The A820 series is Sony’s latest and flagship in the Walkman line up. As the head honcho of the family, the A820 is the first to sport Bluetooth audio. Unlike recent Samsung players which support extended Bluetooth features, this Sony only supports Bluetooth audio transfer and control. If you have used any of the more recent Sony Walkmans you will get a near identical experience since the interface and the features are the same. The only new thing here is the addition of Bluetooth, larger screen, and different form factor.

With that said, this review will be slightly abridged since have pretty much covered the majority of the A820 in the A810 and S610 reviews. This review will focus mainly on what makes this player stand out from the other Sony Walkmans.

When the NW-A820 (not to be confused with the NWZ-A820) was first announced in Asia it was said to support video recording through a special video dock. While this hasn't been confirmed for the NWZ-820, there is still hope for those who want to bring their TV shows with them - the new Sony BDZ-A70 Blu-Ray recorder.

The BDZ-A70 should come as a pleasant surprise for those who were let down when the new PS3 firmware turned out to be lacking the long promised Blu-Ray transfer feature. Even if that feature is still missing on the BDZ-A70 it's capable of recording TV and transferring the recorded shows directly to a PSP or Sony Walkman. Transfer times are stated to be about 3 minutes for 60 minutes of recorded TV, which isn't bad at all. It's definitely a step in the right direction in ways of making electronics compatible with each other, even if it only works for Sony devices. It's due in Japan on April 30th with a price tag of about $1670.

[AV Watch via Gizmodo]

Sony’s S610 is their low man on the totem pole in the new line of video flash players sporting 2, 4, and 8GB capacities. This is last year’s model but Sony has decided to keep it around to accompany the newer 2.4” screened Bluetooth players. But don’t let the “last year’s model” deter you from purchasing. The S610 is by no means out of date- features, sound quality, and video playback are comparable to most players currently on the market.

If you read the A810 review, you may experience a bit of déjà vu since these two players share similar features and navigation. The S610 may be a good alternative if you are looking for an FM radio and a slightly more compact form factor.

Sony recently started offering pre-orders for the NWZ-A820 in Europe. This player is now confirmed to hit the US in March along with two new models, the S710 and A720 Walkman players.

The NWZ-A720 is essentially the same player as the NWZ-A820, but lacks bluetooth support. It's also available in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB, while the A820 only comes in 8Gb and 16GB. The A720 is priced at $150 (4GB), $200 (8GB) and $300 (16GB) and comes in black or pink, while the A820 will cost you $270 (8GB) and $320 (16GB) and only comes in black.

The NWZ-S710 is good news for those who commented on the lack of noise cancelling in the NWZ-A820. While this feature was removed from the US and European versions of the A820, it is in place in the smaller S710 series, and Sony claims it will help reduce outside noise by up to 75%. It will however not have the same design as the A720 and A820, and will only have a 1.8" screen compared to the 2.4" screen on the A720 and A820. It will be available in a $150 4GB version with 3 different colors, and a $200 8GB version which comes only in black. No 16GB version is announced.

[ Press Release ]

Sony never got too much play on this site since Sony locked all of their MP3 players into their proprietary media player SonicStage. I love their designs, sound quality, and battery life but SonicStage was so unbelievably terrible it kept me from picking up any of their players. Sony finally wised up and joined the rest of the portable music world making their devices MTP, thus being compatible with most media players and music services.

Sony will soon release the A820, an upgraded version with Bluetooth, larger screen, and larger capacities. However, the A810 should not be pushed aside; it is still a very viable MP3 player that will still keep up with anything in its class. It is a great choice for people not needing all the bells and whistles of its newer sibling.

A few days ago, Sony announced it's NW-A820 WalkMan player for release in Asia in March. It's European/US brother, the NWZ-A820, is now available for preorder on Sony Style for a few countries like Germany and Sweden. As expected, it doesn't seem to be listed with noise cancelling features like its Asian brother has, but on the positive side it's bundled with decent quality IEMs - most likely the same MDR-EX082 as the NWZ-A810 comes with.

