Sony NWZ-S540 discounted on Amazon.com

It appears that the S540 is being discounted on Amazon.com with discounts ranging anywhere from $10 to $20.

Does this mean a replacement is around the corner? Perhaps so, IFA is coming up this week and usually Sony has some at least one new model debut each fall. This could mean the new A-Series and/or new S-Series.

Deals after the break.

Sony Japan Introduces new Earphones (MDR-EX77SLA & MDR-EX59Z)

Sony Japan has unveiled two new sets of earphones with an expected release date of September 10th. The models are the MDR-EX59Z and MDR-EX77SLA, which is an update on the MDR-EX77SL released last year. Both models will be offered in black, white, blue, red and pink. Both units feature a 9mm driver with the EX77SLA having slightly better frequency range and sensitivity. In addition the EX77SLA now ships with 4 different bud sizes (SS, S, M, L) and the 90cm extension cable is not included. The MDR-EX59Z earphones feature a new mechanism with the ability to adjust the length of the earphone cord meaning one can lengthen or shorten the cord.

In order to attract new customers to the Walkman line, Sony could easily ship new Walkmans with the EX59Z or even the EX77SLA like was previously done with older models. I understand not shipping the E-Series with premium EX headphones but shipping the S540 with cheap MDR-E805 buds is a sin. Sony could have easily thrown in a pair of EX phones for the S-Series. Perhaps when a new model appears, this will be the case.

More images after the break.

CNET Australia Review of NWZ-A845 (Great but ridiculous price)

Apart from England and New Zealand, Australia is the other English speaking market which carries the new A-Series. One would believe Sony Australia would price the A-Series inline with other places as is the case in England, but just like Sony New Zealand the price of the NWZ-A845 is to say the least ridiculous. The price difference between England and Australia is a staggering AU$140 and when comparing a 16GB iPod Nano, the price difference is even more at AU$150. Therefore I am not surprise why the Editors didn’t recommend this player when the price is out of this world.

Apart from the price, the rest of the Walkman is a hit with great audio performance, OLED screen, noise cancellation and high build quality. The review does suggest a possible reason for the higher price, great set of bundled headphones, OLED screen, noise cancellation and amazing sound, but the premium is not worth it. I would suggest the new S-Series but like its bigger brother, the S-Series is also overpriced in Australia (16GB model AU$369, versus the same model in Canada, at AU$240). I would suggest importing the A-Series if one has a chance.

Video and link to the full review after the break.

CNET Asia Review of NWZ-S744 (8GB)

Last year CNET Asia reviewed the new S-Series, the general opinion is favourable but CNET had some issues with the Walkman.

Pros
• Audio performance
• Noise-cancellation
• External audio input
• Dedicated podcast directory
• TV-Out

Cons
• TV-Out cable sold separately
• Glossy screen (easily scratched)
• No dedicated NC switch

Link to the full review after the break.

New E-Series on Amazon.com (Updated)

The new E-Series has shown up on Amazon.com. Both the 4GB (NWZ-E353) and 8GB (NWZ-E354) are visible on the website. Currently 3 models are in stock, NWZ-E353R (4GB), NWZ-E353B (4GB) and NWZ-E354B (8GB), mostly likely with the rest will become available later this week or early next week. Prices are identical to the Sony Style US prices, $69 and $79. Links after the break.

Sony A-Series prototypes (Updated)

All electronic devices go through a design stage before a final design is selected for production. Apart from the final design, there were 2 more competing designs. The first design was very similar to the current S740 design with the curve above the controls. The second design seems to borrow elements from the E440 Walkmans. Personally I am not that fond of this second design since it looks rather simple and too ordinary where as the first design, with S740 elements, seems to add a higher quality appearance to the Walkman. I can understand why Sony opted for another design in the end as to differentiate the S-Series from the A-Series. Personally I would have liked the S-Series like design to have been chosen rather than the current design.

Two more images after the break.

OLED A-Series Walkman Debuts in India

Sony India has announced a new addition to its Walkman lineup, the new A-Series. Available in 8 and 16GB capacities, and with 3 different colours for the NWZ-A845 (8GB) and black for the NWZ-A846 (16GB), with pricing set at 8990 Rs (150 Euros) and 11990 Rs (200 Euros) respectively. The new Walkman is already up on the Sony India website but there is no mention when it will be available for purchase. With a release in India, perhaps North America might be next?

Break release after the break.

Sony A-Series Disassembled (NWZ-A845)

After discovering disassembly photos of the S-Series I assumed someone, somewhere had to disassemble a new A-Series. To my surprise, after finding the disassembly of the S-Series, I found a website that disassembled the A-Series, specifically the NWZ-A845. To my surprise it appears that the A-Series uses the exact same chip that the S-Series uses, the NEC MC-10118A (EMMA Mobile1-D512). Like in the S-Series, the A-Series CPU and DSP also run at 500Mhz, so it appears Sony has decided to use the same chipset for their new line of MP3 players to minimize costs. Disassembly photos and remaining information after the break.

Sony S-Series Disassembled (NW-S745)

I stumbled onto a blog that disassembled a Sony S745 back in March of this year. The website used a Japanese S-Series, NW-S745, but there shouldn’t be any difference in hardware between the NW-S745 and NWZ-S745. The blog states that the CPU is the NEC MC-10118A (EMMA Mobile1-D512). According the Renesas website which manufactures the chip, both the CPU and DSP run at 500Mhz. More information and photos after the break.

Images courtesy of Here

Deal on Sony NWZ-A845

Advanced MP3 Players currently has the new A-Series, 16GB on sale at a £131 pound, ~$200US or 159 Euros. In comparison, Sony UK and Sony Germany is selling the same model for £149/179 Euros and neither of these site ship internationally, where as Advanced MP3 Players does ship internationally. The deal is valid for only 5 days now, so hit the link after the break.

