New Walkmans (NWZ Series)

[LG1_]

Rumors are abound of new walkmans coming out and here is something to back it up, maybe its only for the asian countries but i sure hope it comes my way.

USB and FM radio seems like a dream, now if it has a normal ac adapter and maybe even a remote jack then this is the next device for me.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/28/sony-pr...es-of-walkmans/

------------

A bit more rumor mongering for ya. The NWZ-A series will launch in 2, 4, and 8GB models in black, white, silver, and pink (8GB is black-only). The NWZ-S series includes an FM tuner. Both support USB Mass Storage with an announcement as early as Friday and will offer 18 hours of video / 33 hours

[davidallan]

Huh? You can drag and drop via wmp11's sync facility? How? I can see the option to sync when it's plugged in, but the option to 'view' or 'play' tracks after the sync is not available. Have you got some kind of superior 808 to me??

Bought 2 days ago WMP11 sees it as 'WALKMAN Sony' and gives me free space on disk and i can drag and drop music files. If I sync all the sample files are shown as error but files that i drag across by wmp are ok. didn't think anything strange about it until i read your posts. Also works with my HiMD minidisk.

Allan

Edited August 29, 2007 by davidallan

[navsimpson]

This might sound stupid, but have you actually seen/listened to those tracks on the device?

-Nav

[pomj]

I tested it on my walkman. It puts the song's on the player in a separate music folder thus the songs aren't recognised/seen by the player.

[juli_]

I tested it on my walkman. It puts the song's on the player in a separate music folder thus the songs aren't recognised/seen by the player.

So you can transfer them - but not listen to them? That's kind of a relief as I thought there was some secret method of transferring!

David - you can actually 'see' the songs on your player?

[RobA]

Nice to see new walkmans, but will these ones come to the US?

[markey]

Nice to see new walkmans, but will these ones come to the US?

These have been advertised on the SonyStyle USA site, so yes these are for you guys

[ppau0822]

this came as a nice suprise. i was kinda disapointed when sony first announced the bt-100, but im glad they have their flag ship model on the ss free ship. but i probably wont get it just for the reason that it doesnt have ss. i was hoping they could have some extra features like an fm tuner. but then again if the a810 series doesnt have anything extra then the a800 series probably can also be freed of ss by maybe a firmware update.

but ive alreasy filled my a808 i hope they release 16 gb version or better yet a hard drive version.

[navsimpson]

I think the other new series - the s6x - will have an FM tuner. No-one's heard anything about that yet though.

-Nav

[LG1_]

Only the players that end with F will have an FM tuner eg (NWZ -S615F)

Like the one in this photo

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1167/125307...0feec74.jpg?v=0

Edited August 30, 2007 by LG1

[RobA]

These have been advertised on the SonyStyle USA site, so yes these are for you guys

Very nice.

[Beethovenian]

Now one thing I'd like to know is why Atrac can't be freed of SonicStage. It's just a music file, shouldn't it be possible to release some software that would get rid of its DRM and allow easy transfers? That's the minimum they should do to everybody who bought or ripped a library in their proprietary format. Let faithful clients at least keep using what they've been using. Sony's disregard for older customers (like when they allowed new bitrates in the A series but didn't upgrade the old NW-HD series, and so on) is really upsetting. At least explain why people will have to lose their old files and try to compensate them in some way. Talking about that, does this mean there's no reason for me to keep the Atracs that I backed up for the potential occasion in which I could use them again?

[pata2001]

Huh? You can drag and drop via wmp11's sync facility? How? I can see the option to sync when it's plugged in, but the option to 'view' or 'play' tracks after the sync is not available. Have you got some kind of superior 808 to me??

WMP can sync anything in its library to any UMS compliant devices. Sony Network Walkmen have been UMS compliant so far, but in order to use the music tracks in the player, Sonicstage is still required for transfer.

