Difference between A, E and S series?

[Mike45450]

I've had an A818 for over a year now, and while it's a fantastic device and still works fine there just isn't enough space, and since there are lots of offers for 16GB players I figured i'd start looking at upgrading. However there are now a bunch of models that are all ever so slightly different that it's hard to tell what exactly is different about them. From what I gather...

-A series has bluetooth/wireless headphones, but no radio and relatively lower battery life

-E series has a longer battery life (46 hours or something?) and it has a radio, but it's made of plastic

-S series has a decent battery life (40-ish) and also has a radio, and it's made of aluminium

Not sure if they're entirely true, but any info shedding some light on this would be greatly appreciated.

Edited December 7, 2008 by Mike45450

[Krash]

You seem to have the right info on what each series is:

You most likely won't want the E series. From what I have read it only comes in 2, 4, and 8 GB versions. And you are right...made of plastic.

The S series and the A series share basically the same specs, just the A series has an internal bluetooth, but no FM radio. Bluetooth jacks up the price of the 16 GB model. They do look different though.

Some of the S series (US availability) have a built in noise canceling technology...not exactly sure about that, but in the US (Sonystyle.com) are only available up to an 8 GB version. However they have released a 16 GB model (the nwz s639) outside of the US. I have actually just ordered one out of the UK. No built in bluetooth, but sony makes an adapter for this if it is necessary. Also has that aluminum case with a molding of plastic that goes around the outside.

I also believe (someone can correct me if I am wrong) that there is no SonicStage compatibility with any of the models with a "z" (NWZ-****) Anything with a NW-**** I think still works with Sonicstage. All of these players are drag and drop via the software which is bundled with the unit or you can use WMP. Kind of unfortunate for me, as there are plenty of gripes about sonicstage (hence sony phasing it out) but I was used to it and got proficient with it...only to change to WMP now.

Edited December 9, 2008 by Krash