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Sony's X-series OLED Walkman now priced in real American dollars, ships mid-June
Sony has yet to offer us official US pricing or availability on its eagerly awaited X-series of OLED Walkmans. As such, we have to grasp at whatever bits of desperate information we can as this 3-inch Walkman with built-in noise cancellation makes its way West following the Japanese launch. Amazon lists the little guy at $399.95 (32GB) and $299.95 (16GB) which just happens to be the same pricing as Apple's iPod touch, for whatever that's worth. It's not in stock but you can pre-order now if dare. Update: And just like that, it's official. Sony's 16GB NWZ- X1051 with 32GB NWZ- X1061 will be priced $299 and $399, respectively, when they go on sale nationwide Stateside in mid-June. As a surprise, they'll also feature embedded apps for YouTube and Slacker Radio for all the free video and audio you can consume over WiFi.[Via OLED-Info]
Sony X-series OLED Walkman priced, hitting UK tomorrow
We don't see an official press release yet but Pocket-lint and other UK sites are claiming that Sony's OLED Walkman will hit the UK high streets starting tomorrow. The hotly anticipated X-series Walkman will be priced at £209 for the 16GB model or £279 for the 32GB model. We'd translate those numbers to US dollars but we don't want to scare the natives with the UK markup for consumer electronics. We'll update you with official US numbers just as soon as they're out.
Sony's OLED Walkman priced in the US... sort of
We wouldn't carve this in stone quite yet, but we'd say that points-to-dollars conversion from Sony's official 'Rewards' site is pretty legitimate. The outfit's highly anticipated OLED Walkman, which we had the pleasure of toying with earlier this week, is now listed in 16GB and 32GB forms at SonyRewards. While no ship date is given, we are told that the smaller of the two will run members 29,995 points, while the larger one demands an extra 10,000. For those who only speak real currency (you know, like Schrute Bucks), that translates to $299.95 and $399.95, respectively. Furthermore, the first official OLED Walkman accessories have popped up, proving that a leather case / kickstand, clear screen protector and a hard plastic shell will be made available. Oh, and Sony -- any moment now would be great for a confirmation.[Via SonyInsider]Read - 16GB OLED WalkmanRead - 32GB OLED Walkman
Sony OLED Walkman impressions
Considering that we're holding a Japanese unit in our hands, our impressions of Sony's OLED Walkman will be somewhat limited. That said, we figured it prudent to pass along our initial judgments until the US model shows up sometime between tomorrow and next century. After giving the flashy PMP a photo shoot yesterday, we spent the rest of the day (and night, we won't even front) toying with Sony's most hyped Walkman in quite some time. Eager to hear just how fantastic / horrible this critter is? Follow us past the break for our two pennies.
Video: Sony OLED Walkman (NWZ-X1050) hands-on
We got a chance to peek Sony's succulent OLED Walkman way back at CES, but we've waited for what seems like forever to hold one in our supple paws without a booth attendant breathing down our neck. The model that arrived today on our doorstep is the 16GB NW-X1050 (or NWZ-X1050), which just launched in Japan last week. There's still no telling when this beauty will hit the US, but we can already guess that it'll cause some serious buzz when it does. We'll just come right out and say it: this is the best looking display on any PMP that we've ever seen. If you'll recall, Cowon's S9 also shipped with an OLED panel, but we've got to give the edge to Sony here. Also of note, we were never fans of the dark granite border in the press shots, but it's downright stunning in person. We're going to be hosting up a video walkthrough of the menus and such just as soon as it uploads (sigh) as well as some more thorough impressions in the coming days. For now, however, feel free to peruse the gallery below.Update: Video's live! Check it after the break.
