New touchscreen player NWZ-X1000

[enduromon]

the new model number nwz-x1000 its up on engadget.

[juli]

Wondering about this myself. This is Sony

[juli]

Anthony, I just checked the user manual, and there is absolutely nothing at all about recording from the TV, do you think it's only the Japanese models that can do it??

[KittyKat81]

I have mine it is charging

[juli]

I have mine it is charging

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats. Be sure to post impressions when you've had a little time with it

[KittyKat81]

Sure will, first impressions are that it seems even smaller and sleeker than I could of imagined, very pretty. I really like the effect on the sides. I am going to a little upset if it doesn't record of the TV's......

[juli]

Sure will, first impressions are that it seems even smaller and sleeker than I could of imagined, very pretty. I really like the effect on the sides. I am going to a little upset if it doesn't record of the TV's......

Yes, it's really nicely proportioned and very easy to grip, This is what's missing on it so far, 'Now Playing', 'A-D' shortcuts and 'Go to Artist', so don't bother looking for those features, they're gone. Instead of the A-D / E-K search option, there's now just an A..............................Z - so you have to guess where N-T is for example by just hitting somewhere in the dots! They're features that I'm very used to, but I expect I'll get used to the fact they're not there after a while. And it seems to be quite slow at transferring, so if you're going to have a quick listening test, don't drag over too many albums

[kavin]

Hi Juli and kittykat.....both please post some detailed review, may be in a new thread.....

[juli]

Anthony, yes you can record from the TV using that thingy you mentioned!

And the A...................................Z thing is not what I thought at all. Someone with more knowledge about it over at Head-Fi pointed out that if you touch the dots, and then slide your finger across the row - it will bring up the letters. I tried it, and it's actually better and faster than the previous A-D / E-K shortcuts.

Hey kavin - I'll post some more about it tomorrow. Hopefully kittykat will have some impressions by then too

[Anthony]

Anthony, yes you can record from the TV using that thingy you mentioned!

Juli, you sound a little mixed in your feedback. After 48 hrs how many "stars" would you give this??? I wish they didn't bother with the browser, there is little point in including something if it is only going to annoy people.

The marketing is a little mixed up too, or at least some reviews are....

Sky TV seem to suggest that Sony are reviving the "Walkman brand" in a bid to boost sale..........Truth, Walkman brand never went away.

Stuff are suggesting you can record direct from Bravia on this device..............Truth, you can with a cradle as with previous models.

I read somewhere else that it's the first noise cancelling walkman.................Truth, the NW-S7*** was.

But I'm curious as to why Sony have an aversion to "on the fly" playlists. This is one the great features of MP3 players, something previous portable music players simply coud not do ( tape, CD) so why not just provide it?

[juli]

Juli, you sound a little mixed in your feedback. After 48 hrs how many "stars" would you give this??? I wish they didn't bother with the browser, there is little point in including something if it is only going to annoy people.

Right this minute I'd give it 4/5 starts for sound quality, mainly because I'm still not used to it. Remember I didn't like the A808 for a while when I first got it, I complained a lot that it was cold and bright and then one day I fell in love with it. It was just that it was quite different to the S706 and it took me time to get used to it. The 706 sounds pretty bad in comparison now! If I'd had to rate the 808 when I first got it, I'd have given it 2/5 so I know it's a matter of adjusting to the extra warmth and power that the X seems to have.

The marketing is a little mixed up too, or at least some reviews are....

Sky TV seem to suggest that Sony are reviving the "Walkman brand" in a bid to boost sale..........Truth, Walkman brand never went away.

It never went away, that's right. It may have got 'lost' when the iPod flooded the market, but it didn't go away. Sky TV should get their facts right.

Stuff are suggesting you can record direct from Bravia on this device..............Truth, you can with a cradle as with previous models.