The bad news is that at the time of this writing, the 16GB seem to only be available bundled with a pair of bluetooth headphones, while the 8GB and 4GB versions are available both with and without the bluetooth headphones. The player ships in April and can be pre-ordered now for 169€ (4GB), 219€ (4GB bundle), 219€ (8GB), 269€ (8GB bundle) or 319€ (16GB bundle) - all prices taken from Sony Style Germany.

[ Sony Style Europe via Tech Digest]

Following the announcement of the NW-A820 WalkMan player, Sony also announced a stick-shaped player called the NW-E020F. The feature set is pretty amazing for a player this size, and includes 30 hours of audio playback, a three line color display that looks to be able to display album art, a FM tuner and an integrated USB connector. The battery will take 1 hour to fully charge, while a 3 min charge will give you 3 full hours of audio playback. The player also seems to be bundled with Sony's own MDR-EX90SL IEMs, which is quite the upgrade compared to what's normally bundled with such players. On top of this, the player has interchangeable front plates, which means the user can customize the looks of the player itself. The player will be available in Asia on March 8, with capacities of 1, 2 and 4GB. No word yet if this will be available outside Asia, but if it will be then the current champion of the tiny players might get a run for its money. Continue reading for a few more pics.

[ Sony Japan press release ]

Sony just announced its new Walkman model, the NW-A820 (NWZ-820 in Europe/US). The player features a 2,4" 320x240 QVGA screen, noise canceling features, Bluetooth functionality, and sizes up to 16GB. The Asian version of the player will still have ATRAC playback and most likely be SonicStage dependent, while the European and US model will continue Sony's recent trend of MTP based players without ATRAC support, which of course is a good thing.

Sony also announced two accessories for the new player; the SRS-NWT10M external speaker, and the VRC-NW10 cradle. The cradle supports both video out and video in, which means you can record TV directly to the NW-A820 in MPEG-4 format. Whether or not this will work on the NWZ-A820 is not known, but fingers crossed that it will. The player will be available in Asia on March 20, release date for the rest of the world is unknown. Continue reading for picture frenzy.

[ Press Release via Engadget ]

As the sale of the first video Walkmans in the US commences, Sony has revealed the A910 series, intended for Japan, which can not only handle H.264/AVC and MPEG-4 video formats, but receive, play, and record digital TV from Japanese broadcasting service 1seg on its 2.4-inch QVGA LCD.

Let’s not forget that outside Europe and America SonicStage is still alive, well, and compulsory to transfer AAC, MP3, WMA, ATRAC, and ATRAC Lossless files to the 4GB NW-A916, 8GB NW-A918, and 16GB NW-A919. The battery’s performance is generous, offering 10 hours of standard video, 8.5 hours of video recording, 6 hours of TV viewing and 36 hours of audio. Several measures have been taken to enhance sound quality consisting of a built in noise cancelling function, in-ear phones with 13.5mm diameter drivers, DSEE sound enhancement, as well as clear stereo and clear bass technologies.

The A series is expected to appear this November in black, silver, and limited chrome edition. The 4GB will be sold for 30,000 Yen, 8GB for 35,000 Yen, and the 16GB for 45,000 Yen (equivalent to $260, $300, and $390 respectively).

[Product Page]

At last Sony has launched an official site explaining the details of their peculiar egg-shaped music player, named the Rolly, which uses robot technology to move about while it plays music from its speakers on each end.

The sound production is particularly inventive, as the circular ends to the Rolly focus the music directly ahead to give a stereo sound, while the player vibrates bass through the surface it is making contact with. Controlling the device is done by rotating one the wheels. Selecting a specific function depends on whether music is playing or not, or if it is held in a horizontal or vertical position.

Music is played wirelessly either from another paired Bluetooth device, or from its 1GB of internal memory in MP3, ATRAC and AAC (unprotected), as it carries out the moves created by a Motion Editor software.

