Video: Sony NW-A840 packs OLED, noise cancellation, and 64GB of flash heat, still thinnest Walkman ever
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Sep 16th 2009 1:59AM
posted Sep 16th 2009 1:59AM
Sony's keeping the pressure on the dedicated portable media player market with the launch of its latest OLED Walkman. The NW-A840 series is the thinnest Walkman ever at 7.2mm and comes packing a 2.8-inch OLED display and up to 64GB of flash storage. The players also feature Sony's digital noise cancellation, premium MDR-EX300SL earbuds right in the box, and the ability to pump 720x480 pixel video out to your TV. Sony rates the battery at 29-hours of continuous music or 9-hours of video. The A-series ships in three models -- 16GB NW-A845 (¥24,000/$263), N32GB W-A846 (¥30,000/$329), and 64GB NW-A847 (¥40,000/$439) -- starting October 31st. Also available in black for those who detest downtown hipster-brown. Video preview after the break.
[Via Sony Insider]
[Via Sony Insider]
Dayum.
Dayum str8 yo! This is hot!
Looks beautiful and tiny;)
Dayum*in japanese*
what is "dayum"??
Sigh... the nonesense that is the American language. No, not English, the americano.
What's with Sony and BT, the X-series has got no support for BT, and these as well?
Anime is sooo much better in Japanese! The only thing missing was the sub titles...
Dayum is slang for Damn!
畜生！ - in Japanese...
@Frankenstein
That's a matter of personal opinion with regards to anime being better in Japanese. Some are better in Japanese and then there are some great english dubs. We tend to forget so readily, "to each his own".
@darkmax
C'mon man, this is an American blog where the majority of the visitors are American and you want to come knockin with your dissin'? You know that ain't happenin hence why you got voted down - justifiably.
This player is HOT. If I can afford it, then I can't lie, I'm puttin the bills down for one >.< I'm getting sick of the average sound quality of my iPhone and my Cowon is getting old so I don't reach for it as often as I should.
@JKD
costs the same as a nano
what beyonce would look like if she were a pmp
I like it's ability to support lyrics. Of course, they're only available in Japanese, but it's a slick idea that would be useful in the states for learning words to songs. We're not karaoke crazy over here, though. Those WalkMan players seem really awesome even if the top version is rather expensive. SONY really wants to capture the media player market back in Japan. The new Nano is slick, but hardware-wise, these SONY players have it beat. Fortunately, hardware alone doesn't necessary make it an automatic sales win.
Diggin the sparkling buds
Ah, Sony. Still charging a premium price for a product no one will buy. Which is a pity because it really looks like a nice player. Sony needs to transition to Android.
It won't act as an Internet device or run apps but it sure is thin and elegant. I'd still take the chicks in your avatar, though.
those prices are not relative to the US, the yen is stronger than the dollar so for us it looks like it cost a lot more but is not that expensive for japan , for example tekken 6 in japan is 7,979 Yens wish is $87.48 but here it will only cost $60, I think this also happens with electronics but I could be wrong.
Holy shit, I didn't see the price.
First I was overjoyed that they go up to 64GB but now I think i'll just buy a 160GB iPod Classic
I'm down with downtown hipster-brown.
Also, did that video show some sort of connection between the Walkman and a Sony Blu-ray player? Interesting...
Sony Walkmans, such as the X-Series, have been able to record from Blu-ray players before in the past. This feature has generally been used primarily in Japan and is not really touted elsewhere.
@leapingmadly,
Ah, thanks. I never knew. Japan sure is big on recording content, huh?
best sounding mp3 players on the market. period.
Honest question here. Does that signature Sony sound quality apply to the PSP as well?
The NWZ series is roundly recognized as having the best SQ of any DAP/PMP, but I've heard that the cheaper models don't fare as well. That said, only true audiophiles using state of the art headphones and amps and shit would be able to tell the difference most of the time.
@sacapuntas
I would say no. Until ZuneHD comes out in 32gb jet black or purple, I'm using my PSP as my MP3 Player. It won't really play that loud compared to my lost 8gb flash zune, but as sound quality goes, I suppose I wouldn't knock it. It's not the best solution for portable audio, as its really bulky, but it just goes in my back pocket anyway, so whatever. It also won't organize the music you just toss on the memory stick in any way, which can be frustrating if i just wanna toss some songs on it before class.
But it's still the best portable gaming machine with a little bit of mp3 player cooked right in =)
True that what an audiophile claims to hear doesn´t matter much to the rest of the world yet the difference between an iPod or this is noticable. Especially if you use the crappy iPod earpieces its a big difference. So imo its certainly worth spending your money for an upgrade on this. Heck 400 usd (?) isnt that much if it comes witht he noise canceling part together. Just a pair of regular noise canceling earpieces go for 100 usd minimum.
Odd enough there have always been plenty of producers who deliver better sound quality yet the mayority tends to go for an iPod. I always failed to understand why anybody accepts low music quality together with the bend-over-and-get-assraped iTunes.
