Sony 8 GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (Black) by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony 8 GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (Black)
Digital camera Review: By far, the best one I've ever had!
Summary: 5 Stars
Being playing it around since I got it two days ago, here are my thoughts:
1. Transfer music from both Windows Media Player and BestBuy Music Store (Rhapsody) are easy and fast.
2. It sounds way better than my: Philip GoGear 6GB > Creative Zen V-Plus 2GB > Insignia NV4G > Sandisk Sansa e280R. The bundled ear bud headphone works perfectly!
3. Video looks great, smooth and vivid and actually still comfortable to watch them on the 2.4" screen for even couple of hours.
4. Video transfer can be a headache. Windows Media Player only transfers limited formats, yet it's pretty fast with my wmv format clips. However, I have a lot of recorded TV from Windows XP Media Center (in dvr-ms format), and it can't be transferred through Windows Media Player.
5. I installed the Media Manager for WALKMAN came in the package, and upgraded it online ($12.95) to Media Manager PRO, which then can transfer dvr-ms movies. The result is good, but still, it takes about one hour to convert and transfer a one-hour show. Kinda inefficient. For this matter, I almost decided to give it a 4-star review. By judging from the transferred results, it's stil worth a 5-star rating.
6. Hardware design is everything SONY, solid, beautiful and no cheapy feelings.
7. I got a screen protector and silicon case designed for SONY A820 series, and it fits well. There is even a WALKMAN logo on the back of the case.
Conclusion, this is by far the best mp3 player I've ever had, with 8GB of memory, excelent sound quality, big screen with great color/contrast and the long battery life, plus responsive and stable hardware performance. Great deal it is. And it's from SONY (Made in Malaysia).
Digital camera Review: Could have been a contender
Summary: 2 Stars
I agree with the other reviews that the screen is large and sharp, and that the sound quality is awesome. I also like the menu system and enjoy the ability to sync the device using Windows Media Player. So far, so good. Where this device strays from a 4-star review is in its ability to play songs seamlessly.
THERE IS NO GAPLESS PLAYBACK! If you listen to continuous DJ mixes like I do, you will be annoyed listening to this device as it inserts a half-second moment of silence between each track. This is completely unacceptable and should have been fixed in a firmware update. As of the date of this review, Sony has not fixed this and has not expressed an interest in doing so. This is a total deal-breaker for me. Even non-mix albums have songs that blend from one track to the next and this player totally ruins that. Unfortunately, the lack of gapless playback is not noted in any product specs, so I did not learn about it until I purchased this product.
A much more minor criticism is that the device is a fingerprint and smudge magnet. This is not that big of a deal, but if you watch a lot of videos it could be an annoyance.
I had such high hopes for this device, but the lack of gapless playback annoyed me to the point of hating this product.
Digital camera Review: Dissapointed with Sony
Summary: 2 Stars
Sony 8 GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (Black)
If you've read other reviews out there then you'll know that the good and the bad are all true, from sound quality, video quality, easiness in usage, useless software provided in the package, etc. What you guys might not know, and I haven't seen the review for this yet here on Amazon, is that the earphones, while great at first, has short cables and weak wires that tended to get busted pretty fast even with careful usage.
Another thing that I am very disappointed at is with the warranty of this product. I bought the item on August 7, 2008 and I am the type of person who is always very careful with their stuff. I even bought the silicone case, screen protector and the $40 adapter! Here's why: Today, I called the customer service to ask about the warranty on the earphones, I found out that the wires inside is broken and they told me I have to buy a new pair because it's not covered under the limited warranty (90 days or 1 year). Okay fine, I can't do anything about that but then what about the busted battery? I call it busted because after almost 3 months of use, I have to re-charge it daily even after only 5 hours of usage, video and audio combined, which is a ridiculously short amount of time because this player is being marketed as having "up to 36 hours of audio playback and up to 9.5 hours of video playback" I guess, it's only true for the first one month.
The rep then tried to look for the warranty and he informed me that it's already expired. Then he found out 5 minutes later that their internal database is screwed up and that's why even though my product is valid and bought under 90 days, both the 90 days and 1 year warranty are not showing, so I had to call back with a reference number tomorrow when their call center is open.
Just a note: When I ask how much it will cost to repair the battery, he quoted me at around $130, shipping not included. I then informed him that Amazon now sold it at $135.98. You'll be better off buying a new one instead of sending it for a repair and ended up with refurbished part.
Before buying this MP3 player, I had read and scrutiny every other reviews, bad and good, and I decided to still buy it because this is a Sony product after all. I have been a loyal costumer with Sony since I was a kid, but I guess over the years, their Quality Control has been slipping. Their customer service quality has yet to be proven, I guess I'll found out more tomorrow.
EDIT: October 27, 2008
Sony Customer Relation called and they said my warranty is working now and they gave me the work order #. The only cost on my end would be the Shipping cost to Sony, they'd take care the rest. Should take about 10 - 14 business days. Sony give another 90 days warranty after they fixed the item so that's good. I will update again when I receive my working player. And another thing, they agreed to replace my broken earphones!
EDIT: November 19, 2008
Sony said there was nothing wrong with my player and will charge me $51 for new earphones. The earphones has no fault on the OUTSIDE, but the inside wires were broken and so they wanted me to pay for a replacement. I said thanks but no thanks. I got a new white Sony earphones from BJ's instead. A week later, the player returned and I checked for its condition, and when previously it was a smooth sleek little player, it is now mark with scratches and dent on its body. Looks like Sony Repair Center people took really great care of it by slamming and sliding around across the tables.
DO NOT EVER SEND IN YOUR PLAYER INTO SONY UNLESS IT'S COMPLETELY BROKEN! AND YOU WANT IT TO TURN OUT LIKE MINE.
Digital camera Review: EXCELLENT SOUND QUALITY
Summary: 5 Stars
I own this 8gb version and after switching to ipod nano I decided to go back to sony( I used to have MD- Mini Disc format)
I'm glad I did Sony is the BEST in sound quality, the music doesnt sound flat n boring anymore, now is powerful and clear.
Cons- Do not use the software that comes with this is a pain in the behind, but, rather use it as a storage device. Just click on the icon under my computer and drag n drop your pics, music, and videos there, much easier.
BUY IT, if you know how good Sony is, if not try it you will love it.
Digital camera Review: Equally good for music and videos
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this for the high quality music player, but I'm really enjoying the video capability now, too. The screen is big enough to actually see what you're viewing and enjoy it. Is it built well? The first day I had it, it fell out of my shirt pocket and straight into the cat's water dish. Although completely submerged (while playing), it played on and suffered no ill effects. Not that I would recommend abusing it regularly. It is built tight, though.
The prior reviews have covered it well. You can download the manual from Sony's website if you want all the details. So I'll just provide a few tips. It says you should have Windows Media Player 11 installed on your computer, but I like WMP 10 much better, so instead I make my playlists using a very simple freeware program called WalkmanMTP. I had a few videos that wouldn't transfer by drag and drop (as Sony indicated might happen if only WMP 10 was installed), and WalkmanMTP solves that problem, too. For video info, Google "streaming video capture cnet." You can use Prism Video Converter (another freeware program) to convert videos to play on this. Set the encoder options for MPEG4(iPod), avg bitrate 256, max 512 (you can adjust these settings for better quality but larger file size), audio bitrate at 128 works well, and for "edit output" shrink or enlarge the file to 320 x 240 (must use that setting). Don't change the framerate. And that's it.
I recommend a screen protector (search B0019IZ3P4 on Amazon). I also recommend getting the Ookong add-on for Firefox and following the player's price changes on Amazon if you're looking to buy.