Shinji Ikeda

Hello, Here is a quick response from someone living in Japan. The software on the included software support several language version of SonicStage including English and Japanese. So this will run on your Windows XP home. Second the NW-A800 series Network Walkman work independent of the language of your operation. The language of the menu's will by default be in Japanese, but can easily changed to English or another language. There are several reviews and opinions on this site of various experiences with different version of the NW-A800 series. Also long as the music that you downloaded do not have any DRM associated with them you have no problems transferring them to the NW-A800 series. A word of advice the NW-A800 need SonicStage to transfer your songs to it. If you have patience you will have no problems. Additionally, it is recommended that you use Image Converter to transfer your movies and pictures to the NW-A800 series. You do not need to use Image Converter, but Song uses a specific naming convention for these files. I hope this helps, and good luck on your future purchase.

With the current firmware there is no way of using screen savers other than the default. You can however use the built-in slide show like a screen saver. Just remember to set the slide show last.

I believe the model number is NW-E105, part of the NW-E100 series Network Walkmans. This would have been the little puck designed Walkman.

My vote has to be for the NW-S700/S600 series. It is very stylish, and as though it was made for the human hand.

I suspect that the SCR-NWU3 is a typo made by me. At the bottom of the stand that I have reads BCR-NWU3.

Where I am lucky is that I have several outlets close to me, and they are all relatively safe. I however prefer the SCR-NWU3 cradle, since it can function just like ACNWUM50 if I don't use the stand.

Additionally, the sensor's shape prevents if from be placed in an standard mini-audio Jack. There is a kind of work around, but the noise cancellation feature will not longer be available for either the NW-S700 or another DAP. Sony however does sell the noise cancellation headphone separately. You could consider this option, since the mentioned headphone would work with any mini-audio jacks, and can be used on an airplane with the supplied adapter.

Thanks for the picture and the information. You are able to see how easy you can access the dial-jog of the NW-S700/S600 series Walkman. Additionally it seems not to cover the volume and play buttons.

That seem to be a bit of over reaction. SonicStage is only need to upload music to the player and organize music library. I have in the past used my work computer to recharge my player, with absolutely no problems. I am currently running SonicStage on Windows XP Professional, and have run it on Windows 2000. Additionally, SonicStage does run on other version of XP and Vista. It is also possible for them to copy audio files, using drag-and-drop to their media player. When they get home they can then copy them to their player. An audio jack on these work computers would also be helpful. My employer refuses to install non-business software on any company computers, and have removed any software that did not fall into that category. So, the issue that is being address is a non-issue for me. Many other business environments are just as restrictive or even more. It can be suspected that the logic that Sony uses is that if a user is to install SonicStage on any computer that they must have the explicit rights to do so as granted by the owner of the computer.

When the NW-A800 is connected to the computer you will get the Connecting screen. This gives the user warnings to be careful. Also, music on the player can only be played through SonicStage/Connect Player. When the NW-A800 is connected to the ACNWUM50 or similar changer the screen needs to be different. This connection works as a standard charger. However it is limited. You can plug in your headphones and listen to your music. Connecting indicates that the NW-A800 is connected to the computer, the other screen indicates that it is not.

It seems that only the hard case gives full protection to the NW-A806. With the plastic cover and the silicon case it looks as though you are given ample protection from scratches on the screen. Even though I do not think the screen is plastic. The silicone case seems to be the same made by Sony. If you look at the back of some of the images the Sony brand name is imprinted on them. Sony always changes a premium for their accessories. Darkseed - My Burden Anyway, Lulu thank you for the review.

It would be more likely that Sony will find ways of extending the battery life, than add support of AA batteries. Not all disposable batteries keep a steady flow of power when discharging. An external battery back however would need extra circuity to ensure that the battery discharges evenly. If the PSP supported cold swap for batteries would be the ultimate bonus. Just place the unit in sleep mode, change the batteries, and continue playing. Improved processor speed and more internal memory would be good additions. Currently having a large MS DUO/DUO Pro memory card gives not additional advantage for game play, other than the ability to save some games.

richyhu, very nice picture review. The black NW-A808 looks very sexy in its hardcase. Thnmk you.

