Are you considering the new Sony NW-A800?

[iqbelow50]

Hey all, after eagerly awaiting Sony to bring out their next-gen walkman, my interest is already waning. Just wanted to know if any of you guys have decided to buy it or not? and if so what was the deciding factor.

For me the trump card of walkman was great build quality, sound and battery. However, it seems that their products have dropped in build quality in the last 3 years, and Cowon players seem to beat walkmans on battery and sound. Am I just grossly misinformed?

Anyhow- I think i'm going to go with the cowon d2 4gb flash (SD expandable) - no sonicstage - better battery/sound - more format support - bigger screen

[Zizone_]

I found JPN reviews of a800

http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/lifestyle/artic...09/news091.html

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070309/np001.htm

they said

-response time is way faster than old A series (a1000/3000)

-sound quality is better than S series

-cannot play movies made for PSP, but u can encode them to play on A800

-movies made for Ipod can be played on A800

-the screen is good, but viewable angle is limited

-searching speed and menu are better than Ipod

Looks pretty good to me

I checked out the links you provided.

I like the way they said the player has luxury feel. Anyway, both review seems to say that video function is nice but it is not the main attraction of this player. It seems like that sound quality is good as we hoped according to them.

Edited March 10, 2007 by Zizone

[Ascariss]

zisone, I know many girls that have no knowledge about compression or quality lol, although it depends on the girl

thanks for the links of the reviews, does it say anything about the material the device is made out of?

hmm normal hold button like on the older minidiscs, good move sony.

[Zizone_]

Ascariss:

They say that the side body is has similar material (metal) as NW-S700 series (in my opinion it is also similar to NW-A1000/3000 side metal)

Also... this is where my translation into English is a bit off but... The front part is treated so that it has some... um... anyway feels good (I don't know good word for the way they described treated front).

Anyway, they say that the overall body has luxury feel. According to the way they described the player, I don't think we need to worry about cheapness of the player. Both review says that the player has good luxury feel.

The player itself is little bit thicker than nano but considering video playback and noticible difference DSEE makes on low kbps files, the thickness should not bother (it is not much thicker than nano, so it is indeed slim).

Another thing is that the player is very responsive and fast.

When the Walkman is connnected to PC, the Walkman Launcher launches, which has 4 keys options: music, photo, video, and download.

The video can be transfered to NW-A800 thorough the Image Converter3. It says, it is possible to drag and drop the video files but because it is harder to set directory of the files, it is advised to use Image Converter 3.

There are AVC Baseline 768kbps/30fps and AVC Baseline 384kbps/15fps video modes in the Image Converter 3. Even PSP's H.264 is similiar to NW-A800's H.264, PSP's cannot be played because PSP supports "Main Profile" but NW-A800 supports "Baseline Profile." (I don't have very good understanding of video file formats so they are sort of losing me here, sorry . However, you can conver "Main Profile" into "Baseline Profile" through Image Convertor 3, so you can play PSP video files with this conversion.

Also, they say iPod's H.264 and/or Video Podcast seems to be playable through NW-A800 if they do not have DRM on it.

This part is good news: there will be video stores (Japanese ones like P-TV). It seems like amazon's coming video store may substitue in US side (amazon is my personal prediction, they did not mention this one).

When viewing the video, you can 10/30/100X skip or back with very good response without getting stressed

You can enlarge or make it smaller, full mode, off mode which is the file size as is, and Zoom.

If you play the video with Walkman Highquality, the resolution and contrast is good, and they recommend Walkman Highquality especially if you are watching thing with subtitles.

However, the viewing angle is not so great so it is hard to watch with many people.

It seems like not all parts of software fully supports Vista yet.

Music:

Sound quality is good as NW-S700 series or better, especially if you are playing low kbps files with DSEE (difference can be heard).

Music transfer speed is not that great, but normal to slow.

It supports Clear Stereo, Clear bass and DSEE. It Ｓｅｅｍｓ like they can tell difference when DSEE is on and off; when DSEE is on much more high pitch sound details are noticeble.