[ceres]

Here is the deal:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/30/live-fr...es-ifa-keynote/

[pata2001]

Well, US is getting the B100 series too.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...ategoryId=16178

As for the A810s, only up to 8GB.

The B100 seems to be a good value. 2GB for $80. The Zen V-plus is $80 for 2GB too, but some people may prefer the Sony's stick design.

[LG1_]

I am soooo glad i didnt get the NWA-800

I am going to get this instead

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...552921665224916

FM Radio is what i allways wanted

[dyon]

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/30/sonys-n...icial-and-atra/

more pics at the site.

The A810 is the same of the A800 in europe, but with out sonicstage...

The new S series are great !! I love it !

[SimonGrafftey]

I have just received this email from Sony Connect:

"CONNECT Music Service to Phase Out

To Our Valued Sony CONNECT Customers,

Today Sony announced its intent to move to a Windows Media Technology platform for Walkman® products in the United States, Canada and Europe. We strongly believe that the decision to embrace a more open platform will enable us to provide you with a better music enjoyment experience. As a result of this change, we will be phasing out the CONNECT™ Music Service, based on Sony's

ATRAC audio format, in North America and Europe. Specific timing will vary by region depending on market demand, but will not be before March 2008.

All of Sony’s new Walkman music and video devices will be supported by a very wide range of third party services around Europe.

We are fully committed to helping you through this important transition away from a proprietary music service. In the coming weeks and months, we will keep you closely informed of the status of the CONNECT Music Service phase out in your country, and provide you with the best possible guidance on how to successfully transfer your music library to an MP3 or Windows Media-compatible format. Periodic updates will also be posted on the CONNECT music store and on the Sony Europe customer service site, http://support.sony-europe.com

We recommend that you use any outstanding promotional vouchers or account credits prior to March 2008.

Thank you for all your purchases and feedback so far, and for your continued support as we work to complete this transition with as little disruption to you as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Sony CONNECT Europe Team"

I presume this means that Sony will provide some form of conversion software for ATRAC files from a SonicStage database to MP3, WMA, AAC. Hopefully that will include ID tag information and album covers. I have 5,500 ATRAC files and can't face having to use HIMD Renderer and then retag and get album cover pictures for them!

[davidallan]

So you can transfer them - but not listen to them? That's kind of a relief as I thought there was some secret method of transferring!

David - you can actually 'see' the songs on your player?

No your right I had left my minidisk plugged in and WMP was playing back the mindisk transfer. sorry about that, only bought the speakers for my md but the a808 came free so havent played with it too much yet.

Allan

[Superhai]

The WALKMAN® A Series & S Series will be available throughout Europe

from October 2007 onwards and are available to pre-order from 31s t

August at www.sonystyle-europe.com

There are three A Series WALKMAN® Video MP3 player models to choose

from:

Ø NWZ-A818 (8GB) capacity of up to 1850 songs or 30 hours of video files.*** Available

in black, white, pink and violet colours

Ø NWZ-A816 (4GB) capacity of up to 925 songs or 15 hours of video files.*** Available

in Black, White, Pink, Violet & Silver colours

Ø NWZ-A815 (2GB) capacity of up to 440 songs or 7 hours of video files.*** Available

in black and white colours

· Supports Windows Media Player 11 & 10 (WMP11 recommended) and Drag and Drop

· Approximate measurements: H88.0 x W43.8 x D9.1mm (thinnest part 8.3mm)

· Approximate weight: 53g

· Features a 2.0 inch low-temperature poly-silicon TFT colour display with white LEDbacklight

which can be used horizontally & vertically

· Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries with stamina allowing for approximately 33

hours music playback or 8 hours video playback****

· Compatible with popular video formats MPEG-4 & AVC (H.264/AVC) Baseline Profile

· MP3, AAC (non DRM), WMA & WM DRM10 compatible

· JPEG viewer with slideshow mode

· All models supplied with Windows Media Player 11 and ATRAC(Non DRM) to MP3

conversion tool software

There are five S Series WALKMAN® MP3 player models to choose from:

