(Updated) The Walkman F886 from Sony. For music lovers, by music lovers
Listen to your music in High-Resolution Audio. Share your music with one-touch listening via NFC
- Hear true sound with powerful audio technologies
- Enjoy instant music and easy sharing with one-touch listening via NFC connectivity
- Discover Android apps and games at Google Play™
Hear the difference in High-Resolution
Listening to your tunes on the go doesn’t mean you have to compromise on audio quality. Hear your music just as the artists truly intended, through a combination of Sony’s proprietary sound technology and support for High-Resolution Audio, and experience the power of premium sound. The new Walkman® F886 lets you enjoy High-Resolution Audio, which offers significantly higher sound quality than a CD. In fact, a 192KHz/24bit High-Resolution Audio file contains around six times more audio information than that recorded on a standard CD – so it’s just like being at the studio or concert hall.
More after the break.
UPDATE - Sony.de and Sony.fe have the new F-Series up for pre-order, 329 euros, available end of October. Sony UK has it for pre-order at 249 pounds, no date for availability. Unfortunately for me, nothing on Sony Poland, Sony Czech republic has it but no price or availability.
UPDATE 2 - Screen resolution is WQVGA (854 x 480 Pixels)
Final UPDATE - Good news everyone as Professor Farnsworth would say, the new F-Series has shown up on the Polish Sony website, priced at 1399pln (327 euros) and also available at the end of October.
To further enhance your listening experience, the F886 is packed with unique audio technologies from Sony.
The latest S-Master HX digital amplifier reduces distortion and noise at all frequency ranges – from ground-shaking lows to delicate highs – and is optimised for High-Resolution Audio. *DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) HX technology faithfully restores high-range sound that is lost in the compression process for a pure, natural quality, and upscales compressed audio data to a quality higher than that of CDs. And Clear Audio+ ensures crisp, realistic sound, just as the artist intended. Enjoy your music in ultimate clarity and presence, across the entire spectrum of sound.
Enjoy one-touch listening via NFC
Want to play music from your Walkman® on your Hi-Fi, Home Cinema system, speakers, or headphones? With built-in NFC, all it takes is a single touch to pair and connect your F886 with a range of NFC-enabled devices. And if your devices aren’t NFC-enabled, just pair them using conventional Bluetooth®.
Listen more, play more, do more
Powered by Android™ 4.1, the F886 opens up a world of possibilities. Enjoy pre-installed apps tailored for your Walkman®, from email and games to maps and media gallery. Or connect wirelessly and download more apps from an ever-growing choice at Google Play™.
You can enjoy marathon music sessions too, with up to 35 hours of playback for MP3 tracks and up to 26 hours with High-Resolution Audio (96KHz/24bit). When you’re using headphones, digital Noise Cancelling blocks out around 98% of ambient noise with a choice of modes to suit your environment: Train/Bus, Plane, or Indoor.
Designed for everyday life
Whatever you’re using it for, the F886 is a joy to operate: it has a slim, compact design featuring three side-mounted buttons, meaning you can control the device even when it’s in your pocket, and a large 10.2cm LCD touchscreen. It even boasts a Triluminos display for mobile, which produces incredibly vivid, lifelike colours – perfect for videos, photos, and games.
Btw there seems to be no information on the release date or price of the new F-Series. Stay tuned. Also as seen below, physical controls :D
NWZ-F886 Walkman® - Specifications
・32GB media player with 10.2cm LCD touchscreen (4 inch)
・Hi-Resolution Audio playback
WAV(192KHz/24bit), AIFF(192KHz/24bit), FLAC(192KHz/24bit), Apple lossless(192KHz/24bit)
・S-Master HX digital amplifier
・DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine)
・ClearAudio+
・Digital Noise cancelling
・One-touch listening via NFC and Bluetooth® connectivity
・Up to 35 hours playback with MP3
・Up to 26 hours playback with Hi-Res audio (96kHz/24bit)
・Android PF Ver4.1
・Powered by Android: access apps at Google Play™
・Triluminos™ display for mobile
・Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n)
・Bluetooth®(A2DP/AVRCP/OPP/HID)
・Compatible with Windows OS and Mac OS
I was as excited for the Z1 as for the new Walkman since I read Sony's clue last friday :D
ReplyDeleteAnd this is the only place where I could read about it. Thank you very much.
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ReplyDeleteCurious, this sounds like a great product yet I have not seen any announcement or news anywhere aside from this site.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the resolution on the screen? Can you give me to a link that gives more information?
ReplyDeletebuyng audio player to watch films ppl you are crazy
DeleteOhh not another android walkman , I was expecting something better. Check out the new Sony Cybershot QX lens, it has its own sensor same as rx100mk2, battery, wifi etc and can be controlled via any android or iphone and even attached.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same idea I shared in the post Ascariss did about Sony ditching walkman and sticking to W series only. And I shared an idea why not Sony make a series of high end or mid range W series walkmans having all the enhancing technologies, with high memory too and use it as a phone handset too while importantly we can scroll through the walkman song contents via any android phone or an iphone with its own dedicated walkman app, even have the equalizers accessible with the walkman app. Hehe if Sony copied that idea for its QX series Cybershot lens lol I don't mind. Just get that dream walkman alive to buy. After all Sony u did say to dream and believe. :-)
well time to sell my f805
ReplyDeletei hope it doesn't have that wm port again and just use normal micro USB, USB 3.0 better
I will try to find out more info about the screen from Sony, but at this moment it seems no new F series for the US or canada, at least there are no press releases on the sites. There is no info on the normal sony US or Canada sites either unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI have updated the post with pricing and availability. It seems not to be available for poland yet, so not sure if I will pick it up yet or just go for the Z1 and wait for the price to drop of the new walkman.
well, xperia z1 don't have s-master chip, DSEE, and ClearPhase hadphone mode from old f series although it have clear audio+ and i think you should buy US version or Asia version of new F series, better Japanese version because they don't have stupid EU volume cap
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DeleteI will see what the price will be of importing a f series from Japan, I wanted to replace my X-series and this new F series seems to do the trick, if Sony Poland doesn't release it, I will either import or get it from the UK or germany.
