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[new] Nw-hd5 Pictorial & Av Watch Review

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Ishiyoshi

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NW-HD5 [20GB HDD] Pictorial

Expected to go on sale in Japan: April 21, 2005 with an expected retail price of 35,000 Yen or USD$323

Update, April 8, 2005: AV Watch Review

SonicStage 3.1 will be release concurrently with the NW-HD5.

A few notable improvements:

1) Improved transfer time/ATRAC3plus encoding time

2) Mp3 ripper/encoder

3) further improvement of playlist function

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The NW-HD5 incorporates a seven-line liquid crystal display with LED backlight to improve visibility of the fonts.

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Lithium Ion battery - LIP-880PD B [approx. 4,935 yen or USD$40]

NW-HD5 - iPod Comparison

Size: 59.9×88.7×14.2mm

Weight: approx. 135g (inclusive of the battery)

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Diagram Illustrating its rotating screen: Vertical & Horizontal Usage

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Diagram Illustrating evolution of its UI: Navigation of music files

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The UI of the NW-HD5 has been completely revamped. Now it operates with an operation key and the four surrounding buttons under the liquid crystal. The retrieval mode prepares five modes of Artist/Album/Track/Genre/Playlist. In addition, the retrieval mode has been improved by strengthening of the playlist function and incorporation of the initial search function – "one step search function." This function allows the user to return to main menu by a simple menu button.

The LED and UI Operation

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Main Retrieval Menu - Artist/Album/Track/Genre/Playlist

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Artist Selection Menu

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The Playlist Menu

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Horizontal and Vertical Screen Option Menu

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Bundled Accessories

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MDR-E0931LP/BC

NW-HD5 Specifications

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That looks mad!

Is that a Hard drive player? Or a mp3/ATRAC memory card kinda thing? Like 512Mb....

The red unit looks very nice!

Buttons look a little odd... but looks good!

Is this a direct competitor with the iPOD?

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That looks made!

Is that a Hard drive player? Or a mp3/ATRAC memory card kinda thing?  Like 512Mb....

The red unit looks very nice!

Buttons look a little odd... but looks good!

Is this a direct competitor with the iPOD?

Yes, it is Sony's NW series HDD based Mp3/ATRAC player. The NW-HD5 unit also sport a G-protection that shields/protects the HDD.

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Nice. Between the replaceable Li battery and the USB charging without a cradle and 30 hours of battery life at 128kbps encoding, this unit closes the book on battery life. Outstanding.

Search by track will be interesting. The speed and acceleration for lists will have to be improved from the HD-1 I have to make this useful when searching a list of 5000 items. If it works well, it will be nice.

The size is interesting as it is only marginally different from the HD-1/2/3: about 1 mm thicker. Slightly more weight at 135g vs. 110 for the HD-1.

Too bad they didn't announce a larger HDD. I would like minimum 30 Gigs as my HD1 is full. That should be coming soon. Excellent.

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They will be releasing a 30GB special edition in the UK according to reports.

With the revamped UI, can anyone see if it means they have implemented real playlists? ie a song that is in 2 playlists is only copied over once?

Also I wonder if the Hi-MD card reader thing will work with this?

Edited by sxc
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$us353 converted from japanese street price. what the actual prices for end users in the US, Europe & Australia actually are, who knows? lets hope they continue to delflate the prices of new units to compeditive prices, as with the new nw series, new himd pricing.

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$us353 converted from japanese street price. what the actual prices for end users in the US, Europe & Australia actually are, who knows? lets hope they continue to delflate the prices of new units to compeditive prices, as with the new nw series, new himd pricing.

Given the UK pricing, signs are looking good. The HD5 = GBP 199. The 20 gb ipod = GBP 209.

It will be interesting for me what the HK prices will be. So far the new Network Walkman pricing is totally out of whack compared to overseas pricing. Compared to the ipod shuffle, the 512MB flash Sony is more than double Apple's pricing. In the US the premium over the ipod is much much less (10% I think).

EDIT: I just realised that Sony has revised the pricing of all the network walkmans in the US and matched Apple model for model. Which makes the HK pricing look even more ridiculous.

Edited by sxc
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From the AV Watch review:

In addition, also transfer function of the play list is improved. Although it corresponded to the compilation of the play list with Ver.3.0, until recently when the music file is transferred to player side transfers the play list in spite, overlapping, because it was transferring the same tune, it presses HDD capacity, there was a harmful influence such that transfer time becomes long. But, with NW-HD5 this repetition transfer was not done, when there is a file in the substance, only the list was transferred, the music data reached the point where the file of the transfer being completed is utilized in the substance.