Ø NWZ-S618F (8GB) capacity of up to 1850 songs or 30 hours of video files.***

Available in Black, Silver & Red colours

Ø NWZ-S616F (4GB) capacity of up to 925 songs or 15 hours of video files.*** Available

in Black, Silver & Red colours

Ø NWZ-S615F (2GB) capacity of up to 440 songs or 7 hours of video files.*** Available

in Black, Silver & Red colours

Ø NWZ-S516 (4GB) capacity of up to 925 songs.*** Available in Black, White, Pink &

Blue colours

Ø NWZ-S515 (2GB) capacity of up to 440 songs *** Available in Black, White, Pink &

Blue colours

· Supports Windows Media Player 11 & 10 (WMP11 recommended) and Drag and Drop

· Approximate measurements: H79.5 x W42.0 x D11.5mm

· Approximate weight: 50g

· Features a 1.82-inch TFT colour display with white LED-backlight which can be used

horizontally & vertically

· Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries with stamina allowing for 33 hours music

playback or 9.5 hours video playback****

· Compatible with popular video formats MPEG-4 & AVC (H.264/AVC) Baseline Profile

(NWZ-S618F/NWZ-S616F/NWZ-S615F only)

· MP3, AAC (non DRM), WMA & WM DRM10 compatible

· JPEG viewer with slideshow mode

· FM Tuner available on NWZ-S618F/NWZ-S616F/NWZ-S615F

· All models supplied with Windows Media Player 11 and ATRAC(Non DRM) to MP3

conversion tool software

***Song capacity is based on 4 minutes per song and 128-kbps MP3 encoding; actual

capacity varies by content. Video is based on MPEG-4 384kbps

**** Based on MP3/128kbps, MPEG-4/384kbps

From a sony europe press release

Edited August 30, 2007 by Superhai

[juli_]

I presume this means that Sony will provide some form of conversion software for ATRAC files from a SonicStage database to MP3, WMA, AAC.!

If all existing ATRAC files had to be converted to a different format (having already been converted to ATRAC in the first place) - wouldn't the audio quality be degraded in the process? I've never had to convert twice, so I don't know how much sound quality is lost, but I've always read that converting from a conversion always results in poorer quality. If it was a very noticeable drop, you'd then be stuck with the lesser quality files unless you re-ripped everything all over again, it would just be like 'Groundhog Day'

[thefanboy]

I dont think these stuff will do any wonder for sony's market. Sep 5 next gen ipods will be anounced, and again sony walkman is going to look like one generation behind apple. I feel next gen ipod is nothing but iphone-without-phone, i.e touch screen wifi etc.

I have a slim hope on 3 things,

1. I still believe some thing will come out of "sony changes everything" and there will be some meaning for that "this scene looks so silly" caption below the a8xx-spiderman image.

2. rolly

3.s7xx is missing everywhere, such a solid stuff.

I am sure these daps are not doing any favor to real sony's capability in multimedia.

[navsimpson]

Couple of things to note:

1) The Engadget post said that they will be opening up the PSP's Media Manager software to support the Walkman later this year. That's good, as it'll mean podcast support. I think I'd rather stick to WMP11 though.

2) They support the PS3 for transfer and ripping. That's kinda' cool.

-Nav

[Superhai]

I presume this means that Sony will provide some form of conversion software for ATRAC files from a SonicStage database to MP3, WMA, AAC. Hopefully that will include ID tag information and album covers. I have 5,500 ATRAC files and can't face having to use HIMD Renderer and then retag and get album cover pictures for them!

Yes, it is already available from sonys support web. but only for non-drm files.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-downl...71&os_id=30

Edited August 30, 2007 by Superhai

[idahoski]

Called the local Sony store and they have the new models. What to do! I wish they listed accessories. Is the connector the same as the NWS705F? I like the looks of the NWZE810s, but want the FM of the NWZS610s.

