F886
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Sony Walkman F886 offers hi-res audio, 32GB storage, full Android 4.1 for £250
Gone are the days when you needed a niche media player just to handle hi-res music. Phones and tablets are already starting to support higher bit-rate standards and Sony has just announced that its latest Walkman does too. The Walkman F886 handles WAV, AIFF, FLAC and ALAC playback up to 192KHz/24-bit and sports an "S-Master" digital amplifier that Sony claims has been customized for precisely these sorts of files. The F886 also houses a 4-inch Triluminos (854 x 480) display, which should do slightly more justice to Android 4.1 (with full Google Play access) than last year's smaller F800. Sony conveniently glosses over the impact that playing 192KHz tracks will have on battery life, and how few of those files will actually fit on the 32GB of onboard storage (with no microSD expansion), but the company does promise 26 hours of playback of more reasonable 96KHz files on a single charge. Just bear in mind that, at around 1GB per hour of 96KHz/24-bitcontent, your playlist may well expire before your battery does. Expect the F886 to arrive in Europe in October for 319 euros or £249.