Overall, the play seems to be very complete and one strong competitor againt Nano. The enhanced sound qualit, video playback and nice headphones seems to be very nice factor and a nice deal for the price.

I would like to note that this is not my review but bits of pieces from following sites:

http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/lifestyle/artic...09/news091.html

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070309/np001.htm

Edited March 10, 2007 by Zizone

[LG1_]

"as for remotes, this is person dependent and majority of users don't use remotes."

It is personal i like to have my walkman in my bag and just have the remote. It means i dont have to take it out and doesnt take additional space.

I like sony because they are inovative, the remote in my opinion seperated it from ipods and the like, s7xx are shapped like a remote so in that sense it wouldnt need one.

But honestly what does this new walkman have that a video ipod, creative zen vision:m or toshiba gigabeat sXX doesnt have.

Nothing so i would like something eg a LCD remote that makes it unique

[Zizone_]

"as for remotes, this is person dependent and majority of users don't use remotes."

It is personal i like to have my walkman in my bag and just have the remote. It means i dont have to take it out and doesnt take additional space.

I like sony because they are inovative, the remote in my opinion seperated it from ipods and the like, s7xx are shapped like a remote so in that sense it wouldnt need one.

But honestly what does this new walkman have that a video ipod, creative zen vision:m or toshiba gigabeat sXX doesnt have.

Nothing so i would like something eg a LCD remote that makes it unique

Well, NW-A800 is a competitor for Nano than Video IPod. So, with similar price as Nano, NW-A800 provides Video playback, much better sound quality and $50+ headphones. As far as I know, no companies provide nice headphones as Sony.

But I have to agree with you that, I was also hoping to have nice slim rod shaped OLED remote.

[ssasha]

you need a reality check, vinyl only sounds better when listening through a turntable. a 320 mp3 copy of vinyl compared to 320 cd-sourced mp3 does not sound better. How do i know? I know a lot of house music djs and they have told me that a digital copy of a vinyl rip comes no where near the cd sourced 320 mp3, as well the beats per minute on vinyl sourced mp3 is not constant and quite difficult to mix with.

320 mp3 is comparable to wav, most people can't tell the difference in blind tests. I don't use atrac, its pointless when I buy all my music in mp3 anways. compression will always exist, sony does not support wavs on their a series unless you convert to atrac lossless but i've compared atrac lossless on my mp3 player to 320 mp3 and there is NO difference.

music dj cant be expert becose materials he use to arrange sounds in room are artifical

house (like style) have no any sounds that we can hear live, like violin voice or acustic drums

and its impossible to say how must sounds sampled guitar or voice, it comes throgh millions effects and it can sound right even in mp3 128 - may be its composer and dj choice )))

but live performance is live sounds: i have a lot studio recordings and even cd 44 compared to 96 its HUGE difference

It's only my point of view that i cant see here hi-fi portable audio with flash or hdd

Edited March 10, 2007 by ssasha

[DSP]

damn....

If this player really has better SQ than my NW-S703 I might have to get one.....

didn´t expect that!

Especially those response times are promising. I mean, an ipod is pretty fast. And this one is even fatser? should be great!

If I judge upon the review, I think this will really be a good player! IF they get their marketing and pricings right......

The only thing I think ppl are going to complain about is the variety of software that has to be used. Ipod offers an all-in-one solution with itunes, so does creative an the zune too I think...

I still think NW-S70x looks better, But as said, I haven´t seen NW-A80X in real life so maybe it´s pretty neath after all. I must say that the backside of my NW-A1200 felt a bit plasticy to me. But I guess it was metal ´cause it responded to temperatre changes quickly.

overal it looks like a very good player.. especially that SQ has got me wondering......( I hope that they finally did something about the SNR. 84Db on NW-A1200 was just too low )

Can´t wait to see/hear one in real life!!!

greetz

Edited March 10, 2007 by DSP

[aznbro85]

"as for remotes, this is person dependent and majority of users don't use remotes."