[Guest Stuge]

Called the local Sony store and they have the new models. What to do! I wish they listed accessories. Is the connector the same as the NWS705F? I like the looks of the NWZE810s, but want the FM of the NWZS610s.

I'm quite hopefull that the connector of both NW-705F is same as NWZE810.As connector if NW-S7xx series is same as NW-8xx series .

[ceres]

@idakoshi

I´m sure it will be the same wm port.

Okay, let´s sum it up in the flash department.

Hardwarewise nothing exciting or new. I need to see the F series in person to adequately judge it but obviously Sony has done better in the past.

The S7 is missing but not for long I would venture to say.

The new A8 is probably 100% identical to the model released 4 months ago. With excellent ui, sq, stock buds and buildquality it will remain competitive until xmas especially so

when considering that street price will drop to $199 soon. Apparently there is room for a 16 gig device as multiple competitors are readying such offer.

I am confident Sony will release new hardware just in time for christmas. There is enough headroom for improvements. 16 Gig, Noise Cancelling , Design and so forth.

However, it´s pretty clear that Sony will be in striking distance to have the best system for holiday season. There is only so much you can do with a small flash device and gimmicks like touchscreen

or wifi don´t help. What matters most is mobility, weight, battery and such. The only thing that seems to be worthwhile to add is bluetooth and fm. Now that the main impediment is dealt with (sonic) I am sure we will slowly start to see a more competitive market which is good for us consumers.

Softwarewise it´s definitely a turn for the better as there is a lot of choice now with wmp, winamp, media monkey etc. and possibly linux. Down the line there will be media manager integration and ultimately a very close tie in (for what it´s worth) with Sony Consumer Electronics gear in general. Well, it seems like Sony finally listened to the countless voices out there which is a good sign for the future. I wonder how long the new strategy has been in the making.

Can´t wait on a fw upgrade for my "old" A8

Edited August 30, 2007 by ceres

[GusG]

Do you think the NW-a80x is going to be drag and drop too in a new firmware? Or will sony forget about it and focus in the new model which we'll have to buy if we want that feature? This question puzzles me :S

[juli_]

Do you think the NW-a80x is going to be drag and drop too in a new firmware? Or will sony forget about it and focus in the new model which we'll have to buy if we want that feature? This question puzzles me :S

It puzzles me too. If a firmware upgrade allowed us to use drag and drop on our 808s, that would be great for new tracks as there's no way I want to convert existing ATRAC tracks to other formats because I don't want to degrade the sound quality going from lossy to lossy. I wonder if SS could run alongside the drag and drop, that way I could transfer back and forth from SS when I wanted, while using drag and drop for any future loading. Mind you, I don't know why I'm even concerned about it, I'm sure Sony would have mentioned a firmware upgrade for existing users if there was going to be one, and they haven't.

[lamewing]

Just a comment. According to Sony's site (U.S.) the new NWZ-A818 playsback MP3 and WMA and also SUPPORTS AAC. Sony has said it supports a format before only to convert it beforehand.

How would this work now as there will be no sonicstage? Heck does even really mean that AAC need converstion? I hope someone with more knowledge will help me out on this one...

Joe

[LuLu]

Here's the press release from Sony Canada on the NWZ-A810, NWZ-S610 and NWZ-B100

http://www.sony.ca/sonyca/view/english/cor...8FEA12662.shtml

SONY UNVEILS NEW WALKMAN VIDEO DEVICES

TORONTO, August 30, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATERELEASE

New Models Support an Open Standard

Toronto, ON – August 30, 2007 – Sony today took the wraps off two new Walkman® players that not only support audio but video and photo as well.

The new NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610 series of Walkman digital music players will support an open platform, providing more choices for downloading and managing music and video collections online.