Is that the cradle you were talking about yesterday? The one for

[sxc]

But I'm curious as to why Sony have an aversion to "on the fly" playlists. This is one the great features of MP3 players, something previous portable music players simply coud not do ( tape, CD) so why not just provide it?

Even CD players had the ability to queue a personalised tracklist. And now Sony's mp3 players don't even allow you to do this.

I'm now in 2 minds with this player. Currently I have an ipod touch, and the sound quality sucks, and I'm dying to get some decent Sony sound quality back. What held me back going back to Sony in the past was that they didn't have 32GB capacity.

Now they have the capacity, but not the functionality of an ipod. It's getting close, but they are pricing their player at the same level (or in the case of HK, more) as the ipod touch. But I just know if I get one, I'll be moaning about the fact that I'm losing all these ipod features. And it seems like a lot of money if I only use it as a music player and don't use the browser and other features.

Is the sound quality worth the trade off in features??? That's what I'm struggling with.

[yuunanase]

What I found stupid is that I have collections of both AAC and ATRACs. I have to create a playlist on WMP and SSV. Is there any way to merge the playlists?

If only they bring back playlist on the go...

From what I see on the Japanese site, the Firmware 1.02 has just been released.

[juli]

Anthony, after 3 days with it, I can say I absolutely love it now. It's sooooooo detailed but never bright or harsh. Until I got some more listening time under my belt, it was hard to make a judgement. But I listened for about 3 hours today and it was amazing. Guitars sound fantastic and vocals are really smooth and upfront. The 808 took me a few weeks to adjust to, and the X, just a few days. I can't honestly see that anyone who likes the Sony sound would be disappointed by it. It sounds wonderful!

[Anthony]

Anthony, after 3 days with it, I can say I absolutely love it now. It's sooooooo detailed but never bright or harsh. Until I got some more listening time under my belt, it was hard to make a judgement. But I listened for about 3 hours today and it was amazing. Guitars sound fantastic and vocals are really smooth and upfront. The 808 took me a few weeks to adjust to, and the X, just a few days. I can't honestly see that anyone who likes the Sony sound would be disappointed by it. It sounds wonderful!

Well I hope to collect mine today. If my contact at my local Sony Centre sticks to his promise I will have one in my paws around lunchtime. Can't wait to report back with first impressions.

[dura]

Anthony, after 3 days with it, I can say I absolutely love it now. It's sooooooo detailed but never bright or harsh. Until I got some more listening time under my belt, it was hard to make a judgement. But I listened for about 3 hours today and it was amazing. Guitars sound fantastic and vocals are really smooth and upfront. The 808 took me a few weeks to adjust to, and the X, just a few days. I can't honestly see that anyone who likes the Sony sound would be disappointed by it. It sounds wonderful!

That does it, I'm getting one as soon as they appear in the shops here.

Hey Julie, what happend to your IR8's?

[juli]

Hey Anthony, can't wait to hear what you think of it if you manage to pick one up today!

dura - I sold my IE8's last month when I bought the UM3X. I would love to keep everything, but I can't

[jimbo]

Hey everybody - I'm a longtime reader of SI and SI Forums, but first time poster. I've been following the news of the X-Series with sooo much anticipation, as I've been waiting for a 32GB Sony Walkman ever since my beloved NW-HD3 starting to play up after years of great service.

Anyway, I was shocked when I saw John Lewis had them in stock already, so I popped in on Saturday and...... YAY!! I've finally got my hands on the X1060

First Impressions: Well, I haven't had a great amount of time to play with my new toy, but I have transfered over 2000 songs (about 13GB) to it, with loads more to go. First thing's first: The SQ. Well, the thing I'm most impressed with in the X-series is the Sound Quality - it is immense! Way better than my old HD3 and sooo much better than my brother's iPod. I'm no audiophile, but even I can notice the SQ difference on the X-Series; bits I hadn't noticed in songs before now come to life. The supplied headphones are also very good.

