Music.Photo.Life.: Sony Walkman Headphones: NWZ-WH505 & NWZ-WH303

Music.Photo.Life.: Sony Walkman Headphones: NWZ-WH505 NWZ-WH303: Sony has been aggressive in their product innovation these days. I do not know of any other company that creates diversely refreshing produc...

Here is a nice review of the WH-Series walkmans.  I was tempted myself to get either the 303 or the 505, but I will hold out for CES and see what Sony brings there.

Availability of new F-Series for Asia Pacific region

The new F-Series is already on sale and shipping in Europe, but this doesn't seem to be the case in the rest of the world.  It seems that the Asia Pacific region will have the new Walkman starting this December as stated in this pdf.  Unlike in Europe though, the Asia Pacific region will have a 32GB and a 64GB version.

I'm still undecided whether I will be purchasing the new F-Series or opting for a noise cancellation headset to pair with my Z1.

Thanks to sealplayerz for the information.

Sony Japan introduces a new Wireless headset for Walkman

I'm sure everyone remembers the wireless headset that shipped with the older S-Series (S760), the     MDR-NWBT10.  It seems there was an additional model in Japan that featured noise cancellation, the MDR-NWBT10N,  and now it appears Sony Japan has updated it as the MDR-NWBT20N.

Unlike the previous model, the new model features NFC and a longer battery life, 9.5hours with no NC, and 8 hours with NC on.  Bluetooth has been updated from ver. 2.1 to ver. 3.0.  The new headset is designed to work with the newly announce walkmans, ZX1 and F880, but I'd imagine it would work just as well with any new Sony mobile with NFC.

Pricing is around 8000 yen (60 Euros) and availability is slated for October 19th.  5 colours options, black, white, vivid pink, blue, and light pink.  This is a fantastic product, when Sony announced the new Xperia Z1, but it lacked both any dedicated amp or noise cancellation I was a bit disappointing, so I feel this new headset partly remedies this.  The same goes fro the new ZX1 which lacks built in noise cancellation.

Perosnally I hope I can find a reseller or retailer that would be willing to ship this to Poland, since it would go perfect with my Z1.  If anyone knows any sites that ship Japanese electronics to Europe, please leave a comment below.

Rest of photos after the break.

NW-ZX1 Video

Thanks Sebastian

Source: Head-fi

(Updated) Sony Japan introduces new M-Series Walkman

Sony Japan has released the new M-Series and WH-Series Walkmans.  The WH-Series is the same as the newly announced international model.  The only difference is that there is no WH505 for Japan for the time being and only the WH303 will be sold in black and white.

The new M-series comes in 16GB capacity and 4 different colours, silver, violet, black and pink.  The M505 is equipped with an OLED display, S-Master MX amp and built in noise cancellation.  I am a bit confused when it comes to bluetooth functionality, it seems it can be paired with a mobile phone using NFC and the M505 will function as a wireless headset for the phone, with the ability to have the S-Master MX amp and Noise cancellation functionality.  Press release menitons bluetooth ver 3 but this seems to be only for pairing and not playback to a speaker.  If I am mistaken, please let me know.

Codec support is MP3, WMA, ATRAC and Linear PCM.  Battery life for the new M505 is 15 hours for normal playback and 10 hours using bluetooth.  Pricing for the new M is 18,000 yen (135 Euros), for WH3003, 15,000 yen (112 Euros).  M-Series will be available around early December and the WH along with higher capacity W-Series in the middle of October.

More photos and a video of the M-series after the break.

(Updated) Sony Japan introduces new E and S-Series Walkmans

Sony Japan has introduced a new S-series and E-Series to their lineup.  The new S-Series appears to be the current E580 but comes equipped with bluetooth (ver 2.1) and higher storage.  Apart from that there seems to be no major difference in codec support or battery life.

The new E-Series borrows the same S-Series body but drops the bluetoth capability, higher capacity, and ability to playback videos on the device.  This makes sense since this the E080 appears to be a direct successor to the older E060 model.  MP3 playback is stated to be around 36 hours.

Both feature built in noise cancellation and like the previous E and S series models, feature the same headphones, the MDR-NC31.  Codec support is identical to the new F880.  Availability is expected in the middle of October.

The S780 comes in 32, 16 and 8GB capacities, 32 only in black, white and blue, the rest come in vivid pink, blue, white, light pink, green and black.  The E080 only comes in 4GB and in red, blue and black.  Both are available with a speaker stand, 8/16GB for E780 and 4GB for E080.