“The new Walkman video players offer great resolution, a bright screen, high-quality sound and a long battery life,” said Gabrielle Holmes, director of marketing, Personal Audio at Sony of Canada. “With a new open platform, we are providing Canadians the choice to use multiple music sources.”

The devices have a standard user interface that makes it easy to enjoy songs, videos or pictures. For crystal-clear image quality, the video players have a large Quarter Video Graphics Array (QVGA) LCD screen that displays video at 30 frames per second. QVGA is a display mode for small screens in which the resolution is 320 pixels vertically by 240 pixels horizontally.

The battery life allows up to eight hours of video playback for the NWZ-A810 series and nine-and-a-half hours for the NWZ-S610 series. The battery also provides up to 33 hours of music playback for both series.

The players support security-enhanced Microsoft Windows Media Audio (WMA), as well as non-secure AAC and MP3 music formats, plus JPEG files for photos, in addition to the AVC (H.264/AVC) Baseline Profile and MPEG-4 video codecs.

Users can download movie trailers, music videos, podcasts and video clips from the Internet and use readily-available shareware to convert the clips for use with the Walkman video players.

Music and Videos in Your Pocket

The top-of-the-line Walkman video players (NWZ-A810 series) have a 2-inch QVGA (320 by 240 pixels) LCD screen (measured diagonally). This series of players come with higher quality Sony earbuds (model MDR-EX082).

Designed with a younger demographic in mind, the NWZ-S610 series has an 1.8-inch QVGA (320 by 240 pixels) LCD screen (measured diagonally) and includes an FM tuner with 30 pre-sets that makes it convenient to listen to radio on the go.

The Walkman video players store up to 1,850 songs on the 8GB models, 925 songs on the 4GB models, and 440 songs on the 2GB models, for songs an average of four minutes in length at 128kbps in the MP3 format.

Digital Music 101

For those who just want music sans video, Sony is also introducing the NWZ-B100 series. The audio players include USB direct connect, a three-line color LCD display and an FM tuner. They feature up to 12 hours of battery life.

With FM recording capability, it is easy to capture and play back radio programs. The NWZ-B100 series also has a voice recorder function with a built-in microphone for taking notes or recording sing-alongs to favorite tunes.

In addition to supporting easy transfer of non-DRM content via drag and drop, this dedicated audio model will also support most subscription services. The players store up to 485 songs on the 2GB player, for songs an average of four minutes in length at 128kbps in the MP3 format.

Sony’s Open Digital Music Environment

All of the new players are compatible with security-enhanced Windows Media Audio and support most subscription music services. The new players are also among the first to carry the Certified for Windows Vista (also known as “PlaysForSure”) logo.

“With this initiative, Sony is debuting an important option for digital media players as it opens new doors for a rich digital experience,” said Dave Wascha, director of Windows Client Product Management at Microsoft Corp. “Consumers will be pleased that the new Walkman products carry the Certified for Windows Vista logo and will take advantage of the new technologies available in this Windows platform. Those who purchase this Walkman player can rest easy knowing that the product has met explicit standards of reliability and quality.”

To help manage digital music libraries, the new Sony Walkmanvideo players come bundled with Microsoft Windows Media Player 11. This familiar interface makes transferring music truly intuitive. Sony offers a range of accessories (sold separately), including a Bluetooth audio transmitter and accessories that allow consumers to wirelessly release their music on the move.

With these new Walkman players, Sony has widened its digital music environment to support Windows Media Technology. This gives customers greater flexibility in their music software approach. As a result, Sony will be phasing out the CONNECT music service based on Sony’s ATRAC audio format in North America and Europe. Specific timing will vary by region depending on market demand, but will not be before March 2008.

Pricing and Availability

The NWZ-S610 series of Walkman music players come in three different capacities and four colors:

* The NWZ-S615F player has a total capacity of 2GB; comes in black; pink; and silver and costs about $140.