It is personal i like to have my walkman in my bag and just have the remote. It means i dont have to take it out and doesnt take additional space.

I like sony because they are inovative, the remote in my opinion seperated it from ipods and the like, s7xx are shapped like a remote so in that sense it wouldnt need one.

But honestly what does this new walkman have that a video ipod, creative zen vision:m or toshiba gigabeat sXX doesnt have.

Nothing so i would like something eg a LCD remote that makes it unique

I don't get the double standard here.. the S7xx series is 'okay' because it's shaped like a remote, but because the A800 series doesn't, and it doesn't have a remote, that's 'bad'? For my NW-S705F, I have it in my pocket. When I want to get to a particular song, I still have to take it out to look at to switch it to the song. It's not like you can [natively] clip it onto a shirt opening or a coat and just change tracks like that. You still need to bust out the player and change to desired song.

Anyway, since it *is* a 'video capable' walkman, one would think that you'd be wanting to look at the screen anyway

And I think a lot of you are forgetting about sony trying to unify all their connectors into one proprietary one (like how all the iPods (minus the shuffle) have the same connectors..)

the WM-Port, first introduced in the NW-S7xx series, is the same one that is in the NW-A800.

With this standardized connector, I'm sure you are able to use the many new accessories that Sony has made for the WM-Port

To give your unit bluetooth functionality... there's the WLA-NWB1

A bluetooth headphone set... the DR-BT30Q/S

The headphones has buttons on it to control playback, so in essance, that can be your 'remote' while your players out of sight..

And there's also the WMC-NWR1 for line-in recording..

It's still early in the game (for the WM-Port, i guess i'm referring to), and I think/hope they'll have new innovations and a greater selection of accessories to accompany their players..

[Bueller]

Volume cap in Europe is a LAW. I don't think Sony is going to break the law.

It probably is capped but to me it sounds louder and better than my uncapped HD5 and A1200.

The capping system has changed now after the release of the NWS700, to which they changed the volume limiting settings from previous generalised european models.

It was capped due tyo legislation in france (obviously to protect hearing!) and then put sony Mp3 players at a diadvantage just because they use the euro model which has to be french law obiding.

So with the nws 700 they actually had an option to turn it on or off on the UK model, but i cant remember what the rest fo europe did, wither it was one model made for the uk or one model made ot fit french law and everyone else got louder sound!!!

I'll get back to you...

Cheers

Bue

[jonny mac]

There's capping & there's capping. Some MD units have been capped as low as 1.2mW, some at 4.5. Some have even been falsely advertised as being 5mW when they're not. There's no predicting how severely Euro-capped a model is. For this reason I would NEVER buy a Sony unit until I was sure it either had sufficient volume already or could be hacked. I have been re-assured that the 70X series are fine & I hope to pick one up at some point in the future (prices are still dropping).

[markey]

The capping system has changed now after the release of the NWS700, to which they changed the volume limiting settings from previous generalised european models.

It was capped due tyo legislation in france (obviously to protect hearing!) and then put sony Mp3 players at a diadvantage just because they use the euro model which has to be french law obiding.

So with the nws 700 they actually had an option to turn it on or off on the UK model, but i cant remember what the rest fo europe did, wither it was one model made for the uk or one model made ot fit french law and everyone else got louder sound!!!

I'll get back to you...

Cheers

Bue

Cheers Bueller, that explains a lot. My NW-S706 is twice as loud as my NW-E407.

[Bueller]

Cheers Bueller, that explains a lot. My NW-S706 is twice as loud as my NW-E407.

No worries

*I do have inside info* So any questions welcome

[ceres]

No worries

*I do have inside info* So any questions welcome

Are you saying that there is a menu entry other than alvs that lets you disengage the cap?

I have bought my 706 in Japan, so it´s not an issue right now. Should my unit however fail, I´d be curious to know.