The OLED screen is so nice, so crisp and detailed. I haven't transfered any videos to it yet, but the supplied videos and pictures show you you on their own how nice the screen is. I have the brightness set to the default 3, out of a range of 1-6. It's bright enough to be able to see what you're doing outside, although I haven't tested it on a bright day. In a dimly lit room it looks amazing though. However, the screen is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, and so I'm now waiting for a good screen protector to come out.

The downside to being an early adopter is that there aren't any accessories on the market yet. I'd quite like to get a case as well as a screen protector. Not that it feels fragile - it actually feels quite solid, and I don't think it "feels" as fragile as an iPod - but I like to protect my gadgets. It is a nice size aswell. It's nice to hold in your hand and fits snugly in your pocket. When it is in your pocket, that's when the buttons come in so handy. I also liked that you can choose whether the hold button just disables the touch screen, or whether you want it to disable the buttons as well.

I'm only just getting used to it, and will post more views as I continue to use it. But, like someone else said, it doesn't take long to get used to using it like some other MP3 players.

The only gripe I have so far isn't with the player itself: The Content Transfer Tool I use to transfer my music from iTunes keeps on crashing when transferring certain albums. Also, there are 3 albums that for some reason the album art doesn't transfer over, even though they have the art on iTunes. I also agree that on-the-fly playlists are a big miss - even the old NW-HD3 had bookmarks, so it's disapointing that they've omitted that from the X-Series. I wonder if that's something they could change with a firmware update?

I haven't yet used YouTube or the Web Browser, so can't comment on that.

[juli]

jimbo, the only case I've seen so far is on Amazon. It just went up overnight from

[dltrtr]

If only Sony would:

Market this product at a competetive price, give the product a Brand name that is easy to remember(gotta respect Apple for this:keep it nice & simple) release it on all regions at the same time. The brand name thing is null & void but they could chane it before it goes on release. The other options are doable. Watch this space.

It would also be nice if Sony would make their players compatable with the Mac OS-X operating system. Does anyone know if this can be used on a Mac?

[dltrtr]

This player looks fantastic. It would be nice if Sony would make their players compatable with ALL operating systems. Like ipod, you can use on a PC or a Mac. Don't know if it's possible to use this player on a Mac. Anyone out there know if this is possible??

[juli]

It would also be nice if Sony would make their players compatable with the Mac OS-X operating system. Does anyone know if this can be used on a Mac?

The 829 was Mac-compatible so the X should be too, although Sony hasn't drawn attention to that in the specs.

By the way, Play.com has finally updated their release date to 22nd May, and they've reduced the X to

[ShanieAIBO]

Is that the cradle you were talking about yesterday? The one for

[Anthony]

Hi all, GOT IT................. I've just put it on charge.

[juli]

Hi all, GOT IT................. I've just put it on charge.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, for your first listening session, don't drag too many albums over unless you want to be sat there till tomorrow

[Anthony]

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, for your first listening session, don't drag too many albums over unless you want to be sat there till tomorrow

Georgous screen....fingerprint magnet.

Lovely design and build.

Trouble free wifi access.

Love the youtube feature.

CRAP Browser.

Great Video.

Too early to comment on SQ just yet but appear to be brighter than A818.

[juli]

Georgous screen....fingerprint magnet.

Lovely design and build.

Trouble free wifi access.

Love the youtube feature.

CRAP Browser.

Great Video.

Too early to comment on SQ just yet but appear to be brighter than A818.

It's such a crap browser isn't it? It's pitiful, shameful and a joke! Look forward to more SQ impressions when you've had more time with it. I think it's warmer than my 808, but with more detail. Either way, I love it. I just wish there'd been a version without wifi for a cheaper price, 'cos the browser part isn't really usable

[Anthony]

It's such a crap browser isn't it? It's pitiful, shameful and a joke! Look forward to more SQ impressions when you've had more time with it. I think it's warmer than my 808, but with more detail. Either way, I love it. I just wish there'd been a version without wifi for a cheaper price, 'cos the browser part isn't really usable

Well I like the youtube feature, I didn't think I would take much notice of it but it IS cool. Yep, browser is the big let down here. I'm trying to play podcasts only to get an error message"cannot Download". Coonection to network is actice , just won't play the podcasts. BTW the WM bluetooth adaptor designsed for the NW-S series also works with the Touch.

