Was eyeing for iPod Nano but since I'm not so confident with it I asked fellow Low Yat forumers. Almost everyone from there recommend me Sony Walkman than iPod as I'm serious in it's sound quality (SQ). Interface and design-wise, iPod wins though.
Since I'm more to it's functionality rather than trendiness, so I'd go for Sony Walkman.
When comparing the price, I noticed the Sony Walkman S series is same price as iPod Nano, 8GB selling for RM 600 while 16GB selling for RM 800. Besides, S series also had a function iPod Nano doesn't have, that is noise-cancelling.
I actually wanted to get it last Friday, went to KLCC to check. Sony Style ran out of stock, so went to Best Denki to check. Thanks to the helpful staff, I've managed to secure the final stock of the 16GB unit. I didn't bring cash with me so I went to withdraw some cash.
I dunno what happened but that day all the ATM machines I tried doesn't spit any money out! Was disappointed but there's nothing can be done so I've just reserved the unit and collect it on this Monday after class.
So Monday I immediately rushed to KLCC after class just to get it. This time the ATM machines are working normally so I happily made the purchase. :D
Freshly-taken out from the box, comparing it to my Nokia 5310.
The Sony earphone that comes with the Walkman player, Sony MDR-NC020. It's an IEM (in-ear monitor).
Although it doesn't look like most standard earphone, but this isn't any ordinary earphone. Without this earphone the Walkman player's noise-cancelling function wouldn't work.
The holes above the Walkman logo is actually the mic used to filter the external ambient noise, which the player will produce a counter-wave to superimpose the ambient noise to achieve noise-cancelling effect.
One thing about the Sony earphone is that it can only be used with the Sony Walkman player but not with other media players (phone, radio, computer etc.) as the jack is slightly different than those normal 3.5mm jacks. However, the Sony Walkman player is fully compatible with other headphones/earphones on the market, so you may use other hearing devices as you wish.
The player uses USB to charge, and needs about 3 hours to fully-charged. File transfers can be done like normal flashdrives (pendrive as such) but I prefer to transfer the files via Windows Media Player, version 11 to be specific.
The Sony Walkman works seamlessly with WMP 11, it syncs perfectly and faster than drag n drop in the flashdrive mode. It's somewhat like iPod uses iTunes to sync but WMP 11 is more flexible and I'm more used to it.
Side-by-side comparison again. Sony Walkman, Nokia 5310 & Microsoft Optical Mouse.
The interface resembles those of a Sony Ericsson W-series phones. After all, they're all from the same root Sony. :)
The buttons, although covered by the protector but you still can see it. Also strongly resembles W-series phone like I mentioned above.
One of the function I like the most is the SensMe Channels which would analyse and categories all the songs based on their channels. Some channels example would be" Energetic, Relaxing, Upbeat & time-based channels (eg: Daytime, Night).
The songs are sorted accordingly into suitable channels. It's sorted quite accurately although there are some outcast assortment. For example, it sorted one of those upbeat songs into the Relax channel....
As for the sound-quality, it can be varied. Since it has quite a few sound enhancement functions built-in, so have to try around to get the best sound for certain songs. The equalisers would have to switch according to the songs. You can't use a piano pieces' equaliser for a techno song can you?
My only disappointment would be the video functionality though. It needs to be converted into appropriate formats and so far every video had to be converted into WMV format. It says it can accept MP4 video but it failed when I tried. Was planning to convert some YouTube videos to put it in, but it'll need quite some work to do so.
Besides, the 2.0" screen is same as my Nokia 5310 so there's not really an upgrade in the display resolution.
Well anyway overall I'm very happy with this new toy. Simply like it! A great gadget to bring along especially when commuting and travelling as the noise-cancelling function actually does the work and you can enjoy the music relatively quieter than the surroundings (though it's not 100% cancel out all the noises).
Bringing these 2 gadgets around while on the go.
Nowadays I love to spend like an hour before I sleep just to spend some quality time with myself enjoying high fidelity music. The Sony Walkman sounds the best when paired up with the Audio Technica ATH-M50 I purchased last month. :D
P/S: The Walkman cost me RM 799, while the rubber case cost RM 59, quite a rip-off! :S
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