DeleteAs for the Z1, I need a new cellphone anyways, since my samsung S2 is already slow and will not be receiving any more updates firmware wise.
I already have XPERIA Z, was planning to upgrade to Z1 but it turned out it wont have a dedicated S-Master audio chip, so ill skip it, dont really care about the camera, maybe the 2014 Q1 Flagship will be more rounded when it comes to audio and image.
DeleteImporting the F from Europe is a big No No due to the volume cap thing, japan is the best place to import through Amazon.com
This is great news :). During the Sony Conference they did show what appeared to be two new walkmans right before they unveiled the Z1. The one you posted here and one that appeared to be slightly bigger with a aluminum frame
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxoVg5bJ_50
ReplyDeleteStop the video at around 1:04 and you can see the new walkmans in the background. It looks like there is two of them. One that is entry level and one that is more premium. Unless its just the same device but in two different colors. Black and White :-?
Thanks for the link, updated previous post with the image of the 2 walkmans.
DeleteThats interesting! Maybe the one on the left is a new Walkman Z? the bottom part looks like its made out of aluminum. Is there going to be a Japanese trade show like IFA in September? Maybe it will be announced around that time!
Deletemore technical detail specifications :
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sony.co.uk/product/nws-f-series/nwz-f886/technical-specifications
shit... it stil using WM Port
Thanks, updated, btw Sony will not abandon the WM-port, they have invested a lot with many accessories, at least in Japan.
DeleteIm fine with the WM-port, it will most likely be compatible with STD-NWU10-B, its more like a universal cradle but only sold in japan
DeleteWhere's the other one? And what processor does this have?
ReplyDeleteBTW any new comments will be approved in the morning.
ReplyDeletei wish it was a sort of next generation w series walkmans , but check out the walkman logo behind the new f series walkman, its actually the loud speaker, that looks cool
ReplyDeleteThe f886 will be available in the Netherlands from end of October for Euro 329.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sony.nl/product/nws-f-series/nwz-f886
Awesome news, indeed! I had almost given up on Sony's keeping the Walkman spirit alive. I'm definitely gonna get my hands on one of these two next year. The F, with it's new hi-res playback mode, is tempting. But my current Z seems a more complete proposition (I don't like, i.e., the keyboard mode in the F806, and I don't think the 886 will change that). Also, 32 GB seems like too small a storage capacity for hi res files. I'd like to get a super high end ZX1, possibly with 64 GB. And I might consider getting the F886 as a more portable (well, sort of) set up. In any case, cheers to the new Walkmans! Thanks Ascariss for the usual excellent coverage...
ReplyDeleteAwesome news, indeed! I had almost given up on Sony's keeping the Walkman spirit alive. I'm definitely gonna get my hands on one of these two next year. The F, with it's new hi-res playback mode, is tempting. But my current Z seems a more complete proposition (I don't like, i.e., the keyboard mode in the F806, and I don't think the 886 will change that). Also, 32 GB seems like too small a storage capacity for hi res files. I'd like to get a super high end ZX1, possibly with 64 GB. And I might consider getting the F886 as a more portable (well, sort of) set up. In any case, cheers to the new Walkmans! Thanks Ascariss for the usual excellent coverage...
ReplyDeleteA potential market leader, but Sony's usual ignorance of what the user want/needs is displayed here:
ReplyDelete1. Only 32Gb, with 24/96 albums taking around 1Gb, not room for many albums. In fact not much room for 16/24 bit music, videos and photos. 64Gb should be the minimum size for this device (TREAT THE REST OF THE WORLD LIKE JAPAN, they get 64Gb why not us)
2. Will this walkman support 24/44.1, 24/48 a more usable size for portable 24bit audio. Some albums are sold in this format.
3. No expandable memory, a microSD slot would be nice, Supprised that Sony have not even considered using Memory Stick cards, the PSP-3000 uses Expandable Memory Stick Duo, so why not put this in Walkmans, rather have expandable memory than built in speakers, bluetooth circutary etc
Why dont Sony ask Walkman users what they want via their website or do could Ascariss run a poll and pass on the results.
I like the Walkman, my 32Gb X-Series is starting to show its age, but I don't see the point of upgrading to a similar capacity device which would result in being able to listen to less music if I go high def.
From my eyes this looks like the most stylish walkman so far . But why would you want android on walkman ? Touch screen is nice . Something like this should have come out at least 4 years back from the sleeping giant called sony . In 2014 we should already have a 6 inch android walkman with dedicated cybershot camera and call facility . We all want minimum gadgets in our lives . I use samsung galaxy mega 6.3 as my personal computer ,my digital camera and sometimes as my music player and yes I download music on it . Sound quality on it falls a bit short to throw away my walkman yet . I dont use my phone for making calls because it is just too big .
ReplyDeleteA 6 inch walkman might not be for everyone . But someone like me who does not use a digital music player with earphones but instead with external speaker , a six incher android will be perfect . It will reduce one more gadget from my life