Sony have revamped their Walkman range and the new models are the E470 Series. They feature a similar design to their previous Walkmans and come in a variety of colors including red, blue, green, pink and bronze. The new Walkman range however is their thinnest today measuring 7mm thick. The E470 features a 2 inch display and Karaoke mode, along with a few games, such as Sudoku and Tetrist.
For those looking for something a bit more advanced, Sony have also announced the F800 Series of Walkmans. The F800 Series runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich and is powered by a dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. The F800 features a 3.5 inch display and not only supports Windows Media Player for transferring music but, also supports iTunes and can be connected via a cable or through Bluetooth.
Both the E470 and F800 will go on sale next month from Sony Stores. The E470 is priced at $79.99, $89.99 and $109.99 for the 4GB, 8GB and 16GB models respectively. The F800 starts at $269.99 for a 16GB model, while the 32GB model is priced at $299.99.
Research is showing that for a brief moment at least, Sony have taken the crown in Japan and have sold more Walkmans than Apple have sold iPods in the last month.
It might not seem like a big deal on the surface but, since 2001 when research company BCN began compiling their monthly sales stats, this is just the second time that Sony have come out on top (which lasted a week), with Apple and their iPod range outselling their competitors for the rest of the time. Last month the Sony Walkman held a 47.8% share of the market where as the iPod had 44%. Many expect this will all change when the new iPod models are released by Apple in Japan but, for the time being Sony can puff out it’s corporate feathers and celebrate it’s victory in the Japanese market.
Between them Sony and Apple hold around a 90% share of the market for portable music players in Japan anyway, so there is no real loser in this battle anyway.
Over at Gizmo Dot, the folks have got hold of the popular NWZ-E443 Walkman from Sony. The E443 is available in both red and black and in 4GB or 8GB variants. The model unboxed is the red 4GB version which retails for around £60 in the UK.
The 4GB of storage can store around 1000 tracks or 15 hours of video. The battery can last for around 30 hours while playing music, or 6 hours while watching videos. An FM Radio is also built in, so if you fancy a break from your music tracks, you have an alternative option. The Walkman also supports the viewing of photos. As for transferring media, it can be done easily on the Walkman with Windows explorer, no need for a seperate client to transfer music and video. The E443 Walkman features a proprietary port, which is a bit of a disappointment, mini USB would have been much better but, a cable is provided with the Walkman for transferring media and charging via computer. An additional wall charger can be purchased for the Walkman, or alternatively, an AC adapter that features a USB connection port, as found with many new phones, such as the Xperia X10.
Sony recently released an updated version to their wearable Walkman W202, in the form of the Sony Walkman W252. The W252 is an all in one Walkman as such, as it provides you with 2GB of space to fit your music collection on to, while also providing the earphones within the Walkman. The new feature of the W252 over the W202, is that the newer model is waterproof, making it perfect for workouts, or wearing in the rain. It’s also possible to wear it while in the shower, although it’s recommended that you don’t keep the water on them constantly with force. The same is true for swimming, while they can be put under a tap, it’s recommended you don’t wear them while swimming.
One of our readers and Twitter follows, AsamPlusONE has received his new NWZ-W252 Walkman and has provided a video review of the Sony product. The W252 can be picked up for £50 to £60 in the UK and $60 in the US. You can view Asam’s video below.
Sony is celebrating the forthcoming release of the Metal Gear Solid game on PSP with the release of a limited edition water resistant Walkman W252. It is a uniquely styled MP3 player and comes with a distinctive green camouflage finish.
The wire free Walkman, which can store up to 2GB comes with the 13.5mm EX Series headphones, which are also camouflaged. The wearable MP3 can store around 470 tunes and comes pre-loaded with six music tracks from the game.
A quick three-minute charge is sufficient for 90 minutes listening time. The battery on full charge provides 11 whole hours of listening time.