The black plastic changes shape with the speed of the air passing over it, thus creating more downforce, or reducing drag at any given speed.

It is drag and drop ready and is compatible with the majority of syncing software as well, including WMP, iTunes, Rhapsody, Winamp etc. Sound quality wise if it is anything like the previous generations it will at least be the equal of the Cowon, check out reviews on cNet or user reviews from any forum e.g. Head-fi or Anything but iPod, sound quality is the most revered thing about any Walkman.

You do realise that no Sony Walkman sold in the west has used anything but drag and drop for over a year now don't you? The only file formats they use are mp3, acc, lpcm, wma/v (including protected content) and h.264. No DRM is supported apart from Plays for Sure (which you can ignore if you so desire). Admittedly the usage of a proprietry dock connector is something which should be sorted out. This one even supports DRM-free downloads from the Amazon store over wi-fi so maybe it might be OK to "forgive" Sony now, because they make the best sounding portable players by some margin and it would be a shame to miss out on that lovely warm sound.

QVGA is the max resolution of 1Seg, therefore there is no point in having a higher esolution. Also yes, this does use Sonicstage, but only because it is a Japan only player, both of the last 2 Walkman's released in the West are drag and drop compatible, as well as supporting DRM'd WMA's.

Drag and Drop, Winamp or WP11, your choice, just not Sonicstage or iTunes.

I thought the (US available) Sony KDL-70XBR3 took this accolade already because it was announced at CES at January and is on sale in Summer (preorder for $33k). From what I can tell they are the same panel, 70", LED backlight and 120Hz tech. Oh well, maybe it is because the Samsung is available now?

Every walkman I have ever used has had at least a 5-way adjustable EQ, even the small flash ones, expect the same for this one.

@Ignacio: your kidding yourself if you believe that the DSP in the player itself has no effect on sound quality. Have you never heard of the complaints about the lack of "fullness" in the iPod's sound? Also, the headphones that come with this player are more than $50 when sold on their own and most would see no need to upgrade from them.

Fair enough, in my experience, Sony players (I own the NW-HD1 and NW-S706F) have their foibles (I probably would have switched my HD1 for something else because of lack of mp3 compatibility, but didn't because of atrac lock-in) but sound quality is as good as any other DAP I have ever heard, the S706 even supports LPCM and atrac-lossless and to my ears the separartion and clarity of the soundstage on that unit is the best I have ever heard.

read any cnet review on sony walkmans, the excellence of the sound quality is always noted. The NW-HD5 won cnet's sq test, and by all accounts the following walkmans are an improvement (NW-S706F and this one).

Link to cnet comparo
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6450_7-6247126-1.html?tag=feat.7

Yes around May 2005 AFAIK, five moths before the announcement of the wiimote. In fact its on engadget site somewhere, as th patent was pending until it was granted recently.