Product Review
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The Sony Walkman 16GB is a fact. It has 16GB of internal memory. It has a bluetooth connection for seamless syncing. It is lightweight but feels substantial, indeed reminding me of the original cassette Sony Walkman from more than 2 decades ago that used to be constructed in a metallic case. It is the finest portably music player that I have encountered. I won't bother comparing to others, including the iPod, because the Sony tops them all.
First, the sound: it is fantastic. It is not a CD player in terms of fidelity, but it gets you 95% of the way there. Using both the included earphones, which are not too bad at all, and my superior Shure e4c earphones, which are fantastic, the fidelity of recorded MP3s and WMAs was outstanding. Bass was tight and not overpowering. There is a bass enhancer for those of you that like more of a thump. Trebles were clear and bell-like. Distortion was not evident across the volume range.
Second, the interface: I love it. The Dpad makes scrolling around and finding songs very intuitive and easy. Volume controls on the side of the unit, Play/Pause dead center of the Dpad. Navigation is very easy using a menu-driven system that does not require any manual to understand. The lock button is also on the side of the screen to prevent against random taps.
Third, the form factor: It's small and light, but the unit feels tight, firm, and solid. It doesn't remotely feel plasticky and cheap. I love the audio jack at the bottom of the unit instead of the top. The screen is breathtaking. I'm not kidding, it's like a mini HD-TV. Very bright, adjustable, and 100% smoothness of motion. Videos are crisp as is the player interface.
Fourth, connectivity: Just plug into your USB port on the computer and the Sony is recognized immediately. There is no need to install anything (I used Windows Vista). Did I already mention Bluetooth? Wireless autosync could be the coolest thing ever. It paired immediately with my computer and syncs right to Windows Media Player 11.
Net net, this unit just does everything that I want in a unit: solid, light, sleek, great sound, great video. I hate that this review probably reads like a Sony commercial but I can't believe how enamoured I am with the Walkman. I've been waiting years to upgrade my iRiver 1GB MP3 player but nothing ever really convinced me until now. I never liked the Apple offerings since I think the fidelity is mediocre and found the non-Apple products to be wanting. I'm glad that Sony finally got serious about this product segment again because their previous efforts were pretty poor. Well, not anymore. Two thumbs up all the way!
First, the sound: it is fantastic. It is not a CD player in terms of fidelity, but it gets you 95% of the way there. Using both the included earphones, which are not too bad at all, and my superior Shure e4c earphones, which are fantastic, the fidelity of recorded MP3s and WMAs was outstanding. Bass was tight and not overpowering. There is a bass enhancer for those of you that like more of a thump. Trebles were clear and bell-like. Distortion was not evident across the volume range.
Second, the interface: I love it. The Dpad makes scrolling around and finding songs very intuitive and easy. Volume controls on the side of the unit, Play/Pause dead center of the Dpad. Navigation is very easy using a menu-driven system that does not require any manual to understand. The lock button is also on the side of the screen to prevent against random taps.
Third, the form factor: It's small and light, but the unit feels tight, firm, and solid. It doesn't remotely feel plasticky and cheap. I love the audio jack at the bottom of the unit instead of the top. The screen is breathtaking. I'm not kidding, it's like a mini HD-TV. Very bright, adjustable, and 100% smoothness of motion. Videos are crisp as is the player interface.
Fourth, connectivity: Just plug into your USB port on the computer and the Sony is recognized immediately. There is no need to install anything (I used Windows Vista). Did I already mention Bluetooth? Wireless autosync could be the coolest thing ever. It paired immediately with my computer and syncs right to Windows Media Player 11.
Net net, this unit just does everything that I want in a unit: solid, light, sleek, great sound, great video. I hate that this review probably reads like a Sony commercial but I can't believe how enamoured I am with the Walkman. I've been waiting years to upgrade my iRiver 1GB MP3 player but nothing ever really convinced me until now. I never liked the Apple offerings since I think the fidelity is mediocre and found the non-Apple products to be wanting. I'm glad that Sony finally got serious about this product segment again because their previous efforts were pretty poor. Well, not anymore. Two thumbs up all the way!