Sony's Walkman E-series lets music nerds play dress up
Think USB sticks are fashion statements? Then listen up nerds, Sony's get a sackful of Walkmans to match your technicolor style. The Walkman E series will get to poppin' next month in 2GB (NW-E042), 4GB (NW-E043), and 8GB (NW-E044) capacities starting at ¥8,000 (about $80, tax inclusive) on up to ¥13,000 (about $132). Each stick ships with a second front panel / cap combination for a quick color swap. Spec-wise, you're looking at a 3-line color LCD display, FM radio, quick 3-hours on 3-minute charge (or 90 minute full charge for 28 hours of MP3 playback), and Sony's excellent earbuds with 13.5mm driver. Japanese launch video demonstrating the finer points of handbag matching posted after the break.[Via Impress]
Sony's OLED Walkman coming April 25th to Japan, starts at $400 for 16GB
Forget about Amazon UK's variable estimations, Sony's gone ahead and given us official Japanese release details for its OLED-equipped NWZ-X1000 series Walkman -- known there without the "Z" but with an one-seg TV tuner. Street date is April 25 and the open price is 40,000 yen (US $400) for the 16GB NWZ-X1050 and 50,000 yen for the 32GB NWZ-X1060. Both models will be available in black or red. No word yet on US or Europe date, but we can't imagine those will be far behind.[Via Impress Watch]
Sony X-Series Walkman gets the hands-on video treatment
We've already seen a somewhat underwhelming official video of Sony's new X-Series Walkman (or NWZ-1060, to be specific), but anyone seriously considering the touchscreen PMP will no doubt also want to check out CNET Asia's new hands-on video, which offers a decidedly less controlled look at the device in action. That includes a glimpse of the Walkman's seemingly speedy album art browsing mode, a better look at the trademark granite edge surrounding the device and, of course, a full overview of those dedicated control buttons that allow for non-touchscreen use. Head on past the break to check it out for yourself.[Via DAP Review]
Video: Sony Ericsson's S312 and W205 handsets for cruel, mocking teens
Judging by their reactions, these beautiful urban teens are not too impressed by our awkward, yet heart-felt love song to Nintendo's GameCube. That's ok, at least we're not stuck with these two entry-level, dual-band, non-3G handsets from Sony Ericsson. First up, the S312 (available in Q2) candy bar whose main feature is a 2 megapixel camera that "can be used horizontally" (wow, just wow) and a dedicated camcorder key for quick capture of all the things you love to mock on YouTube. Unfortunately, sharing those precious moments will be less than spontaneous on this HSPA-less handset -- dual-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE-only kids. Next is the W205 (available in Q3) GSM/GPRS slider meant for first time Walkman owners. It features a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, FM radio and TrackID music recognition with an integrated speaker to prove to others just how awesome your music tastes are. An optional, strap-on MS410 speaker stand that's powered by the phone will extend the range of your ego all the way to the front of the bus. No prices given, though we expect them to be free with contract when they land in and around Croydon. See what they're laughing at after the break.Read -- S312Read -- W205
Sony's wraparound W Series Walkman on sale and in pink
Not much has been said of Sony's unique W Series Walkman since its unveiling at CES this year, but now the player is on sale and available in a vivacious pink hue for all the ladies in attendance. Or fashion-forward gentlemen, whichever. At any rate, said player -- which is more formally known as the NWZ-W202 -- is expected to start shipping out as early as tomorrow, bringing with it 2GB of inbuilt storage space, support for MP3, AAC and WMA files, a battery good for a dozen hours and a three minute "quick charge" feature that provides up to 90 minutes of playback. Catch it right now in black or the aforementioned pink for $69.99.[Via ChipChick]
Video: Sony NWZ-X1000 OLED touchscreen Walkman rightly promoted
One of our pet peeves with Sony gear has long been the software. Beautiful hardware matched with average to awful software can kill the user experience. Oh sure, there are exceptions in Sony's broad product portfolio, but interfaces like XMB are bubbles on Sony's otherwise festering UI sores. Sony knows this, they've admitted it with a promise of good things to come -- and here's a good example: Sony's new X-series Walkman with 3-inch OLED. In the (controlled) promotional video (finally!) found after the break, the X-series Walkman seems to offer a sweet mix of hybrid touchscreen and physical controls conveniently positioned for use. The 3D animations also look fluid without being superfluous. Even Sony's drag-and-drop Content Transfer Tool (updated to 1.1 last week) for quickly moving audio, video, and pictures onto the player looks dead simple to use. We'll reserve final judgement until we get a unit in-house for a review. Until then, feel free to jump to your own conclusions in the comments.[Via SonyInsider]
Sony's OLED Walkman shipping on May 10th in UK?
