Availability of new Sony 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.

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.

Sony NW-ZX1 Hands on Video

Thanks Sebastian

Source: Head-fi

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 definitely 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

Sony 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

Sony Canada introduces the WH-Series Walkman

 

NWZ-WH303

• 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

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

Sony NWZ-E584 now avaible from Sony Canada

 

The new E580 is in stock and available 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.

AV Watch First Hands on with New Sony 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.  

Prototype Sony 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.

HD blog Video of Sony 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.

Video of New Sony F-Series Walkman (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.

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

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.

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

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 Europe  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. 

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.

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 favourite 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.

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.

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.

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.