Sony NW-E105PS Network Walkman 512 MB Digital Music Player (White) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Sony calls this new line of flash-based, coin-like (but they are thick coins!) MP3/ATRACT players the Psycs, and their new-age styling does psyc you out.Which is not a bad thing, as they are more euro-cool than the rather bland and boring iPod and the downright butt-ugly iRiver.The more I look at the Psyc, the more I like its looks.

The new Psyc MP3 player features 512MB of flash memory, which is great for those of you jogger jocks out there.You can shake this thing violently and it won't skip a beat, unlike those hard drive-based players.Before you insert an AAA battery, the Psyc weighs in at an amazingly light 0.9 oz. -- that's right, folks, it's less than an ounce!With the AAA battery, my guess is it's about 2 oz.It's very small although, relatively speaking, it looks a little thick.(About 0.75 in. at its thickest part.)

What, you ask, it uses an AAA battery?Yes my friend, and this one AAA alkaline battery can power the player up to 70 hours!That's almost three full days of continuous playing.The phrase "up to" here means that in order to get all 70 hours of playing, you must 1) play ATRAC3Plus songs encoded at 48kbps and 2) do not press buttons or do random play (i.e., just leave the player playing sequentially).In the real life we like to skip a song, fast forward, random play (a.k.a. shuffle play), turn it on and off and on and off, and most importantly, we play MP3 songs.All these operations reduce the battery life.Given my experience with previous Sony MP3 players, my estimate is one good AAA battery should last you 40 hours or more.(With my beloved Sony NW-HD3, I routinely get the advertised battery life of 30 hours even when playing MP3 files.)

Of course, the use of AAA means you get an abundant and ready supply of cheap power source, and you can trek in the Amazon for weeks on end without having to worry about finding an AC outlet.

The Psyc, which comes in three colors (green and blue for the 512MB version, and orange for the 256MB version), has a nice backlit LCD screen, so you always know what you are playing as opposed to having to guess as on some other certain MP3 player.It plays MP3 as well as Sony's ATRAC songs.If you are an ATRAC fan you'll like the sound quality of this little player; it's at least as good as Sony's MD players.For MP3's, the sound quality is a bit "muffled" compared to my NW-HD3 20GB player, but still quite good if you pair it with a good pair of headphones (i.e., ditch the stock earphones).

Sony still has a long, long way to go in the user interface department, as this has always been its weakness, whether it's digital music or digital video or anything else.The Psyc is not hard to use; its basic functions are no-brainers.But, for anything beyond play/pause/skip, its interface, whether on the unit itself or on the PC transfer side, is still not polished and was clearly designed for a Japanese audience -- Japanese consumers reportedly love to play with complicated gadgets; no surprise given how elaborate sushi-making and origami are.We American consumers like things that are elegant and simple, and Sony has a lot of room for improvement in this regard.

In short, I don't think you'll be disappointed in the new Psyc flash-based MP3 players.They are stylish and lightweight and lasts forever on cheap AAA batteries.They have good sound quality and are priced right.Just be prepared to spend some time with the manual and experimenting a little.If you are stuck, you are welcome to e-mail me at gadgester @t hotmail with your questions.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony NW-E105PS Network Walkman 512 MB Digital Music Player (White)

Product Description:
Pump up the volume wherever you are--whether pounding the urban jungle pavement or power cycling at the gym--with Sony's NW-E105PS Network Walkman. Amazingly small and light, the round NW-E105PS measures just 2.21 inches in diameter and weighs under one ounce. It has a 512 MB internal flash memory and plays MP3, ATRAC, and ATRAC3plus formats. It's also compatible with content purchased and downloaded from Sony's Connect Music Store (available for Windows PC users only). This model comes in white, and is also available in blue.
Originally developed for Sony's MiniDisc players, the ATRAC3 format increases the sound compression rate by approximately one-tenth, thereby reducing the file size and enabling you to store more music. ATRAC3plus goes even further, with compression levels of 1/20 the original sound source, but provides stronger sound quality than other formats and comparable compression levels. The 512 MB memory will store up to 340 songs, or over 22 hours (calculated at 4 minutes per song using ATRAC3plus compression at 48 kbps). Though it doesn't play WMA or WAV, these formats can be converted into either ATRAC3 or ATRAC3plus.
Because music is stored on internal flash memory--with no moving parts, like hard drive-based players--the NW-E105PS won't skip when jostled, making it the perfect workout partner. The NW-E105PS has a blue backlit LCD that provides song information (such as title, artist, album, etc.) and easy toggle navigation. It also includes a bass and treble equalizer.
What's in the Box
Sony NW-E105PS Network Walkman (512 MB, White), headphones, USB cable, CD-ROM with SonicStage software (for managing your digital library, converting tracks from CDs, and transferring tunes to the Network Walkman)