* The NWZ-S616F player has a total capacity of 4GB; comes in black; pink; silver and red and costs about $180.

– The red model is exclusive to the Sony store and www.sonystyle.ca

* The NWZ-S618F player has a total capacity of 8GB; comes in black and silver and costs about $250.

The NWZ-A810 series of Walkman music players come in two different capacities and three colours:

* The NWZ-A815 player has a total capacity of 2GB; comes in black and costs about $170.

* The NWZ-A816 player has a total capacity of 4GB; comes in black; silver and pink and costs about $200.

* The NWZ-A810 series will be available exclusively online at www.sonystyle.ca and at Sony stores across Canada later this Fall

The NWZ-B100 series of Walkman music players come in 2GB capacity and three colors: black; white; and violet and costs about $100

The Walkman NWZ-S610 series and NWZ-B100 series will be available in September online at www.sonystyle.ca, and across the country at the Sony store retail stores, and authorized dealers.

About Sony of Canada Ltd.

Established in 1955, Sony of Canada Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, a world leader in the manufacture and marketing of electronic and computer products for consumer, business, electronics publishing and multimedia applications on a global scale. With headquarters in Toronto, sales offices in Vancouver and Montreal and distribution centres in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and Whitby, Ontario, approximately 1,000 employees support 79 Sony stores and a network of more than 500 authorized dealers across Canada. For more information visit www.sony.ca .

Further information is available through www.sony.ca, www.thesonystore.ca, or www.sonystyle.ca.

For more information contact:

Sony of Canada

Tony Smith

Vice President, Marketing Communications

(416) 495-3707

tony_smith@sony.ca

Silverhammer Public Relations

Michelle Cowan Lefler

Counsellor

(416) 324-2024

michelle_lefler@silver-hammer.com

Editor’s Note: For the new Walkman players, video playback time is approximate in MPEG-4 at 384 kbps. Music playback time is approximate in MP3 at 128kbps. Walkman is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation.

[matty84]

don't know if someone has confirmed it yet but Sony Style UK seems to confirm the 'new' 800 series uses the WM port

Edited August 31, 2007 by matty84

[LuLu]

don't know if someone has confirmed it yet but Sony Style UK seems to confirm the 'new' 800 series uses the WM port

According to the specs at the Sony Style Canada site the NWZ-S618 uses the WM Port. The NWZ-B100 is listed as well. Nothing on the NWZ-A810 yet.

NWZ-S618

Music playback function

Supported Audio Formats

MP3 / WAV / WMA / AAC1

Sound Effects

DSEE sound enhancer (On / Off)

Clear Stereo(On(Long cord)/On(Short cord)/Off)

5 Bands Equalizer (Heavy / Pop / Jazz / Unique / Custom 1 / Custom 2) & Clear Bass

VPT virtual acoustic sound engine (Studio / Live / Club / Arena / Matrix / Karaoke)

Dynamic Normalizer (On / Off)

Music Playback Mode

Normal / Repeat / Shuffle / Shuffle&Repeat / Repeat 1 Song / Playback Range Selection (All Range / Selected Range) / Intelligent Shuffle (Time Machine Shuffle / Shuffle All)

Music Searching Methods

All Songs / Album / Artist / Genre /Release Year / Folder / Playlists

Initial Search

Song / Album / Artist

Continuous Playback Time

Up to 33hrs2

FM tuner

Frequency range: 87.5 to 108.0 MHz

Antenna: Headphone cord antenna

Video playback function

Supported Video Format

(Video)

MPEG-4 / AVC (H.264/AVC)3

Frame rate: Up to 30 fps

Resolution: Up to QVGA (320 x 240)

(Audio)

AAC-LC4

Video Playback Mode

Repeat(On/Off)

Continuous Playback(On/Off)

Video screen direction

Vertical / Horizontal (Right) / Horizontal (Left)

