Reviews coming up this weekend (update)

Hey everyone, sorry for no new posts, but I have the reviews of the M-series and new A-series in the works and hopefully both will be up this weekend.  Stay tuned.

No reviews yet, they are not done, I have been too busy to write up proper reviews.  The M-series is almost done, but I have yet to fully test the A-series.  Apologies.

Edit

I wish I had free time to write up the reviews, but I do no due to my anesthesiology classes and other obligations at med school, so I apologize.  I am testing both the M and A series and will post up reviews once I get some free time in.

Sony A-Series (A17) up for pre-order on Sony.ca

Unlike the Sony US, Sony Canada has opted for the black version and not silver.  And at $299 CAD, it is also cheaper when converting to USD.  Expected arrival date is October 20th, so a little over a week from now.  If anything, I will get my brother to buy the 64GB version in Canada and ship it over and I will sell the 16GB, but for the time being, still waiting for the new XBA headphones to appear.

Sony Walkman A-Series (NWZ-A15) Preview (Update)

My Sony NWZ-A15 has just arrived, the courier just delivered it 10 minutes ago.  I have snapped some quick photos, apart from the Walkman, USB cable and guides, there is nothing else in the box.  Really excited to finally test it out this weekend.

UPDATE

FLAC album cover update - for those wondering, FLAC album art works with no issues, I personally use MP3tag to add my album art to my songs.

I will sum up the sound quality in one word, amazing.  The A15 is louder than the A845 when comparing volume, at least 2 volume louder.  The sound is cleaner, deeper and fuller.  I have owned many Walkmans and I will say this, the A15 is the best sounding non-android Walkman hands down.

I did connect the A15 to my M-series via bluetooth (aptX) and while it works, I am having a hard time getting the NFC to connect automatically like with my Z1, I feel I will figure this out over the weekend.  One positive note, the A15 when connected to the M-series as a bluetooth headset is louder than the combo of Z1/M-series. 

Now all I need is a case for the new A15, meaning will have to import it from Japan I feel once it is released.  Btw I did see the comment about the menu and a video, I will try my best to make one this weekend.

Now if only those new XBA headphones would be released, could finally grab a pair.

More photos after the break. If there are any questions, please leave a comment.

Throwback: NWD-E020 Design Story

Dozens of styles, and one that's all your own

Some colors excite us, and others turn us off—even if the design is the same. It's no surprise that color is a key factor affecting our impression of products. With accent panels running the spectrum in 20 patterns, the new WALKMAN® E series satisfies quite a range of tastes.

Kanae Fukamatsu
Sony Corporation
Creative Center Producer and Designer

Asami Yamagishi
Sony Corporation
Creative Center
Designer

Naoki Sugiyama
Sony Corporation
Creative Center
Designer


Rest of the full Design Story after the break.

Sony A-Series Walkman Delayed in Europe? (update 2)

Update 2 -  It appears the device is in stock now, so I have put in an order for my A15, hopefully will arrive by tomorrow or Monday.

Update - Sony Poland says there is no delay and the new A-Series will be available in stores from the middle of October, well I will check this out in the next 2 weeks to see if this is true.

I was about to order my A-Series this morning here in Poland but had a bit of a surprise when I saw the expected delivery date, late October.  This is unfortunate and I have no idea why the date has changed or if the first date of Early October was a mistake.

I have checked Sony Poland, Germany, and UK, all have a late October shipping date, from 22nd to 29th of October.   I have not checked any other Sony websites, but Amazon.co.uk is not carrying the player yet and Amazon.de has no specific ship date.  I am sure this is the same situation across Europe, since last week Redcoon.de had the player in shipping this week, but now 1-2 weeks or even months for the black version.  Granted the new A-Series will be shipping much later in Asia as well so perhaps this delay was inevitable.

If anyone knows any retailer from Hong Kong that will ship internationally the A-Series, please leave a comment/link or email me.  Thanks.

Sony M-Series Preview (NWZ-M504)

Good news everyone, my M-Series has arrived.  Due to the fact I was not home earlier in the day, my delivery only arrived about an hour or so ago, therefore apologies for the poor photos; I will upload better photos tomorrow.

A quick overview so far.  The device is heavier than I expected but it does have a bigger battery and S-Master MX amp.  The included headphones are the MDR-NC31E, which are identical to the headphones which shipped with my MDR-NWBT20N, except the cable is longer.  Built quality is solid, it is plastic, but the heavier weight makes it feel as if the body is metal.  Controls are simple, play/pause/call key near screen.  On one side, hold switch, vol +/-, home/back and reset button, nothing on the other side.  On the underside is the NFC antenna and on the opposite side of the 3.5mm jack is the micro-USB port, covered by a flap.

The menu is very simple to use and easy to navigate.  The M-Series does come with a clip which you can attach on the underside, but only in one direction which is a shame.  The device is able to receive a bluetooth signal but is unable to send one out, to for example larger headphones or a wireless speaker. 

That is all for now, I will update this post tomorrow after I use the M-Series for the day but if anyone has any questions, please post them up as comments or email me, and I will do my best to reply and answer them.

Sony Walkman NWZ-W273S Review

The original W-Series was introduced back in 2009 and it brought a new design approach to Sony, a Walkman and headphones in one.  Jump 5 years ahead and Sony has expanded the W-Series to include the WH-Series and WS-Series.  I was always curious how the W-Series would work as a daily Walkman but I was hesitant to spend the money on it since I had other Walkmans already, and the limited storage capacity.  Fortunately I was able to get my hands on a W273 for about 3 weeks and test it out.  So does the W-Series live up to the hype Sony has put on it?  Full review after the break.