[juli]

Well I like the youtube feature, I didn't think I would take much notice of it but it IS cool. Yep, browser is the big let down here. BTW the WM bluetooth adaptor designsed for the NW-S series also works with the Touch.

Oh, the youtube feature is fun. And I like how I can just be playing a track from my library, then click on the link, and up pops a list of video clips of what I'm listening to. And I didn't think I'd use it much but since the browser is POOP, it's fun to have the youtube link

Look forward to more impressions later. Don't you just love it when you get your hands on a new Sony?? Oh, and I was reading up on the Cowon S9, and almost spat out my tea when I read it had as 'good' a sound as the iPod Classic 120. I bought the Classic a while ago just to hear what it sounded like, and well, I returned it asap... so I was really surprised to read a pro review that praised the S9 for the wonderful SQ - and then said it was as good as the Classic

Have fun listening!!

[Spoonman]

Even CD players had the ability to queue a personalised tracklist. And now Sony's mp3 players don't even allow you to do this.

I have to say, this is sort of a dealbreaker for me. I currently use my MD Walkman to mainly listen to albums and I would probably do this a lot with the X as well. But, if I upgrade I

[SimonbUK]

HI

I have both the Touch 2G 32 GB and Sony NWZ-X1060. The Sony I received yesterday from JL..

Sound wise the Sony is by far superior, the difference can easily be noticed when using speakers or in a car, the sound is far less anaemic with plenty of body.. Bit like a good Syrah (red wine) compared to a cheap bottle of white..

I prefer the menu system on the Sony its VERY slick and responsive and the size is perfect, a nice weight too..

As for movies, both picture quality and sound are awesome...shame the native resolution is so low..

The noise cancelling function worked very well on my noisy train last night, however it only works with the packaged headphones... so I guess I will only use these on long flights..

Sony now provide many ways to get your music/movies onto the player, I still use Itunes and I use content transfer, you can choose various auto options, or drag and drop itunes playlists...

the other functions ...

Radio: better than some Wifi app form itunes which crashes every 5 mins..

Hold/Lock: you can choose a) lock screen only or lock screen and buttons.

WEB: Pretty good, I can access my gmail and face book perfectly well, you will notice here just how good the touch screen is..

Wifi: works perfectly well..

You Tube: works well

Purchase content: not tried yet..

I guess my only disappointment is that it

[juli]

Hi SimonbUK, gnice to hear you're enjoying the Sony. I prefer it to my Touch 2G as well, much more fun to listen to.

By the way, you said Wi-Fi works perfectly well, are you talking about general internet browsing /email etc? I think the Netfront browser is truly horrendous!!!!

[KittyKat81]

Ok so have had a few days to play and overalll impressionis it is truelly a great piece of kit....

I totally agree with what everyone is saying about it the music quality is absolutely amazing, the screen is incredible.

I love it... Little gripes are, I am having compatability problems with my Laptop, no idea why.. Every now and again my computer won't be able to see it, it crashes when transfering music, generally just a pain. But on my husbands slightly newer laptop it works like a breeze, so I think that is probably my computers problem not the x series.

The browser is rubbish, but I can check facebook, if really needed you can write a email. It is a MP3 player after all and it does that perfectly. I love the Youtube future for a bit of fun.

Can't wait to get a screen proctor and case. I am just hoping I can get these compatabillity problems sorted..