Pricing

NW-E083 - 10,800 yen (81 Euros)
NW-E083K - 13,800 yen (103 Euros)
NW-S784 - 14,800 yen (111 Euros)
NW-S785 - 17,800 yen (134 Euros)
NW-S787 - 20,800 yen (156 Euros)
NW-S784K - 17,800 yen (134 Euros)
NW-S785k - 20,800 yen (156 Euros)

Source: Sony JP press

(Updated) Sony Japan Debuts the new F-Series

Sony Japan finally introduced the new F880 domestically.  It doesn't differ much from the international version, apart from offering 3 more colours (Vivid pink, white and blue) and different capacities (16, 32 and 64GB).  The 64GB F887 only comes in black and white, whereas the 16 and 32GB will be available in all 4 colours.  The new F-Series is expected to go on sale in middle of October around the 19th.  Pricing is 40,000 yen (300 Euros) for 64GB, 30,000 yen (225 Euros) for 32GB and 27,000 yen (200 Euros) for the 16GB.  Output is stated as 10+10.

Rest of photos after the break.

(Updated) Sony Japan Debuts new ZX-Series Walkman

Today Sony Japan introduced the new ultimate Walkman, the NW-ZX1.  The ZX1 is expected to arrive in early December with an estimated price of around 75,000 yen or 560 Euros.  The new ZX1 is carved out of a solid piece of aluminum to minimize any unwanted inference and electrical noise.  At 128GB, the ZX1 is the highest capacity Walkman in the brand's history.  Just like the new F-Series, the ZX1 is equipped with the new S-master HX amp.

The lower bulge apart from housing the amplifier, also permits a more comfortable hold in one's hand.   The front is adorned by a 4inch (854x480) touchscreen.  Connectivity options are identical to the new F-Series, Wifi (a/​b/g/n), bluetooth ver 3.0, NFC, and GPS.  FM radio and noise cancellation are both absent though.  The ZX1 unfortunately not running on the latest Android OS, and is instead still on 4.1.  Codec support includes, MP3, WMA, ATRAC, ATRAC Advanced Lossless, Linear PCM, AAC, HE-AAC, FLAC, Apple Lossless, AIFF.  Output is reported as 15+15.

There seems to be clear stereo on the ZX1, and no headphones are included in the box.  Music playback is supposed to be around 32 hours (128kbps) and 5 hours for video.  Dimensions are 60.7 × 122.8 × 15.3mm and a weight of 139g.  Included with the ZX1 is a carrying pouch, USB cable, WM-port cap and instruction manual.  At this time there is no information regarding availability outside of Japan, but if anything expect any international announcement at CES 2014.

As I have mentioned above there is no Noise Cancellation, neither the press release or spec page mention it.

More photos after the break.

Thanks sealplayerz and Jien for the info.

Sony How to Video: WH-Series Walkman

I might end up either picking up the 4GB version of the WH-Series or the MDR-10RBT to use with the Xperia Z1, if I also decide to pick that up to replace my Galaxy S2.  It's a shame that the WH-Series didn't come with bluetooth, would have been perfect to use with a phone.

NWZ-F887 coming to Sony Asia Pacific?

Take this information with a grain of skepticism, since there was no press release for the new F-Series on Sony Asia Pacific and click the links to the F887 shows the same information as the F886.  Even in the gallery there are errors with an image of the previous generation F-Series being included, same for the overview section.  If the 32GB information on the F887 is a typo, then we can definetley expect a new 64GB model of the F-Series.  A 64GB F-Series is expected to be announced for the Japanese market along with the 32GB model.  Hopefully this will occur shortly.

Source

(Update) WH-Series Pricing and Availablity

The 4GB model is now available in most EU countries but the 16GB model has no information on date of availability.  Pricing in the EU seems to be the same regardless of area. The only difference seems to be from Sony Hong Kong. which has 2 more colours, silver for the NWZ-WH505 and Red for the NWZ-WH303.  There seems to be no news yet regarding the WH-Series and Japan.  Sony Australia has both 4 and 16GB versions up on their site but no pricing or availability is provided, in addition the 4GB version comes in white and red and the 16GB only in black.  Sony New Zealand only lists the NWZ-WH303 and only in black, no other info provided.  Nothing on Sony India's website.  Sony Malaysia lists the NWZ-WH303 in black, red and white with no pricing/availability.

Also as mentioned before in a comment, the WH-Series does come with Zappin like the old W-Series, all you do is press play for 2 seconds to activate the function

Pricing and photos of the colours after the break.

Sony Canada introduces the WH-Series Walkman

NWZ-WH303
Available   this month at Sony Stores, online at sony.store.ca and participating  retailers across Canada for $149.99.