Japan will receive the Rolly on September 29 for an equivalent of $346, while there has been no mention of an international release yet.

[Product Page]

Sony has announced the introduction of two video walkmans to the US in September, both of which will not support their proprietary ATRAC format or require the use of SonicStage.

The first of these, the NWZ-A810 series, is identical to the NW-A800 available in Europe, but completely new from Sony is the NWZ-S610. It features a 1.8-inch screen (0.2-inches smaller than the A810) with the same 320 x 240 pixel resolution, and FM Radio which is absent in the A810. The two players share the same support for MP3, WMA (DRM), and unprotected AAC audio formats, as well as the H.264/AVC and MPEG-4 video codecs.

Each model will be available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB versions, and cost $120, $160, and $210 for the S610 and $140, $180, and $230 for the A810 respectively.

[Press Release via Engadget]

A limited amount of Sony NW-E010-series USB stick flash players with included glittery fashion accessories are now on sale in Japan. For each color variation there is a corresponding jewel-encrusted cap for the USB terminal and strap attached to a clip (also decorated with crystals) allowing the shiny DAP to be suspended from clothes or a bag to prevent dropping as well as displaying the device while not in use.

There is nothing new included in the player itself. It is still carries the same 3-line OLED, ATRAC/MP3/WMA/AAC format support, 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB capacities and 28-hour battery life. So far the fashion enhancement for the Sony E-series is limited to Japan only, but you can place an order on Sony Japan’s online store.

[Press Release via Impress]

Looking for a way to listen to your entire music collection anywhere around the house? The Sony VAIO WA1 wireless boombox certainly provides a convenient way to do it by streaming ATRAC, MP3, WMA, and AAC music formats over an existing wireless home network from any PC.

The WA1 uses SonicStage, iTunes, and Windows Media Player, but on-unit controls, a remote control, and an LCD displaying five lines of text makes selecting and viewing music simple. Analogue and digital audio-out ports connect your computer’s music to your home stereo, but music isn’t limited to your computer’s library, as the option of listening to internet radio is also given. Music can be played independently of a computer with 128MB of internal memory and a line-in stereo input to connect to a portable device.

Considering that Sony’s wireless boombox is mostly for use around the house, the four-hour battery life shouldn’t be too limiting. The $350 price tag includes a six-band graphic equalizer, headphone jack, and alarm clock.

[Product Page via Akihabara News]

When the first images of Sony's new PMPs surfaced last month, we passed them off as completely fake.

After all, Sony wouldn't develop the 4.3" widescreen (480 x 272) PMX-M70 (pictured), with its 20-hour audio and 5-hour video playback times, or the smaller screened (2.4") PMX-U50, with its 12-hour audio and 3-hour video times, specifically and exclusively for the Chinese market! It wouldn't grace the MP4/AVI-playing M70 with direct A/V encoding, TV-Out, integrated speakers, and FM tuner and then only give it a measly 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB flash drive. And it certainly wouldn't have the audacity to release the black, white, and pink U50 (pictured after the jump), seemingly toting all the same features as the M70 except for the recording capabilities, with just 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB of memory.

Sony wouldn't do that, right? Well, not only would the company do such a thing, but it already did. And as is often the case, pricing and availability outside of China are unknown.

[Press Release via I4U]

Pigs are flying, the moon is blue, and hell has frozen over.

Don't ask us how or why, but Sony is apparently set to add a new series to its Walkman line of low-capacity flash players that 1) doesn't require the use of SonicStage and 2) doesn't support ATRAC. We'll give you a second to process all of that.

Done?

Okay. Dubbed the B100 series, the 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB players will all have voice-recording functions and play nice with DRM-free MP3 and WMA files that are dragged and dropped from a PC. Some will also be equipped with an FM tuner and recorder. Expected in May for an unknown (though presumably low) price, the B100 series should be available in at least three colors. Amazing advances in the DAP world, eh?

[ATRACLife]