BTW, Samsung T9 outputs 12.2 mw@27 ohms, S706 4,8 mw.

However my listening tests did not reveal any difference in max voulme or bass performance. Both were able to drive my supplied phones to ear splitting levels. So it appears that we non French Europeans are not getting hammered any longer. At least as long as we don´t buy iPods.

[LG1_]

We dont know how many of the accesories will work witht the a800 on the sony site it says the line in doesnt work with the a800.

Plus why should i pay an extra $200 for bluetooth and remote earphones for soething similar i had before

[Bueller]

Are you saying that there is a menu entry other than alvs that lets you disengage the cap?

I have bought my 706 in Japan, so it´s not an issue right now. Should my unit however fail, I´d be curious to know.

BTW, Samsung T9 outputs 12.2 mw@27 ohms, S706 4,8 mw.

However my listening tests did not reveal any difference in max voulme or bass performance. Both were able to drive my supplied phones to ear splitting levels. So it appears that we non French Europeans are not getting hammered any longer. At least as long as we don´t buy iPods.

Sorry, but infact I am actually referring to the AVLS, which can be switched on or off.

You seem to have the right idea when comparing to the Samsung there, as there is plenty volume in the NW-S700 and any more seriously does start to make you think it could cause damage?

When you are looking at the technology in the 700 series, it doesnt need to be loud to be better. It has superior sound quality due to the clear audio and the noise cancelling technology.

*EDIT*

Back ontopic, you gotta love the drag and drop feature for videos, this should avoid any previous mishaps with certain software

*end EDIT*

Bueller

Edited March 10, 2007 by Bueller

[Shinji Ikeda]

We dont know how many of the accesories will work witht the a800 on the sony site it says the line in doesnt work with the a800.

Plus why should i pay an extra $200 for bluetooth and remote earphones for soething similar i had before

This statement is incorrect. The NW-A800 has a NW-Port and thus supports some of the same accessories as the the NW-S700/S600 series. The stand should be different because of NW-A800 shape, but this should not cost anywhere close to $200. The information on the Sonystyle does not include the NW-A800, because it is not on sale yet. All the literature and Sony site does state that the accessories does work with the Bluetooth systems. So rest assured that you will not have to buy something you already own.

[aznbro85]

This statement is incorrect. The NW-A800 has a NW-Port and thus supports some of the same accessories as the the NW-S700/S600 series. The stand should be different because of NW-A800 shape, but this should not cost anywhere close to $200. The information on the Sonystyle does not include the NW-A800, because it is not on sale yet. All the literature and Sony site does state that the accessories does work with the Bluetooth systems. So rest assured that you will not have to buy something you already own.

Hey Shinji Ikeda,

Thanks for the heads up. I think you misintrepreted LG1's comments. They seemed really upset that Sony decided not to put one of the old line-out connectors with the remote port into the player, and how their old accessories will not work with the new A800 series player.

LG1, I can't see where you are located, but I'm guessing you're not from the United States, correct? In the USA, the HD1/HD3/HD5/A1200 did come with the line-out jacks with the remote connector, but you were never able to purchase the optional remotes from anywhere, unless you decided to get it overseas or through a venue like ebay. It was only recently (a few months ago i think) that Sony USA brought the RMN-WS1 over to here.

The only thing here in the States that did have remotes were the MD players, and some of the high-end CD players. None of the HD based or Flash based players have a remote port (except for the VAIO Pocket 40GB player). So I guess for us in the US didn't notice it as much..

I do have the MZ-N1 and MZ-N10, both of which have remotes, and I've tried both remotes on my A1200 and my two A3000s, and to me, I think the remotes have very limited functionality... and that new one that was made especially for the NW-A1000/NW-A3000 series (shown above) has even less (no LCD screen, etc)...