Video Recording time

Up to 7hrs 10min.5

Continuous Playback Time

Video: Approx. 9.5hrs6

Photo playback function

Supported Photo Format

JPEG (Baseline) (up to 4000 x 4000 pixels)

Photo Playback Mode

Normal / Slideshow / Slideshow Repeat / Slideshow Interval (Short / Normal / Long)

General

Display

1.82” TFT color display with white LED-backlight, QVGA(240 x 320 Pixels), 262,144 colors

Menu Language

English / French / German / Spanish / Italian / Russian / Japanese / Simplified Chinese / Traditional Chinese / Korean / Portuguese

PC Connection

Hi-Speed USB

WM-PORT (22pin)

Power Source

Built-in Li-ion Rechargeable Battery

Recharging Method & time

Through PC using bundled USB -WM-PORT cable (*Optional AC USB adapter is also compatible)

Approx. 3 hrs for full charge (1.5 hrs for 80% recharge)

Input / Output Terminals

WM-PORT (22Pin)/Headphone: Stereo mini-jack

Maximum Dimensions

Approx. 42.0 x 79.5 x 11.5mm (W x H x D)

Weight

Approx. 50g

Memory Capacity

8GB7

Supplied Accessories

CD-ROM("MP3 Conversion Tool", "Windows Media Player 11", "Operation Guide")

MDR-E804(105cm) Headphones

Quick Start Guide

USB-WM PORT Cable

Attachment

System Requirements

- Windows XP Home Edition (Service Pack 2 or later)

- Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2 or later)

- Windows XP Media Center Edition (Service Pack 2 or later)

- Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 (Service Pack 2 or later)

- Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (Service Pack 2 or later)

- Windows Vista Home Basic

- Windows Vista Home Premium

- Windows Vista Business

- Windows Vista Ultimate

Not supported by 64 bit version OS.

Not supported by OSs other than above

*Excluding OS Versions not supported by Microsoft

Remarks

1. Non- copyright protected file only.

2. When playing MP3 128kbps. The time are approximated when all of the Equalizer and the VPT are set to "None", all of the DSEE, the Clear Stereo, the Dynamic Normalizer and the New Song Pop Up are set to “Off,” and the Type of the Screensaver is set to "Blank".

3. MPEG-4 : Simple Profile, up to 2,500kbps. AVC(H.264/AVC) : Baseline Profile, Level: Up to 1.3, Up to 768kbps

4. AAC-LC : Up to 2 ch, sampling Rate: 24, 32, 44.1, 48kHz, Up to 288kbps / channel

5. Based on visual 384kbps, audio 128kbps.

6. When playing MPEG-4 384kbps. The time is approximated when the brightness of the screen is set to “3”.

7. A portion of the memory is used for data management functions. Actual available memory is approx. 7.56GB (8,127,348,736 bytes)

[Ascariss]

hmm the UK is getting the new A8xx, I just hope sony canada adds it to the site. :/

lol wait, just read the top post. doh

good news that A810 is coming Time to save up

[Rens]

Oh hahahahahahaha, I was going to write earlier that I bet you wouldn't be able to resist it. Anyway, you'll be glad you didn't wait, the 808 is sheer brilliance

I know, I've tested a lot of mp3-players (Iaudio D2 and 7, Iriver Clix 2) and for me the Sony NW-A808 came out as the best option considering SQ, mobility (size) and userinterface as the most important requirements... With such a long time of comparing and testing I'm not going to reconsider my choice And yes indeed the A808 is brilliant Just hope they will release new FW, although I don't have any problems with Sonicstage untill now...

Edited August 31, 2007 by Rens

[lawrenceg_51]

Hi there, pmptoday shows a video from the NWZ-S610 made by generationmp3.com at ifa2007.