To be quite honest, my Sony X1K is indisputably the finest sounding DAP/PMP I've ever heard, surpassing even my (much heralded) Kenwood Media Keg, and I have little doubt that this new A-Series will have a very similar 'sound signature'.
Sony takes sound quality very seriously, and always has, which is why even my Sony Digital Readers (505/700) sound better than 90% of the dedicated media players available.
if the sounds is anything like the NWZ players from last year, then no, the cowon s9 sounds much better.
A couple of points:
1. Audiophiles will NOT be the only people who notice the sound quality difference. Using the same headphones, I compared the same mp3 file on a NWZ- A816 and a iPod Touch (2nd Gen), and you can here the difference pretty easily. The difference is further shown when using better quality head phones/stereo speakers.
* I would like to note that I am not saying the iPod Touch is a bad product, it has many strengths, however the SQ on the Walkman surpasses that of any iPod.
2. Although the E-Series Walkman does not have good sound quality (in comparison to the Cowon S9) the S-Series is arguably on par, and the X-Series is considered better (check out CNet for their review).
Cowon PMPs are better for those who prefer dynamic equalizers and sound enhancement options, where Sony PMPs are better for pure sound, with slight changes to the equalizer.
blind boy grunt is correct in saying that Cowon PMPs are better for people who know how to and like customizing their listening experience (like me). This Sony pmp (I guess thats what it is) seems better for those who enjoy their music without tweaks.
$439 for 64GB doesn't sound great, but if you think about it, 64GB should be more than enough music space for your collection (at least mine)
I love my cowon s9, and I dont think I could ever go back to any other player (except either a zune hd and possibly this gadget)
The 29 hour music battery seems pretty good from Sony, and 9 hours of video seems great too.
Will unprotected iTunes music play on those things? I love my Nano but I want a small 64gb player. For that matter will any non apple player play unprotected iTunes music? If I remember corectly just because iTunes music is unprotected doesn't mean they will allow it to be played on competitors devices.
Well, unprotected means unprotected. As long as you can get it on your Walkman and it supports the format (.mp3, .aac) then it should play it.
I could be wrong but as far as Apple is concerned I think unprotected just means you can put it on as many iPods as you want. Unprotected iTunes music doesn't show up on my 360 when I plug my iPod into it. I don't think they let other devices use thier codec or whatever. I could be wrong though.
From the Apple webpage:
"Note: AAC files encoded from a source other than the iTunes Store (such as an audio CD) work the same as an MP3 file encoded from the same source. No authorization is required to play or burn them. So, AAC files you encode in iTunes can be burned as many times as you want and the songs do not require authorization to play on multiple computers."
I know they have a codec called "Apple Lossless", but I'm not sure they have another AAC other than Protected AAC.
My Sony A726 does play unprotected iTunes music - w/o any problem
I meant "...another AAC other than protected/unprotected AAC."
Since Apple removed their DRM from itunes you can just copy the songs you buy in itunes and play it on other hardware that supports MP4 AAC coding.
I just plugged my PSP into the mac and copied the files over and it works just fine.
Same for my nokia 5800.
Doesn't work for older DRM crippled songs I bought at itunes a while ago.
A slight add on to what Duda said:
Although songs bought from the iTunes store before 2009, which were NOT from the iTunes+ store, have DRM, for $.30/song (I think), you can upgrade the album to 256k and DRM free. Therefore if you have an album that you really love, it may be worthwhile to upgrade it for better sound quality and the ability to use on any PMP....
Nice to see Sony hasn't forgotten about the A series-these will be NWZ-A840 series, when or if a US release is announced.
Hmm 64 GB of storage seems nice. Only if Sony would adopt Android across their devices it would make their products a lot more tempting.
Ah, NO!
Why are some Engadget commenters under the impression that Android will solve everything? Seriously, put these guys in front of the UN Security Council and they'll be like: "Concerns over Iran's nuclear program? Port Android on to it....WIN". Urgh.
^this^
android doesn't make mobile devices any less of bricks than they already are.
this walkman will play music fantastically, and when you buy an MP3 player, isnt that what you should be looking for?
Sounds like someone could use some Android.
One thing all of the Sony PMPs are missing is the ability to play FLAC files. This is disappointing since their PMPs have such amazing sound quality. By adopting Android, the hope is (keyword being hope) that Sony would adopt open source file formats such as FLAC.....I however doubt it.
Like the Violet one, goes with my hair (ignore the avatar, I've recolored since then)
I'm still happy with my original Sansa running RockBox
ah Rockbox. its been a long time since i've heard that. i was going to put it on my Toshiba Gigabeat but by the time it came out for the Gigabeat i sold it to get some cash for a Zune. aw now i miss my Gigabeat
You guys are really throwing it back. I don't miss my Archos Gmini XS200 but it had its moments.
Im still using my sony NW-HD5. The interface is a bit laggy but I cant fault the sound (or build) quality. It just wont die
I'll take my Zune HD instead please :)
yeah, I'll admit that the Sony UI (particularly the Now Playing screen) looks very dated, especially on such an expensive player (and in comparison to newer players from Apple/MS/Cowon, etc.), but I'd pick this for the slim profile alone.