Sony NWZ-S745 on sale in Canada, US given cold shoulder
By Vlad Savov 
posted December 15th 2009 7:01AM
posted December 15th 2009 7:01AM
We don't know about you, but every time we hear of a Walkman, we think of the old school cassette players, and are left strangely disappointed by the slinky modern variants and their tons of storage. The 16GB S745, which has absolutely nothing to do with Mickey Mouse we assure you, has entered North American retail channels, only it seems to have skipped the US for its more peace-loving neighbor up north. Eagle-eyed Canadian shoppers have spotted the more advanced version of the S740 on sale in Sony Style stores (for 200 CAD or 188 in real American currency), replete with a 2-inch screen, noise-canceling earphones, and an unhealthily thin case. Still, suspicions abound that Sony is merely waiting for CES to roll around to make its big US unveiling, but if you really can't wait it's not like driving up to Canadia would be that terrible anyway.
w00t! Maybe after years of ignoring Canada Sony is finally warming up to us
Well thats a first.
So apparently Canada getting something first is that odd? 'The World Ends With You' coming out in Australia first was weird!
@BigBirdZac
Blackberries?
wouldn't be a bad trip given it's only a couple of hours from here. except for that pesky passport requirement.
@Bashere
No kidding. I can't even go down to Buffalo to watch a Sabres game without a passport now. Can't we all just get along?
Hmm,.........at last what matters the most is sound quality.........nothing else at a point when we consider a mp3 player.........ipod got so muchh of respect ............ only for its user interface........not for the sound quality............
Driving to Canada are you kidding? With all the snow storms coming. I know Sony will do something better for the US.
O Canada! Go Canada Go! Lol.
Not like anyone would buy it anyways.
Real American Money? Don';t forget that you are uin a recession NOT US and that precious Dollar of yours may just go back to being WORTHLESS here again very soon. the nerve of some of your writers. Where do you think most of the electricity that you use to read this site comes from....
@(Unverified)
Serious Canadian is serious.
@(Unverified)
Well in that case, how do you think Canada is staying out of recession? Must be all those billions of "worthless" dollars pumped into Canada by the U.S.
Trade imbalance between Canada for 2008: -78,341.6 millions
Source: http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c1220.html
GDP - real growth rate (Canada): 0.4% (2008 est.)
Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html
Considering that 78,341.6 million worthless dollars is somewhere between 4-6% of the total size of you economy, that should be enough to keep you out of recession.
Oh wait, hold on: "Recession over, Bank of Canada says" - "After shrinking since the last quarter of 2008, the Canadian economy will grow by an annualized rate of 1.3 per cent in the current quarter, the bank said."
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/07/23/bank-canada-economy-recovery.html
@Wowzers its actually because we have a nicely regulated banking system. This regulation was set up in the early 90s when the US was busy deregulating. Its a unique system in the world which has helped Canada minimize the impact of this global recession.
The trade imbalance isn't a "gift" from the US its simply because we have more natural resources and you like to consume them.
Im not trying to get serious, just don't think that your consumerism has saved us, it was actual our governments and national banks foresight into creating a regulated but free market.
@(Unverified) "Don';t forget that you are uin a recession NOT US"
haha..um, yes we are
Launching in Canada? Not in the States first?
*Falls in love, despite years of being ignored*
I've always wondered why Sony chose to put the ear phone jack upside down on their DAPs? I've ripped out my earphones from my Creative MP3 player in its clipped case by an errant arm swing plenty of times working out. If I did that in this unit uh, the result wouldn't be pretty - el snappo!
@Chaosdivine
I prefer it on the bottom. So when you place it in your pocket, the port is facing up. Also, if you use an armband while working out, you want the device 'upside down', so that you can actually manipulate it when you look at it. Makes perfect sense.
@Mr Oos
OK thanks for replying...just curious then, does the interface orientation change or is it upside down too? Just curious...
Now I'm getting myself confused...too much early morning...
You know, my whole perspective on this is based on the text written on the face of the player. It just gives me an odd impression...
Dont get so upset (Unverified) about the 'real' money remark. That's been a recycled joke with some Americans for a long time. New retort though America...if your currency is so 'real', how come you're now adopting our Canadian colour scheme? And notice how I spelled colour the real Canadian way too...
Serious Canadian is serious.
Great Player....
Build quality, feature set, and (most of all) sound quality is unmatched by anything currently on the American market, save the Sony X1000 series.
Anyone who hears Sony Walkman and still thinks "of the old school cassette players" seriously needs to rethink their gadget-evaluating credentials, as these players are fantastic media playback devices.
@DaHarder
I think you forgot that this is Engadget. No fruit = no likey
I've been running with my li'l Sony NWZ-618 8GB 'Walkman' for more than two years now and i can attest that they're a 'quality product'. I just know a nano would've tit-ed up on me a long time ago.
Canadia? Eat iiiiit.
LOL i bought that thing like last week for $179.99CAD
awesome thing, great build quality really thin yet feels solidly built