• Store up to 1,000 tracks on the built-in 4GB music player
• Listen for up to 20 hours on one full charge; 1 hour from a quick 3 minute charge
• Enjoy pure sound from a 30mm dome type headphone driver unit
• Play music through built-in stereo surround sound speakers
• Catch every beat from closed, dynamic headphones with 1000mW input power, 107db/mW sensitivity, 30Ω   impedance and a 30–20,000Hz sensitivity
• Compatible with Mac and Windows
• Play tracks in a wide range of formats, including MP3, WMA, AAC-LC, and Linear PCM  
• Available in black or white with an illuminated LED Walkman® logo

Looks like the WH-Series is coming to Canada this month (September).  I checked the website but nothing seems to be available yet.  No mention of the 16GB model for Canada.

Update - I contacted Sony USA, and at this moment, there are no plans to introduce the new WH or F to the US market.  This doesn't mean either won't be on sale in the future, best bet is CES 2014.

Source

WH-Series Walkman Video From Sony UK

Updated the video link with a 720p version.

I definitely feel Sony has a winner on their hands with the new WH-Series.  Almost makes you wonder why they didn't come out with something like this earlier.  Unfortunately no pricing has been released or even release date.  If anyone knows anything about pricing or availability, please leave a comment.

Sony debuts the New WH-Series Walkman

Introducing the new 3-in-1 Walkman® WH Series from Sony with digital music player headphones and speakers in one stylish design

• 3 different ways to listen, 1 stylish design
• Listen out loud through built-in speakers 
• Go wire-free with a wearable digital music player
• Play smartphone music on powerful headphones

Rest of the press release and photos after the break.

Sony NWZ-E584 now avaible from Sony Canada

The new E580 is in stock and avaible for shipping from Sonystyle.ca.  I was a bit surprised that it appeared but had a hunch it would like the previous E470.  Unfortunately the model is only 8GB and not the 16GB as is available in Europe.

Hopefully the new F-Series will also go on sale in Canada and the US.

Another Redesign (promise last one)

Hello everyone, I know I had a redesign earlier this year but I wasn't satisfied with the function and look of the new redesign.  The top slider was a bit broken, images didn't appear correctly and were heavily distorted at times.  So instead of resizing and re-uploading all the blog photos it was easier to find a new design which didn't require such a task.

To access the popular posts, the different labels and the archive, just click the follow links under the search button.

Finally at the bottom of the blog you will find the contact form and my email to contact me.

Everything should be working but if a bug or hick up appears, please leave a comment on this post.

AV Watch First Hands on with New NWZ-F880 Walkman

AV Watch posted a hands on with the new F-Series walkman.  AV Watch states that no release date for Japan has been provided but like with the previous F-Series, the new one should arrive eventually.  Apart from the standard specifications, nothing new seems to be posted in the initial hands on.  The display tech is "Triluminos display for mobile" like on the Xperia line.  More photos after the break.

Prototype Walkman at IFA 2013

AV Watch is always a good place to find the unexpected/unknown and again it has delivered us the second unknown Walkman.  The front of the device matches the image shown during the press conference.  A quick inspection of the image shows a metal frame/body, faux leather (perhaps rubber) back, NFC logo, a reset button lower left and a speaker in the Walkman logo.  There is some kind of label near the bottom, perhaps with model information and certification logos.  The slight bump in the back might be for a more advanced amplifier, or meant to mimic some older walkman design.  Front sports no physical buttons and of course a touchscreen (possibly full HD).  The right side probably features the volume and playback controls like on the F-Series.

Using the press conference image and dimensions of the new F-Series, a rough guess at the dimensions of the new Walkman are as follows:

Width - 67-68 mm

Height - 132-134 mm

Screen size - 4.7 inch

The above values are just estimates based upon the image from the show. If anyone has any photos of this prototype walkman from some other site or they took themselves, please reply in the comments below.  Two more images after the break.

HD blog Video of NWZ-F886 Walkman (in Italian)

Another video from HDblog.it of the new Walkman, you can see the screen looks much better here and the speed of transitions is much better. Yet again the video is in Italian, so if anyone wishes to post what is being said, as in any major specifics, please post a comment.

As visible in the video, the walkman is running android 4.1.1, unfortunate since with 4.2 there can be lockscreen widgets and Sony could have added walkman player controls on the lockscreen.

Video of New F-Series (in Italian)

A quick video (in Italian) of the new F-Series, quick impressions, screen changes seem smooth and fast, a bit slower in the app screens.  The screen seems ok, a bit dull in this video but that might be just the video.  Viewing angles seem a bit mediocre but I hope it is due to the video or because the lighting is poor.  If anyone wishes to translate, please do.