I do also own the S705F and have the recording cable, and I find it to be really nice. I still have yet to get the Bluetooth adaptor or the Bluetooth headphones that I posted up in my previous post. They don't have them at the SonyStyle store in San Francisco, so I'm waiting for SonyStyle.com to have one of their free shipping days to get it...

And anyway, holding the player and admiring it's beauty aint all bad either..

[Zizone_]

I do also own the S705F and have the recording cable, and I find it to be really nice. I still have yet to get the Bluetooth adaptor or the Bluetooth headphones that I posted up in my previous post. They don't have them at the SonyStyle store in San Francisco, so I'm waiting for SonyStyle.com to have one of their free shipping days to get it...

And anyway, holding the player and admiring it's beauty aint all bad either..

It is nice that Sony USA is now selling Bluetooth adapter. Anyway, I happen to be in US at this moment and when are they going to sell this charger so I don't always have to charge through computer (which they are selling in Japan)? Anyone knows?

[aznbro85]

It is nice that Sony USA is now selling Bluetooth adapter. Anyway, I happen to be in US at this moment and when are they going to sell this charger so I don't always have to charge through computer (which they are selling in Japan)? Anyone knows?

Hey Zizone,

Were you referring to the AC-NWUM50 (the one posted up on Atraclife Blog a little while back)?

I don't think that they are selling this one here (at least not yet).

I do have the AC-U50A.

As you can see, it's not as good looking as the AC-NWUM50, but it gets the job done. The only thing is that you need to take your USB/WM-Port cable with you, or find a spare one that you can take around with you. Then you don't have to charge the player through the computer.

[Zizone_]

Hey Zizone,

Were you referring to the AC-NWUM50 (the one posted up on

I don't think that they are selling this one here (at least not yet).

I do have the

As you can see, it's not as good looking as the AC-NWUM50, but it gets the job done. The only thing is that you need to take your USB/WM-Port cable with you, or find a spare one that you can take around with you. Then you don't have to charge the player through the computer.

Hi aznbro85,

Yeah I was referring to AC-NWUM50. I read that they will eventually release in other regions.

Anyway, thanks.

[LG1_]

This statement is incorrect. The NW-A800 has a NW-Port and thus supports some of the same accessories as the the NW-S700/S600 series. The stand should be different because of NW-A800 shape, but this should not cost anywhere close to $200. The information on the Sonystyle does not include the NW-A800, because it is not on sale yet. All the literature and Sony site does state that the accessories does work with the Bluetooth systems. So rest assured that you will not have to buy something you already own.

I am located in Melbourne, Australia. I went to the Sony UK site they had a picture of the A800 and the s700 but the line in only worked with the s700.

I had a minidisk before my hd5 which came with a remote with a blacklight was really handy so i could see the tracks at night. Australian prices are more dear then US prices.

A800 doesnt include AC adapter which for me is a must

Bluetooth Adapter + Bluetooth Headphones which will surely cost $200 are needed if i want any type of remote function.

And i would like a dock.

PS: My remote from my minidisk displayed the track, was able to shuffle and repeat, voulume, time remaining and playback features that is all i need from a remote.

I dont mean to carry on, but i just want to clear up statements made in the past.

PS: Does any one know of any A2DP and AVRP(think thats what it is) remotes that have a screen and would work with two devices eg. phone and mp3

[Shinji Ikeda]

Hey Shinji Ikeda,

Thanks for the heads up. I think you misinterpreted LG1's comments. They seemed really upset that Sony decided not to put one of the old line-out connectors with the remote port into the player, and how their old accessories will not work with the new A800 series player.

Thanks. I understand. It seems that Sony only used the NW-A1000/A3000 series for inspiration for the design for the NW-A800 series. Looking at a photo of the A1000 it has a remote jack at the top of the unit for a wired remote. Having a wireless remote would be cool, and hopefully Sony could implement this using the NW-Port.

One can only hope that Sony comes out with a remote like the VGA-BRM1D. Yes, it is frustrating purchasing something and then having to go out and buy something similar. Not, having owned either the NW-A1000/A3000 series DAP I can still understand the frustration.

