The Walkman Returns

By: Bill Armstrong (Contributing Editor)

There was once a time when Sony was considered the King of personal electronics. There was hardly a tech enthusiast that did not have at least one high end Sony device. Sony even revolutionized an industry by releasing the original Walkman, cutting us free from the bonds of a home stereo system and making us mobile. So popular was the Walkman that it became the go to name for any portable music player for up until the uber popular iPod took over.

Well, the Walkman never went away, and with the release of Sony’s newest model, the NWZ-E350, the Walkman is looking to regain it’s position at the top of the hill. The E350 offers an astounding 10 hours of playback, and comes in 4GB and 8GB Flavors. Priced around $80 and loaded with features, the Walkman may have a good chance at a come back after its release next month. Check out the official press release below.

Press Release

MEDIA ALERT: SONY INTRODUCES HIGH-QUALITY WALKMAN MP3 PLAYERS AT ATTRACTIVE PRICE POINTS

New Walkman® NWZ-E350 Series Video MP3 Players feature extended battery life, excellent sound quality and more

WHO: The new Sony Walkman models feature outstanding sound quality, advanced audio technologies, extreme battery life and more– all at affordable price points.

WHAT: It supports up to 50 hours of audio playback (mp3 files at 128 kbps) and 10 hours of supported video playback (WMV at 384 kbps). The unit utilizes Sony’s own “Clear Audio” technologies, for clear, deep sound without distortion. The model also comes equipped with Content Transfer Software, enabling simple transfer of music and video files straight from a PC or iTunes™ library (not including DRM files).

The player features Sony’s SenseMe™ technology, which automatically categorizes music tracks in a connected library into a variety of music channels and playlists. It also has a brand new user interface with such features as “Album Scroll” and “Scene Scroll”, enabling quick and easy content navigation.

It includes a “Bookmark Function” so listeners can create playlists on-the-fly while listening through songs from their music library. Simply bookmark a song while it’s playing to a custom, user-generated playlist. Supported audio formats for the new player include MP3, WMA (DRM), AAC (non-DRM) and linear PCM, and supported video format is WMV (DRM).

WHERE: The Sony E Series Walkman will be available next month for about $70 for a 4GB memory version, model NWZ-E353, and $80 for an 8 GB version, model NWZ-E354, at www.sonystyle.com, Sony Style retail stores and other authorized retailers nationwide.