NWZ-S610
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Sony Walkman NWZ-S610 review roundup
Well folks, the reviews are in concerning Sony's latest and greatest Walkman, the NWZ-S610 family, and the word is... not bad. CNET is feeling the sound quality, price point, and UI, commenting that the player has a "polished interface overall, and it makes browsing pleasant." The cats from PC Magazine seem to have similar vibes when it comes to the device (which is available in a variety of colors, as well as 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB capacities), though they do take issue with the quality of the earbuds, and the lack of video and photo file options. Skatter Tech just generally seems to be hot-to-trot over the whole affair, loving Sony's new "open" sensibilities (and just about everything else, truth be told). There's no doubt that Sony dropping SonicStage and opening up file formats on the player are value-added in the eyes of these critics, and overall everyone seems to feel pretty positive about the new entry. Don't take our word for it, though, browse on over to the reviews and bask in the critical light.Read - CNET (7.7 / 10)Read - PC Mag (3.5 / 5)Read - Skatter Tech ("Big thumbs up!")
Hands-on with Sony's new NWZ-S610 DAPs
We got to spend a few brief moments with Sony's new NWZ-S610 and we sort of liked what we saw. While there's nothing really standout about the interface, design or feature set of the players, the mere fact that these represent Sony's long-overdue entry into traditional format support and the death of ATRAC has admittedly biased us toward the diminutive players. The interface is simple enough, certainly nothing flashy, and not at all a departure from current Sony players. At least it's responsive, both in loading movies and browsing through music, so that's always a plus. Just for kicks Sony added in a "time machine shuffle" feature that zooms through the years to select random songs from a certain era. Video playback was smooth, and while the screen isn't the brightest we've seen, it'll certainly get the job done. Overall the player feels nice in the hand, but in a world of ever decreasing millimeters of thickness, the DAP looks downright chunky. Check out all the angles of both players -- the photo version features the silver face, the video edition features black -- in the gallery below.%Gallery-6577%
Sony's NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610 now really, really official and ATRAC free
So long ATRAC, hello NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610 Sony Walkmans. The A810 we've seen before, twice in fact, but this is the first time the S610 (pictured) has wiggled free from the rumor mill all dolled-up in full specs and pricing. The S610 series packs the same QVGA resolution in a slightly smaller 1.8-inch display and still one-ups the A810 with an FM tuner bunged inside. Both support USB Mass Storage file transfer, AVC (H.264/AVC) and MPEG-4 encoded video, and AAC, MP3 and DRM'd WMA audio formats without bothering us with any of that icky ATRAC stuff or their much maligned SonicStage software. Sony's also making nice by bringing their B100 series of Walkman DAPs to town in 1GB ($60) and 2GB ($80) models. The S610 series starts at $120 for 2GB on up to $210 for the 8GB compared to a $140 to $230 range for the same capacity A810 models. All available in September, pre-sales now.%Gallery-6575%