Looking at a model of the NW-A800, makes me wish that Sony had released it early. Comparing it to the iPod-mini this is the unit I would have bought (and most likely will buy). I feel that the iPod-mini is too artsy and minimalist for my tastes. Both are very small units, and the controls make my hand seem too big.

I will look at the NW-A808 on the 21th of March. I would prefer to use it for a while before purchasing. The only problem is that I fear that some sales person will try and push the iPod on me. If I really like how it works and feels I will purchase it then.

[Bueller]

The only problem is that I fear that some sales person will try and push the iPod on me. If I really like how it works and feels I will purchase it then.

Thats my single worst gripe of all, its an easy sell for sales people. bearing in mind some people dont know what an mp3 is and just ask for stores range of ipods, when they mean the mp3 range..... *sigh*

Bueller

[Shinji Ikeda]

I will look at the NW-A808 on the 21th of March. I would prefer to use it for a while before purchasing. The only problem is that I fear that some sales person will try and push the iPod on me. If I really like how it (NW-A808) works and feels I will purchase it then.

I just need to clarify that "how it works" refers to the NW-A808.

It is strange just look at an iPod would cause a sales person to swoop down on you, but you need to scream for help for them to help you with another brand. That is more of an exaggeration, but how I honestly feel.

Thats my single worst gripe of all, its an easy sell for sales people. bearing in mind some people dont know what an mp3 is and just ask for stores range of ipods, when they mean the mp3 range..... *sigh*

Bueller

I will give Apple credit for doing excellent marketing of the iPod brand of player. Unfortunately, I think that they did to good of a job.

[pata2001]

-cannot play movies made for PSP, but u can encode them to play on A800

-movies made for Ipod can be played on A800

LOL Movies encoded for PSP cannot be played? I dunno, but videos encoded for PSP are playable on 5G iPods, so it doesn't make sense, unless Sony is doing somekind of restriction again.

[Shinji Ikeda]

LOL Movies encoded for PSP cannot be played? I dunno, but videos encoded for PSP are playable on 5G iPods, so it doesn't make sense, unless Sony is doing somekind of restriction again.

Sony has decided to use the Codec for MPEG4 for H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Baseline Profile instead of H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile for the NW-A800. The PSP uses H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile. Sony will provide a program when you purchase a NW-A800 called Image Coverter 3 to change movies to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Baseline Profile. I do not know the technical advantages for this. The 5th generation iPods can play Baseline Profile.

[navsimpson]

Hmm... Videos formatted for the iPod (like the ones at cnnetv.com) do not play on the PSP. Does this mean that Sony is using this format to be more inclusive? Most video podcasts are done in the iPod compatible format. That certainly seems like another step in the right direction eh?

Does anyone know which format psp.connect.com uses?

-Nav

[Bueller]

I now have a copy of the UK T3 gadget mag and they are raving about the nwa800 and especially the clarity of video, screen size, and battery!! wooo

[Ascariss]

so does anyone know what the outside is made out of? metal or plastic?

[Bueller]

as far as i remember its metal

[mbslrm]

I can definitely see my self buying one in the near future, once the price drops a bit.

However, a lot of my friends are planning on picking one up as soon as it launches.

[Ascariss]

as far as i remember its metal

thank you.

[Bueller]

thank you.

However, I am going down to Sony in the morning so I will double check.

[jso42]

Hi all

I'm new around here. I think it's about time I upgraded my minidisc and I've been thinking about it for ages and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be going for the 8Gb NWA808 at some point in the next few weeks. I was going to for for the NWS700 but I've decided to go for the big screen option! I'm way behind everyone here (in fact I've only recently bought a home PC). I have a few questions though, which hopefully someone will have the answers to:

Is SonicStage a lot better these days than the early versions? Is it going to be OK when I upgrade to Vista?