Sony Europe selling both NWZ-E350 and NWZ-E450 models

I was browsing the Polish Sony website and to my surprise I noticed that both the E350 and E450 are being sold in Poland. While the NWZ-350 only comes in 4GB and black. Furthermore the same situation is present on the French Sony website, NWZ-E353, E354 and NWZ-E454 available for purchase. Similar situation on the Czech Sony site.

Just like its North American counterpart, the NWZ-E350 also comes equipped with a USB-port rather than a WM-port which means it will not work with any WM-port equipped products. Therefore if you are from Poland and wish to buy a new E-Series and have any WM-port equipped products, opt for the NWZ-E450. Rest of the story after the break

NWZ-E350 available for purchase on Sony Style USA

While browsing the Sony Style US site for pricing comparisons with the Canadian site, I discovered that the new E-Series is available for ordering on the Sony Style US site. Both the 4 and 8GB models are now available for ordering on the site at $69 and $79 respectably. Link after the break.

New E-Series quietly debuts on SonyStyle.ca

Quietly debuting new Walkmans seems to be the desired method of Sony Canada. As with the NWZ-S745, the new E-Series just appeared on the Sony Style Canada website with no press release to even announce it. Rest of the details after the break.

Pocket-lint’s hands on with NWZ-E450

Pocket-lint had some time with the new E-Series at a Sony Event in the UK. Sony says the E-Series is meant to appeal to a younger consumer with a price to match. The new E-Series is slated to go on sale in early to mid September in 4, 8 and 16GB capacities. Link to article and photo gallery after the break.

Interview with X-Series Designers

This is an older interview which was posted on some sites, but I don’t recall seeing it on Engadget or Gizmodo so I am reposting it, it was originally from May 2009.

Uncompromising approach to the basics

The new flagship WALKMAN is finally here, the Sony X-Series. Portable media players are all about listening, watching, and the supporting controls—essential elements that the X series designers approached with great care. Discerning WALKMAN fans will find this gem worth the wait.

Full interview after the break.

1 Year of The Walkman Blog

It was exactly one year ago that I opened The Walkman Blog. When I created the blog, I was not sure I would be able to keep it updated as often as I wanted due to the lack of Walkman news each month. But somehow I managed to have at least one post each month even though that post could have been nothing important. It has been a slow start and since that start I may only have received 5200 visitors and just over 10,000 page views, and even though this is not huge number, I am still proud of what I achieved since people have a wide variety of blogs to visit. More after the break.

IFA 2010 Preview

Well another year has passed and September is almost here, which means back to school sales and of course the annual Internationale Funkausstellung or the world’s largest consumer electronics show. While last year’s IFA was more or less a bunk for Walkman, perhaps this year Sony will unveil something new? The last time Sony announced anything at IFA with regards to the Walkman was back in 2008 when they unveiled the S73x, the E43x and the B13x. So is there hope for a new Walkman at IFA this year? Well some websites are discounting the current S-Series this could signal a new model is coming. Rest of the story after the break.

Sony NWZ-A84x Service Manual

A member at AnythingbutIpod, blackburner, has generously posted a link to the service manual for the A-Series. Unfortunately there is nothing in the manual to suggest the volume cap can be removed or adjusted. Link after the break.

New Princeton Alarm Clock Radio Speaker Dock

It was back in September of 2008 when Sony started the “Designed for Walkman” program in order to increase the number of accessories for the Walkman brand, but unfortunately manufacturers in Europe and North America have not caught onto this program. The only place where this applies seems to be Japan, where there are many accessories from third party vendors for the Walkman.

Last month Princeton was the latest to introduce a new “Designed for Walkman” accessory, a dedicated FM alarm clock radio with speakers.

Additional photos and rest of the information after the break.

X-Series Silicone Case

The silicone case for my X-Series came in today and like all Sony silicone case, it sure does bulk up the player a bit. Nonetheless, the case improves the grip on the player many times over and should protect it from scratches. I have yet to stick on the screen protector but probably will do so soon. The bottom of the case has a loop to hang the walkman from a lanyard but I don’t think anyone would use this feature since the X-Series has some weight to it and hanging it from your neck would be uncomfortable. More photos after the break.

Hands on video with new E-Series

Engadget recently got a sneak peek at the new E-Series at and an event and got to check out the new karaoke function. I’ll admit the feature is fascinating but somehow I don’t see it catching on. More likely the lyrics function is the better feature here.

 Link to Photos

NWZ-E450 debuts in Asia Pacific

I somehow missed this but it appears that Sony Asia Pacific will also include the new E-Series in its lineup. The player seems to be identical to the European model except with regards to colour options. Asia Pacific adds a gold colour and loses the green colour. Capacities will include 4, 8 and 16GB, with sales to start in select countries in October 2010.

Press release after the break.

New NWZ-E350 debuts

Well this is a surprise, looks like the new E-Series is being released in the US as well, and it appears the same strategy is being used as with the older E-Series. The US E-Series is the NWZ-E35x and the European model is the NWZ-E45x. I am not sure what the exact difference in the new model is but apparently there is one different icon on the US version which is not on the European version, and it appears this icon is the playlist icon which means the recording features of the European E-Series have been removed.

According to the US SonyStyle website, it appears the E35x will have a USB-port rather than a WM-port.

Press release after the break.

Pricing for 64GB A-series revealed

Pricing for the 64 GB A-Series has been discovered and it comes in at a staggering 330 euros or around 440 US.

Such a price is madness but was easily expected from Sony. Perhaps once the 8GB and 32GB models go on sale at more retailers and online, perhaps the price will slowly drop.