have some audio and video quality from their other sibling, the X.
Another boring release. If the pattern stays the same, the E series have inferior components/sound, even to Sony fans.
I actually think these are a better value than the $400 OLED model. I checked out the OLED one at a Sony store and though it was nice I just wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. Since the video is downgraded to 480p too, I think I'll pass on that model.
480p? You wish. The Sony X series can only play videos with 320x240 res.
Both of you are wrong. Not as high as 480p, but the X-series does support files with video resolution of 480x270 playback if encoded in WMV9 simple profile.
I like where Sony's design department is heading with this new E-Series. I think I just found my secondary PMP -- the black one looks pretty nice.
Yay! Finally a good looking non-touchscreen PMP!
Now lets hope the prices are reasonable.
Damn. It's a Sony. So much for reasonable...
Sony Walkman tends to be cheaper than their competitors.
These E series are great little music players. They are small enough to slip into your pocket and not notice. The sound is terrific and is the best sounding PMP on the market. I love how you can custom EQ the sound. It can play lossless codecs. No annoying software to download, just drag and drop music, pics, and video from computer, very simple. The battery life might be the best part. Over 40 hours of music play on one charge is what the older model was capable of. People that love Apple already have their minds made up that these things are inferior products, but I disagree. The interface may not be as slick as an Apple but it is simple and usable. I mean seriously, I just got the older E 8gig model for my 61 year old pops. He was really leary about these PMP players because he has no experience with them. Within 15-20 min. of showing him how to put his music, pics and videos on the walkman he was sold. His E series walkman is now his favorite toy and he takes it everywhere. I have an Ipod video 60gig. I love it, but these E series walkmans does what it is supposed to do and it does it well. Oh, and it can be had for under a 100$....no brainer imo!
I have one of the the previous E series player-a 4GB NWZ-E436F and i'm quite happy with it.
Basically these new E440 series models add in Clear audio technologies, which the E430 series lacked.
Johnny come lately? MP3 war is over I'm afraid! :)
It looks great apart from the mouse head. Too bad they cant come up with a new design for that, something new and fresh and not like on other players. Maybe just a touch sensitive area and you could learn the movements required?
They did that a long time ago. It was called the Sony VAIO Pocket. I still use mine everyday.
hmm... what's with the naming convention here... E-Series?,,, Might as well call it a Valkman.
Anyway, Walkman should remain what it is, a music player with other functions, not a video player that has other features. The X-Series is a good one but has only one thing missing and it put me off... the lack of bluetooth connectivity. And no, I'm not going to get any more accessory unless it is a bluetooth stereo set.
Sony, please release an HD-based Walkman on a decent chassis size.
120GB or 160GB would be nice.
The sizes of the current flash-based walkman ain't enough for me :(
HDd players are dying off. Flash is the future.
After my last HDD player went kaput (A Creative Zen Micro), I've had enough with their kind. They're simply not worth the extra care.
The ideal solution is to add a memory card slot that fully integrates with the main memory. Alas, this seems to be an artform only Cowon and Sandisk seems to have mastered. Which is precisely why I ordered a Sansa Fuze from Amazon.
I love the sound quality of the Walkmans, but I'm not buying one until Sony adds a memory slot. Yes, M2 is just fine by me.