Hit up the source below to see more hands on images.

Source: androidworld.it

(Update) Breaking news: New Walkman's coming

(image source)

It seems there will be 2 new walkmans from Sony, perhaps 1, but I saw 2 at the press conference online now, stay tuned for more information. Exciting :D

Update - It seems the other walkman is a successor to X/Z walkmans and due in February for the Walkman's 35th anniversary. Thanks anonymous.

As one can see there seem to be 2 devices, not sure if they are different, but the one on the right seems to be the new F-Series, the site buttons match up, where as the device on the left might be a larger newer player, perhaps a new Z-Series?  If anyone sees any other images of the 2 walkmans, please post a link or email me to post it up.

(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.

NWZ-E380 Available on Sonystyle US and Canada

The new E380 Walkman has appeared on the Canadian and US Sonystyle websites; this comes as a surprise since there was no mention of the new E-Series on either press sites.  Regardless, there is no sight of the E580, so perhaps Sony will introduce it later or will just have the lower end models, the W and E380.  Due to the non parity between the US and Canadian dollar, the price is about $15 CAD more than in the US.  I know the exchange rate fluctuates a lot, but the $15 difference is too much, it should be max $10 more, but is seems Sony Canada believes a 23% difference is justified.  More info after the break.

IFA 2013 Preview

Countdown to live stream

September always brings back cold weather, back to school and of course IFA.  This year I am not expecting much from Sony in the Walkman camp but perhaps they might surprise us.  Perhaps a new A-Series or S-Series will debut at the show or an upgrade to the F-Series, either a firmware upgrade to 4.2.2 or a new processor, but both are a long shot.  So is there anything to look forwards to?

Of course, the new Xperia Z1, aka Honami is debuting.  Apart from featuring an improved screen, top of the line SoC (snapdragon 800), large battery (3000mAh), open 3.5mm jack, a 1/2.3 camera and the most important, some variation of the S-master AMP.  At this moment it is hard to determine how good the Z1 will sound but I have high expectations of the device and might be replacing my current E-Series with the Z1 as my main MP3 player device, I will be losing the noise cancellation but I might either pick up the MDR-NC100 or MDR-NC13s to have noise cancellation with me when I travel or move around.  Unless Sony decides to include noise cancellation in the Z1, but I wouldn't expect it.

Apart from the Z1, there are 2 more devices from the Xperia brand coming, no idea what they are, so looking forwards to both.

Next is the new laptop from the Vaio division, so far only a teaser has been posted, see below.

What is it?  Will it be a Lenovo Yoga-like device or a successor to the older P-Series Vaio?  Who knows, so far nothing has leaked so both exciting and infuriating, but honestly this year, I am really looking forwards to the Sony Press event, unlike years before.

What I would like to see from Sony, is a a new walkman, something similar to the current F-Series but larger, 5-5.5 inch full-HD device, S-master AMP, 32gb, expandable slot (doubtful), noise cancellation, bluetooth, NFC and Wifi.  If only the current Xperia Z Ultra came with the S-master AMP and noise cancellation, I would pick it up in a heartbeat to use as my mp3 player. 

3 more days. ;)

Sony up to its old tricks

It has been over a month since Sony introduced the new E-Series and I am puzzled as why I am unable to purchase one here in Poland or even in Germany.  The device seems to be in stock at amazon.co.uk and sony.co.uk but is not available for purchase on either amazon.de or sony.de. 

On amazon.de it states " Dieser Artikel ist noch nicht verfügbar." which means "this item is not yet available" and on Sony.de it states "Verfügbar ab Ende August' or "available from end of August.  This is unacceptable, Sony stated in the press release as follows

The new Walkman® NWZ-E580 and NWZ-E380 video MP3 players from Sony are available in Europe from July.

Last time I checked, both Germany and Poland were in Europe and July has long gone passed.  I checked some other European Sony sites and the end of August seems to be a universal date of availability.  At times it feels is if Sony has set the Walkman brand aside as a separate entity and would rather it be absorbed into its smartphone lineup.  With the new Honami smartphone debuting at IFA and supposedly sporting a S-master amp but who knows if it will be as good as the one on the Z and F series.

If no new walkmans debut at IFA, be it android or the stock walkman OS, then perhaps the hopes of a stand alone walkman brand may be history.