Considering that Amazon UK's first estimated ship date for Sony's OLED Walkman proved incorrect, we're a bit hesitant to believe this one. That said, the e-tailer has seen fit to post up an actual date rather than a vague window of time, so maybe it knows a bit more than Joe Six Pack this go 'round. At any rate, you can now pencil in May 10th over in the UK, with the NWZX1060B (32GB X-Series) priced at £283 ($395). Don't bet the farm on it or anything, but who knows what magic could happen if we all cross our fingers in unison.[Via SonyInsider]
Sony's OLED Walkman specs revealed, QVGA rears its ugly head
We've been itching to spend some quality time with Sony's NWZ-X1000-series player since its granite-sided shell was first revealed just ahead of CES, and now that it's inching closer to release (in the Old Country, at least) we finally have a full spec sheet to parse. On the audio side it'll play MP3, WMA, and AAC at up to 320kbps, and for video there's MPEG-4, H.264, and WMV support, sadly in most cases crippled at 320 x 240 despite that 3-inch OLED screen's 432 x 240 native resolution. That's nearly a quarter of those pixels gone to waste. Other goodies include FM tuning, 802.11g/b WiFi, internet browsing with YouTube support, and 33 hours of battery life when grooving to tunes, 9 hours when watching video, and surely much less when cruising the web. Still no confirmed domestic release date, but it can't be long now.[Thanks, Steve]
Sony expands Walkman line with NW-S738FK and NW-S736FK
Though not nearly as buzz-worthy as Sony's OLED-equipped NWZ-X1000, these two DAPs are still worth a look if you're both in Japan and really into pastels. The NW-S736FK and NW-S738FK only differ with respect to internal capacity, as the former carries 4GB worth of tunes while the latter hosts 8GB. Both will soon be available in the wonderful nation of Japan in gold, black, pink and red hues, and each will support MP3, WMA, ATRAC, WMV, MPEG-4, JPEG and AAC formats. You'll also find a 2-inch LCD, USB 2.0 connectivity, a 5 band equalizer, FM tuner and a battery good for 40 hours of audio playback (or 10 hours on the video side). The new duo is set to ship on March 14th, and yes, those perfectly matching speaker docks seem to be included for your convenience.[Via Impress]
Sony's OLED Walkman priced and dated... in the UK
We know, there's only so much an American can glean from UK prices, but there's still excitement in the air from seeing Sony's OLED-packin' touchscreen Walkman up for pre-order at Amazon UK. The X Series is ready for ordering in 16GB (NWZ-X1050B) and 32GB (NWZ-X1060B) flavors, with both expected to be dispatched between a fortnight and five weeks. As for pricing? Try £214 ($308) for the little guy and £283 ($407) for the big brother. All of a sudden, Cowon's OLED-equipped S9 isn't looking like such a bad alternative, eh?[Via OLED-Display]Read - 16GB WalkmanRead - 32GB Walkman
Sony Ericsson W395 hands-on
Sony Ericsson's W395 was one of the sets that was launched in the week leading up to, rather than at the show. Strange launch aside, this lower-end Walkman handset is pretty sharp in the -- admittedly basic -- look and feel department, with the housing's metal material lending it heft and a quality feel. The set we saw was Blush Titanium, but it is also being offered in Dusky Grey -- which looks sorta purple in our eyes. Pretty run-of-the-mill as far as the UI goes, if you've had an SE phone in the last few years, you'll definitely feel at home -- and we're not saying that's a bad thing. Follow on for a pile of pics of it in action.%Gallery-44940%
Sony Ericsson's W995 Walkman slips out ahead of schedule