Some friends think I'm crazy going for something with relatively low memory (compared to ipod) at such a high price. But I'm hoping that superior audio quality, fantastic GUI and amazing battery life will prove my decision to be the correct one? Any thoughts?

What's the best coding to use? I'm used to ATRAC on my minidisc.

I'm wondering if a basic case is supplied with the unit. A white leather one is featured on the Sony site or a silicone version. I'd like a black leather one if Sony are going to make them?!

And finally... Does anyone have the official release date in the UK. I called Sony and they were a bit vague.

Well if I go for it maybe I'll post a mini review. Might be interesting considering I'm such a novice.

Best wishes to you all.

J

[Shinji Ikeda]

Hi all

I'm new around here. I think it's about time I upgraded my minidisc and I've been thinking about it for ages and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be going for the 8Gb NWA808 at some point in the next few weeks. I was going to for for the NWS700 but I've decided to go for the big screen option! I'm way behind everyone here (in fact I've only recently bought a home PC).

...

Best wishes to you all.

J

Welcome aboard jso42,

From what I understand SonicStage has improved much over the past couple of years. It has less restrictions that previous versions. I currently like how it works, except that it does not use Unicode. What makes this strange is that it seems that Sony's DAP support Unicode. The current version is 4.3 and comes pre-installed only some models of Sony's computers/laptops. There is also a upgrade version that you can download from the internet.

I don't know the differences between the various codec that the NW-A800 in terms of quality. The battery life of the NW-A800 is very good, but the 30 hours playback time for ATRAC 132kps. 50 plus hours would be better.

The NW-A800 price is comparable to the iPod-nano. The 8GB iPod-nano is the same price as the 30GB iPod in Canada, America and Japan. So the capacity issue is actually mute. Flash players max-out at 8GB, thus if you need more capacity you should consider a HD player instead. I was able to hold a model of the NW-A800 and it is very small, and indistinguishable from the iPod-nano. The specification for some of the features for the NW-A800 is higher that both the iPod-nano and iPod. Thus Sony believes that it is justified to charge more (which I see as reasonable).

I do not think that any case is included with the standard model, but you can purchase a bundle that includes a matching　leather case and strap.

With GUI/UI the choice of what you consider is superior is your decision.

I will be looking at them next week, and most likely purchase one. I currently own a NW-S700 which I purchased last year. So I will be able to let you know the difference between the two models. Unfortunately, I still have not purchased a new Minidisc recorder.

[Bueller]

it depends what you want from a player, mp4/video playback? get the NW-A800.

nest sound quality? get the NW-S700 series.

easy as that, both have phenomenal battery and both more than the equivalent Apple alternative.

oh and to support previous comments the NW-A800 series IS METAL

[LuLu]

I am considering it, but why on earth did they hav to remove the REMOTE jack.

WHY SONY WHY!!!!

It was my fav part.

I know. I liked the remote as well (from my MD player days).

I think it might have something to do with Bluetooth. The Bluetooth earphones (DRBT10CX) I have allow you to remotely control the volume on the NW A800. The headpones (DRBT50) allow you to control the volume, move to different folders and fastforward/rewind. No need for the remote.

LOG

[LuLu]

I do have the AC-U50A.

As you can see, it's not as good looking as the AC-NWUM50, but it gets the job done. The only thing is that you need to take your USB/WM-Port cable with you, or find a spare one that you can take around with you. Then you don't have to charge the player through the computer.

Has anyone noticed that the AC-U50A is 500mA whereas the AC-NWUM50 is 800mA? Does this matter? They both connect via USB so they should charge any device with this type of connection, right?

LOG

[LG1_]

If i get it i might have to get the bluetooth but will cost an extra $200

[Richard]

Has anyone noticed that the AC-U50A is 500mA whereas the AC-NWUM50 is 800mA? Does this matter? They both connect via USB so they should charge any device with this type of connection, right?

LOG

I picked up an A808 yesterday together with the AC-MWUM50 and can confirm the ac adaptor charges the unit fine via the WM port.