Sony introduces the new E580 and E380 Walkmans

Sparkling sound, must-have looks and up to 77 hours battery life (E580)

• Enjoy pure, rich Walkman® sound with powerful bass
• Easy transfers from your PC music library or iTunes

Don’t stop the music: keep listening for longer to your favourite sounds with the new Walkman® E580 and E380 from Sony.

Slipping easily into a pocket or bag, Walkman® E Series keeps you entertained with extra-generous battery life and powerful, silk-smooth sound you’d expect from Sony. Both new video MP3 players bring out the very best from your music collection. Whatever your tastes, Clear Audio technologies by Sony assure richly-detailed sound with powerful bass, crystalline highs and less leakage between stereo channels. Filling Walkman® with your music collection is easy. Just drag and drop songs, photos, videos, podcasts and playlists (non-DRM content only) from Windows® Explorer or your iTunes library.

Design: Walkman NWD-W270 Series

On the track or in the water, a new listening experience that knows no bounds

It was 1979 when WALKMAN audio players first gave us the freedom to enjoy music easily whenever and wherever we pleased. The next step in this evolution is into the pool. Now you can bring your favorite tunes with you not only when jogging but even when swimming. The WALKMAN® W series invites you to enjoy another dimension of freedom in a new listening experience.

	Iijima . Sony Corporation Creative Center Senior Producer		Morimoto . Sony Corporation Creative Center Producer and Designer
	Fukuma . Sony Corporation Creative Center Designer		Kawai . Sony Corporation Creative Center Producer and Senior Designer
	Matsuda . Sony Corporation Creative Center Designer

Sony Walkman turns 34

Today the Walkman turns 34 years old, it was back in 1979 when the first production model was introduced.  The brand is strong and recognizable and I hope Sony keeps it alive, although it might not be in the style as in the past, physical models.  More likely, the brand will continue as either portable wearable Walkmans like the W-Series or integrated into the Xperia line of snartphones and tablets or perhaps both.  Here's to more years for the Walkman and hopefully a return of more successive generations of current models.

Here are some links to browse and read about a lot of older walkmans, mainly cassette.

Walkman-archive

musical TIMEMACHINE (in Japanese)

Great forum photo gallery

Blog Design updated

I have finally added a new design to the blog which I feel makes it look more professional.  There are still some areas I need to sort out like images which open in two separate galleries, which I can hopefully resolve eventually.  It seems that some of the images are resized with awkward dimensions so I will have to go through most the site and replace them.

Generally the comments section is now easier to read and view with more obvious buttons for reply and as always anonymous comments are still allowed but are of course first screened before posting.  It seems most spam comments have all but disappeared which makes me happy.

The search now seems to work a lot better than before, providing the top 10 results.  In addition there are the popular and recent posts on the side allowing quick access to those.

Some of the menus are not populated with anything and will be soon enough or removed completely.

If anyone finds any errors or mistakes please leave a comment on this post, thanks.

No more Walkmans?

So this is just a rumour for the time being but it seems Sony might exit the MP3 player market and only keep the W-Series as their only walkman in the range.  Stay tuned...

Sony NW-S77x Firmware Update to 1.02

The following is for the Japanese market only NW-S77x, not for the international NWZ-77x.

It appears there is some kind of bug that makes the song stop at the start of playing.  More information regarding the update can be found here but it is in Japanese.  But using Google translate should be sufficient in understanding the instructions if you have a NW-S77x.

I personally have noticed a glitch on my NWZ-E575 as well.  Sometimes when playing a song for a bit, the Walkman for some reason replays the song from the start.  I am not sure if this is related to the firmware or just the cold temperatures we have had in the past few months here in Poland.  I haven't had the issue come up in above 0 weather though.

Also I am aware of my late late review of the new E-Series, I promise it is coming soon.

Source

Goodbye MiniDisc

 

Sony announced that they will be discontinuing the MiniDisc, with sales of equipment, devices and discs terminating in March 2013.  The main reason is low sales naturally.  It will be sad to see the MiniDisc go, especially since it has such a special place in my heart.  My first player/recorder was the MZ-R900 and finally settling on the MZ-N10, which I still own along with a plethora of discs.  Depending on the source, 22-27 million units were sold since its introduction back in 1992.  As long as Sony doesn't kill off the MP3 Walkman, the brand will live on, for now.

Apologies

Hello to anyone still reading, I apologize for no posts since October but I have been rather busy with classes.  I was planning on posting my review of the NWZ-E575 which I purchased last December to replace my X-Series.

In short, yet the headphones from the new E work on my X, yes they are better than the headphones that came with the X and the E series is a nice surprise.  I've been using it as my main Walkman since I bought it.  So stay tuned for the full review, hopefully in February when I will have free time.