Clearly, the flood gates have opened well before Sony Ericsson intended over in Barcelona, as the countdown is still on while we're watching handset after handset leak out. Next up is the W995 Walkman (can someone say Hikaru?), a multimedia-centric slider which boasts an 8.1 megapixel camera, A-GPS, Google Maps, WiFi, DLNA certification, 118MB of built-in memory, an 8GB M2 card and a 2.6-inch QVGA scratch-resistant display. The mobile should ship in a trio of colors -- Progressive Black, Cosmic Silver and Energetic Red -- and the inbuilt kickstand should make airplane-based movie watching a touch easier on the neck. No word on a price or release, but SE should be remedying that at any moment.Update: As you may have caught in our liveblog, the W995 is now very much official, and just as described in its not-quite-official form. SE did have a few small surprises up its sleeve, however, in the form Sony's MediaGo software, which will let you share media with your PS3 over WiFi, and take advantage of Sony's PlayNow services, including downloaded movies purchased on your PC. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look. %Gallery-44773%
Sony Ericsson's W395 Walkman and C903 Cybershot bring more of the same
In the run-up to Mobile World Congress we've been treated to a windfall of hot new phones and technologies. Then there's Sony Ericsson's W395 Walkman and C903 Cyber-shot. The W395 is a new Walkman slider with built-in stereo speakers meant for the "youth" market, a market that seemingly hates 3G or storage since the quad-band GSM/EDGE device ships with a measly 1GB memory card. It will, however, be affordable and feature a 2 megapixel camera when it ships in Q1. The C903 Cyber-shot slider already spotted around here a few times brings a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with sliding lens cover as we've seen -- give the cover a slide and this cameraphone's ready for duty. The camera features face detection and a Smile Shutter mode that automatically snaps the shutter when a happy face is detected. It also packs a 2.4-inch display, Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot and, get this... it'll even make phone calls. This worldphone rides quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE for 10 hours of talk or 400 hours of standby with UMTS/HSPA 900/2100 (or 850/1900/2100 in the C903a configuration) frequencies bringing the 3G sometime in Q2. Beautiful devices for what they are -- guess we're just spoiled by all the MWC goods expected in Barcelona from RIM, LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Acer, Android, Palm, Microsoft... you get the idea.Update: Details on a 5 megapixel C901 candybar were also released sans the Cyber-shot branding and any fanfare even though it's similarly spec'd to the C903. [Via Phone Arena]Read -- W395 WalkmanRead -- C903 Cyber-shot
Sony's NWZ-X1000 gets handled in French
After proving a bit of a white whale at CES, Sony's new touchscreen Walkman NWZ-X1000 hasn't been easy to come by. After Stuff's general overview video hands-on, we've been waiting for some hard-hitting impressions, which Le Journal du Geek has finally provided, in French. Granted, they're playing with a non-complete prototype, so we'd have to take these impressions with a grain of salt either way. From what we can tell, they're certainly feeling the device aesthetically, and figure it's totally usable one-handed. The OLED screen is great, the incomplete interface is so far familiar and the capacitive touch has an "impressive response," perhaps even better than the iPod touch. The browser didn't get such rave reviews, but overall they found it to be in their "top five" players, with great audio quality. So at least somebody likes this thing, we'll hopefully have some more concrete impressions of our own to add as this thing approaches release in the coming months.
Sony shows off flexible OLED Walkman concepts on video
Looks like Sony Insider caught some footage of those flexible OLED Walkmans in action during a CES promo video hidden away in the booth. Looks like a pretty sweet riff on the Cover Flow-esque interface that's due to arrive on the NWZ-X1000, but there's not much else to go on -- let's hope Sony's spending more time getting the X1000 ready to leave that impenetrable glass housing than it is mocking up videos of fantasy tech. Video after the break!