I am using the painful and slow method . I manually search for them. There are two reasons for this, some of the tracks that I have are podcasts and other audio CDs. The other, I kind of like being creative in selecting my album art.

The sound quality of both units are about the same. When it comes to usability, both units are quite different. To navigate the NW-S706 you do not need to look at the unit all the time. However, the NW-A806 gives you a more visual interface for navigating though you library and some more options. The noise cancellation feature is where the NW-S706 wins hands down. Some people complain about a slight hissing on the NW-S706, but I have never noticed this. Sony has release a firmware upgrade for the NW-A806 because of some sound quality issues. Both units are about the same size, and weight. However there is a lot of information about these two units on this site, and even more discussions.

What you are mentioning is a feature of SonicStage and does not relate to Connect music service. I have turned of the Gracenote feature in SonicStage, since I do not need it. Gracenote may be replaced by another service, but the feature to search the internet for CD information will exist in future versions of SonicStage (or whatever application replaces it).

Rob A has it right... When it comes to flash or hard drive memory the numbering convention is strange. A 1GB player has 1,000,000,000 bits, which is not really 1GB (or approximately 107341800 bits). This is something that all manufacturers have done since atleast the introduction of the hard drive, may be even earlier. Take the size of your media player and divide it by the number of GB by 1024 three times. This should match the number of GBs.

I strongly believe that Sony will greatly limit the models of the Network Walkmans in US. Currently they have three models, and I do not see them adding any soon. Sony USA will not provide any support for models purchased outside of USA. Sony is very strict about gray market items. The etailer may provide support of you purchase it on eBay, but that is dependent of the etailer's policies and reputation.

Yes, that is correct, but that is when brightness is set to the highest level. Having the NW-A800 series Walkman's brightness at the highest level however reduces battery life. This should not be a problem, if you are only using it for audio playback. At the lower brightness levels it is harder to read in direct sunlight. At the lowest barely readable, but good enough to change the setting to increase the brightness level.

Do you have a MS Duo/Duo Pro card? This is required to install new firmware and demo games. It is not possible to do either without the correct memory card. The memory card must be formatted by your PSP before it can be used. I hope that you mean regions. You have to go to the Playstation site for the region that you purchased your PSP, and download the updated firmware from there. The site will have instruction on the various methods that you can download new firmware. The best method is to use Network Update, which only works if you can make a Network Connection. To install demo games follow the instructions for each game. All games and firmware updated are required to be placed in a directory root:/psp/games and in the correct sub-directory/folder. Check the download page (http://www.atraclife.com/downloads/) or the blog page (http://www.atraclife.com/) for game downloads.

It takes time to get to know how to use SonicStage. My experience has not been the same as yours. SonicStage is more of a tool designed for nerds. Like GQ Smooth I have had no problems. There are quirky features in SonicStage, and I feel that I am comfortable with the way the software works. It may not be the best, but it is a great software for uses with Sony audio devices. By the way, SonicStage has set ups that are best to change, which will give better freedom and flexibility in managing your music.

Hello boby_us2004, The files that your see through Windows XP are for use with SonicStage. Looking at these files would give you only the information that the files exist, and nothing beyond that. You need to look at the properties of the files that are giving you problems in SonicStage. It is possible to have a different cover-art for each track in an album. Check the properties of the album, then the properties of specific tracks. Update the cover-art for the suspect tracks or albums accordingly. This can be done by dragging-and-dropping the images on the album or track in SonicStage. A word of advice SonicStage orginizes audio files, in the order that they were created. I hope this helps.

In SonicStage is there album art are assigned to the track and the album? What firmware are you using with the PSP?

In Sony's defence. Those that want multiple language support is a niche market. Most users are content if they are using the character set that they are knowledgable about. It is upto the user to decide the best setup for their system. The problem exist going from English to Chinese. This problem does not exist going for Chinese to English, since Chinese does include the English alphabet characters. Unicode is not the ideal system, and does have its inherited problems. What I do commend Sony for is restricting users to a specific language as defined by their computer setup.

Wow . As being another owner of both units, what was the setup you had for both units?