NWZ-S610 Video

More pictures from IFA and new Sony-Products at generationmp3

Pricing for Germany regarding sonystyle-europe.com

Video- MP3-Player

NWZ-A815 mit 2 Gigabyte 149,00 Euro, NWZ-A816 mit 4 Gigabyte 199,00 Euro, NWZ-A818 mit 8 Gigabyte 249,00 Euro

NWZ-S618 8 GB 219,00 Euro, NWZ-S616 4 GB 169,00 Euro, NWZ-S615 2 GB 129,00 Euro

...and a Low End Foto MP3-Player, NEW Series S510:

NWZ-S515 mit 2 Gigabyte 99,00 Euro, NWZ-S516 mit 4 Gigabyte 139,00 Euro

Have a nice weekend

Lawrence

[pata2001]

OK, now I'm really excited about these new DAPs!!!!! Guess what Sony used to based the software on.... LINUX! YEAH, OPEN SOURCE! AND you can check the source codes too (although I have no understanding of the content!).

When I tried finding the manuals for the NWZ-A81x series, I stumbled a GPL license at Sony support. I thought WTF? GPL? Then voila, check this list of Sony products that use Linux, and the links to the source code!

http://www.sony.net/Products/Linux/Download/category7.html#5

So yeah, maybe some productive people will be able to do some interesting stuff. Hey, maybe I'll buy one of these just because. Good job Sony, but maybe you should be more upfront about it.

Ishi/kurisu, maybe you guys should put this in the front page. IMO this is a big thing for Sony to post the source codes of their walkmen software.

[riceb0i87]

Hey pata, I went to the source code page you mentioned, very interesting (even though I'm not sure what it is) and I noticed there's a source code for this:

NW-A808,NW-A808/S,NW-A806,NW-A805 update (20070829)

Now, do you think this could mean there might be a firmware update (looking at the date)? Interesting find!

[bainies]

The files just seem to be the source of the linux includes and tools they use to build the firmware rather than the source of the firmware itself, which is a shame, as the source of the firmware would be really interesting

[pata2001]

The files just seem to be the source of the linux includes and tools they use to build the firmware rather than the source of the firmware itself, which is a shame, as the source of the firmware would be really interesting

Ah, I see. Got too excited too soon.

[DSP]

Hi guys,

Well.. it's been a while since my last posts here.

But damn what a changes so suddenly?! Sony closing Connect music store, ditching Sonicstage and the most unbelievable Killing Atrac?!?!

My all-time favourite codec has been murdered!! So what am I gonna do now?!

From now on... I'm gonna have to live in a world without sony defending it's atrac format, and forcing everyone to use (or at least try) it's not-so-good sonicstage.

Sony went ''open''. I now can have a true walkman with treu Drag 'n drop support, support for AAC, WMA, WAV and MP3 but good old Atrac is gone!

I must say, I have to get used to this. But I think that this is THE best step sony could make. Now they only have to let the world know that they've gone ''open''.

Advertise the sh*t out of the new walkmans.

I'm very proud of sony. Good work guys!!!!!

I must say that I have had a couple of changes myself. I've switched from a Windows PC to an Macbook and worst of all, I left my walkman.

Since the Mac doesn't support sonicstage, my walkman(s) is (are) useless. It's a big shame, but that's the way live goes.

I did find a very nive replacement for the NW-A805, wich served me outstandingly througout last year: It's a Cowon D2. Expandable memory with SD(HC) cards, touchscreen, WMA, MP3, Ogg, Flac and APE support. FM radio on it and everything. And the sound is outstanding. It uses BBE technologies in it and I went from a NEC ****** SoC (NW-A80x) to a Telechips TCC7801 wich is a 32-Bit, dual core ARM SoC that runs at 192 Mhz. The D2 also uses a Wolfson Codec: WM 8985. The D2 has a SNR of 95 Db and an output power of 74mW.

So it;s been a time of changes, for sony and for me. I'll still be using my walkman from time to time. And you bet I'm gonna get the new ''open'' walkman as soon as it's coming to the EU.

greetz