Sony S-Series Walkman Video
Sony S-Series Walkman Video Transcript
[ Music ] ^M00:00:04
>> Jasmine France: Now we see a lot of follow-ups to MP3 players here at CNET. There's plus this, second generation that and on and on and rarely does a next generation product fail to improve upon the previous generation; however, every once in awhile that happens. I'm Jasmine France and I'm here with the second generation S Series Walkman and while this is a solid MP3 player it is far from an improvement on the initial S Series Walkman but Sony has a couple of excuses for that which I'll get to. Now as far as the design of this player it is quite a significant difference from the previous generation S Series, mainly it's quite a bit larger, it has a larger screen I think it's about 3 inches and it has built in speakers so that's kind of what the larger size is going for. It keeps the same control layout with a 5 way circular control pad [inaudible] by a back and a home button here on the front and then Sony was smart enough to continue to offer the dedicated volume rocker over here and you also get a switch that will let you toggle between speaker and headphone output as well as a hold switch which is always important in a device such as this. Now as far as the features are concerned that is where Sony cut some corners. This player does not offer a lot of the really neat features that you found in the S Series Walkman before. First of all there is no noise cancelation nor do you get any upgraded headphones in the package. Also Sony got rid of the Sony Senseme Channels function which was a smart playlist creator. It also has no more intelligence shuffle and there is no longer dedicated podcast support which means there is no bookmarking of podcasts and they get kind of mixed into your general music library which is a real bummer because they had that in the previous model. Plus they got rid of the Rhapsody DNA integration on this player which is not entirely surprising but still a bummer. Now that's what Sony got rid of so what did Sony keep? Well you still get an FM tuner on board with presets and FM recording capability. There's also a built in mic for making voice recordings and of course you have photo support although you can no longer set photos as wall paper which is another omission that we don't quite understand and you do get the video support which is a little bit hard to deal with on this player because of the conversion but at least you can put the play back videos and you can buy videos from Amazon's Video On Demand service and transfer it to the player which is a definite plus. Now you may be wondering just why Sony would get rid of so many great features? Well at least part of the reason has to do with the fact they dropped the pricing severely on this player. You can actually pick up an 8GB version of this for $110 and a 16GB for just 130 and that's some of the lowest pricing on the market so it may still be worth it for you especially considering that it has an excellent rate of battery life and it still has stellar sound quality so if you're looking for an entry level MP3 player this is still a great choice. I'm Jasmine France and this has been a Sony S Series Walkman ^M00:02:50 [ Music ]
Related Videos
The entry-level Sony B-Series Walkman is a solid choice for the gym thanks to its ultracompact design, quick charge function, and integrated FM tuner.
Thanks to excellent sound quality, integrated noise-canceling functionality, and several smart music sorting options, the Sony S-Series Walkman is a superb choice for music aficionados.
The Sony E-Series Walkman offers a compact design, a nice screen, and a handful of desirable features for a reasonable price.
The Creative Zii Egg is officially announced, and Jasmine is very confused about the whole thing, and Donald's muted attempts to offer clarity are unsuccessful. Also, the MP3 Insiders have caught wind of the potential new S-Series Walkman and are none-too-taken with the Disney design leanings.
Ep. 158 - What about the rest?
This week, Donald and Jasmine can't resist taunting the naysayers with yet more Zune and iPod talk, but we think you'll be interested to know that the Zune HD popped up with an app submenu during weekend demos at Best Buys across the country. And what does Microsoft have to say about that? We'll give you one guess. Also, Rhapsody gets down with the iPhone with a brand new app that is yet-to-be-approved by Apple. Plus, we take a look at the upcoming E- and S-Series Walkmans from Sony and ponder the slow death of the Bluetooth MP3 player.
The Sony Ericsson W760a is the best Walkman phone we've ever seen, with a stylish design and excellent performance that helped it win an Editors' Choice award, and makes it our top cell phone pick for this year's Holiday Gift Guide.
Today in Tech History: July 1, 2008
The birth of the Sony Walkman.
Ep. 159 - The simply superb Sansa Clip+
Once again, Donald and Jasmine promise a "short one" and fail to deliver. But how is it that just two devices manage to stretch on for the standard 30 minutes? We'll tell you: one of them inspires a lovefest that's saccharine enough to make your teeth throb, while the other throws Jasmine into a tizzy dripping with disappointment. This discussion on two new players--the Sansa Clip+ and the S-Series Walkman--is not to be missed. Also, the MP3 Insiders touch once again on the possibility of subscription music on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
The Sony Ericsson W200a may lack some flashy features, but it's still a solid entry-level music phone.
The Sony NWZ-A720 Walkman MP3 player series offers high-quality music, photo, and video playback, but there are some competitive features missing.
Sony S-Series Walkman (second generation, 8GB, violet) Review
The good: The Sony S-Series Walkman is very inexpensive and easy to use; it offers support for multiple audio codecs as well as subscription music and Amazon video; photos and videos look great on the big, bright screen; audio quality is superb and the rated battery life is impressive; the unit features external speakers and an alarm clock function; the FM tuner and voice recorder work excellently.
The bad: The Sony S-Series Walkman no longer offers noise cancellation or upgraded headphones; there's no podcast support, SenseMe Channels, or on-the-go playlists; getting video onto the device can be a hassle.
The bottom line: The Sony S-Series Walkman is a solid entry-level MP3 player thanks to its ultra-affordable price tag, easy-to-use design, excellent performance, and fair smattering of features--but those who are looking to upgrade from the previous generation will not be impressed.
Sony S-Series Walkman (second generation, 8GB, violet) Specs
Manufacturer: Sony
Part number: NWZS544VLT
- General
- Product Basic Spec
Sony S-Series Walkman (second generation, 8GB, violet) Prices
Online stores
| Store | Certified rating | Inventory | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
|
 Rate this store See store profile |
In stock |
$98.00 |
|
Rate this store See store profile |
In stock |
$109.99 |
|
Amazon.com Marketplace |
Rate this store See store profile |
In stock |
$103.65 |
|
PC Connection |
Rate this store See store profile |
In stock |
$131.33 |
|
Buy.com |
Rate this store See store profile |
In stock |
$103.65 |
