September 2, 2008 Thin is definitely in for the new S series Walkman Video MP3 players from Sony. At just 7.5mm thick the S series are the slimmest Walkmans, (or should that be Walkmen), ever. The slim design features a high-contrast 2-inch QVGA LCD for browsing your digital media collection or viewing videos at up to 30 frames per second in either horizontal or vertical orientations, while the inclusion of SensMe music suggestion engine is designed to take the hard work out of manually tagging individual tracks in your library.
Based on Sony’s “12 Tone Analysis” technology and “LCMIR (Low-Complexity Music Information Retrieval)” technology, SensMe analyzes your music collection, suggesting playlists based on each song’s speed, mood and rhythm and creating a choice of 11 themed ‘channels’. The S series is also format friendly, supporting formats from all major download stores as well as WMV with DRM. Supplied Content Transfer software allows ‘drag & drop’ transfer of music, videos, podcasts and playlists, (DRM files excepted), from iTunes.
Sony is claiming the S series is not only the thinnest Walkman ever, but it’s also the best-sounding ever, thanks to a suite of four Sony-developed Clear Audio technologies complemented by 13.5mm EX headphones. The NWZ-S730F series even features a new 3-way noise cancelling system that works in conjunction with the 13.5mm EX headphones to shut out background distractions. Air travelers can also connect the S730F directly to the plane’s AV system and enjoy, (or at least hear), the in-flight entertainment with the bonus of high-quality noise cancellation.
Keeping the S series form factor while gaining a few mm around the waist is Sony’s E series, which retains the 2-inch QVGA LCD screen, wide format support, and drag and drop file transfer, but drops the SensMe feature. The E series is available in a choice of four color finishes and boasts a battery life of up to 45 hours for music playback and 8 hours for video.
Doing away with the LCD display altogether is the ultra-portable B series, which plugs directly into a PC’s USB port for drag and drop file transfers. The design of the units, which are available in a choice of four colors, includes an illuminator that pulses in time with the music. The B series also feature a voice recorder, while the NWZ-B130F series includes an FM radio.
The new Walkman S , E and B series models will be available in stores from October and to pre-order online from Sony Style from September.
For further info visit Sony.