Judging from this, it looks like real playlist functionality is implemented.

Now if only the generation of playlists in SonicStage 3 could be improved so that playlists were generated automatically. Anyone know if any more updates like this are on the horizon?

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Yes SonicStage 3 is okay if you can take the time to create your own playlists, but iTunes and Windows Media Player will make their own playlists such as "4-5 star rated songs" based on how often you listen to a song, and "Songs you haven't listened to for a week".

The ratings from the player based on what you listen to on the player also get transferred back to the computer for further enhancement of the playlists.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The following is an extract from the Sony site.

The NW-HD5 is quite simply one of the smallest 20GB HDD players around. With its incredibly light aluminium body and tiny credit-card-size dimensions, this ultra-compact model gives new meaning to the word ‘portable’.

Don’t let its diminutive dimensions fool you: this sleek little player is capable of storing up to 900 CDs worth of music. That’s a staggering 13,000 of your favourite tracks on tap wherever and whenever you want them. You’ll always be able to find the right tune for the right moment.

It goes on and on and on

40 hours of battery life

With so many tracks at your disposal, you’ll need a really powerful battery to be able to listen to them all. Luckily Sony has thought of that: the NW-HD5 offers 40 hours of battery life. It leaves the competition standing and you listening to your favourite tunes as long as you want.

What’s more, the battery is removable meaning you can carry a spare or pick up a new one while you’re out.

Easy to use, easy to love

A superior user experience

The NW-HD5 is extremely user-friendly. Sporting an exceptionally large and easy-to-navigate 7-line LED screen, the attention to detail in the design of the player is obvious. From its bright backlight display through to its elegant front and its adjustable screen colour, the NW-HD5 provides a superior user experience.

What’s more, its technologically-advanced ‘follow turn’ feature means the display is synchronised to your hand movements, flipping from horizontal to vertical depending on your every move. Now there’s no such thing as the wrong way up.

Just in case of accidents, this player carries extra insurance in the form of a sophisticated G-sensor. The NW-HD5’s specially designed sensor kicks in when dropped, providing immediate and effective shock protection.

The NW-HD5 comes supplied with SonicStage3.1 software, making all your downloads and track transfers simple.

Available in a choice of three stylish colours: black, silver, or red.

I was going to get Hi-MD player but am starting to get persuaded of the merits of HD players. This one looks brilliant particularly the size of it and the long lasting replacable battery.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

hello i am new to this forum and i am thinking about buying this mp3 player and i was wondering since i haev to use their sonicstage software if i'll be able to add mp3's i already have on my pc.

Welcome to MDCF!

Yes, you can indeed transfer Mp3s to the NW-HD5 using SonicStage 3.1. However, you can't use "drag-and-drop" to add your Mp3s onto the HD5 via Windows Explorer at the meantime. But Sony indicated that it will release a "drag-and-drop" utility soon.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update: "You are the NEXT!" Project HD5 series

In conjunction with the "You are the NEXT!" Project, Sony will release two new designs of the HD5 [20GB capacity] by artists Otani and Hirashi respectively. Naturally, these are special limited edition units - 100 units per design - and it will cost about 36,800円.

--> Please click here for further details.

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they look so....excited...

Ahaha, they do don't they! tongue.gif

Ishi, do you know if anything has been said about the cracking/breaking buttons on the players? Aparently people experienced cracks in the buttons, reported it to Sony, and Sony replied saying they must have miss-treated the unit :|

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Ishi, do you know if anything has been said about the cracking/breaking buttons on the players?  Apparently people experienced cracks in the buttons, reported it to Sony, and Sony replied saying they must have miss-treated the unit :|

Yes, I am aware of the cracks in the buttons of the HD5. Apparently, the buttons were poorly designed as one piece instead of individual pieces. Thus, it's more susceptible to cracks. However, I am not aware if this problem is prevalent in Japan. I will have to search around for further details; but I am pretty certain that there are reports of it.

they look so....excited...

Haha.... they sure do like a bunch of kids posing for DUI offense.

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Those guys are like...why're we here...?

Anyway, I think the lion looks cool, if he were on the front (with the display) and coloured and the "robot" on the back where it's at...that'd be sick..except different colours.

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  • 3 weeks later...

May I suggest we move the discussion to our new ATRAC based device forum - [http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?act=ST&f=7&t=27&st=0#entry39]ATRACLife Colloquium - accordingly. Thanks. wink.gif

Note to all: Please do feel free and transfer all your relevant posts accordingly to ATRACLife Colloquium.

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