Haven't used the podcast facility yet or linked it up to my TV, more fun to be had

[juli]

Hey KittyKat81, glad to hear you're loving it too! As for the crashing, well, it crashes on me a lot too. As soon as I try to transfer more than a handful of albums, I get 'Waiting-Walkman is busy' and then it freezes. I'm using Windows Vista so I don't know if that's the problem. And it's very very slow to transfer, brings back 'fond' memories of SonicStage

I did manage to write an email, but it took so long I wouldn't bother to do it again unless it was an emergency. But at least I can check emails on it if my computer is shut down, and then if I need to reply, I'd just switch my computer back on.

I am loving it more every day.

[Anthony]

Hey KittyKat81, glad to hear you're loving it too! As for the crashing, well, it crashes on me a lot too. As soon as I try to transfer more than a handful of albums, I get 'Waiting-Walkman is busy' and then it freezes. I'm using Windows Vista so I don't know if that's the problem. And it's very very slow to transfer, brings back 'fond' memories of SonicStage

Juli, have you tried using WMP 11 on "Sync" mode to transfer? I don't have any problems with it using Vista. Content transfer and Media Manager have always given me niggly issues with Walkman(s).

[juli]

Juli, have you tried using WMP 11 on "Sync" mode to transfer? I don't have any problems with it using Vista. Content transfer and Media Manager have always given me niggly issues with Walkman(s).

Hey Anthony, I've been using Windows Explorer because about a third of my music is in AAC (for the Touch) and WMP doesn't see those files at all. I prefer to use WMP to sync because I'm so familiar with it, but with all my AAC files invisible, I can't

How are you liking it compared with the 818? Does it still sound brighter to you?

And did you know Play and Amazon UK are selling it for

[KittyKat81]

WMP seems to be the problemfor me, trying to just use explorer seems my best option... What is the media management software about that is really rubbish!! Still love it though the quality is fantastic.

[juli]

WMP seems to be the problemfor me, trying to just use explorer seems my best option... What is the media management software about that is really rubbish!! Still love it though the quality is fantastic.

Hey KittyKat, yeah, Explorer seems to be the least awful option for me at the moment. WMP can't see AAC files, and Explorer often crashes with the message: "This device has stopped responding or become disconnected" if I transfer too many albums at once (although it doesn't seem too fussy about when it crashes!). It's a nuisance, but as I only plan to do a mass transfer once, I can live with it. And it wouldn't be a Sony if everything was quick and simple

[KittyKat81]

Explorer often crashes with the message: "This device has stopped responding or become disconnected" if I transfer too many albums at once (although it doesn't seem too fussy about when it crashes!). I get this quite a bit too, but explorer is the best option still.

It is getting better and better was having a great time with the You Tube feature in the pub last night Head is hurting a little this morning though. Still just trying to get my album art all sorted out on it... The noise cancellation is really amazing.

[juli]

Explorer often crashes with the message: "This device has stopped responding or become disconnected" if I transfer too many albums at once (although it doesn't seem too fussy about when it crashes!). I get this quite a bit too, but explorer is the best option still.

It is getting better and better was having a great time with the You Tube feature in the pub last night Head is hurting a little this morning though. Still just trying to get my album art all sorted out on it... The noise cancellation is really amazing.

KittyKat, is your album art displaying okay? I had an issue with a few covers that didn't appear, but I eventually solved it. If anyone else is having issues, just say, and I'll explain how I fixed it.

Yeah, the youtube feature is more fun than I expected, doesn't make up for the lousy browser though. God, it's crap. But as a music player, I just can't fault it in any way. That s-master amp has to be responsible for the extra goodness!

[KittyKat81]

KittyKat, is your album art displaying okay? I had an issue with a few covers that didn't appear, but I eventually solved it

Finally sorted ish, my tags were all in a complete mess and not quite there yet a few little loose ends to clear up, being using a free app Mp3tag, whih has been useful.

Listened to my first podcast today and had a bit of a browse round Crackle and Podcast.com, they didn't make much sense to me, hope they are going to keep improving them.

Keeping me amused on this not so sunny Saturday bank holiday.