We've been consistently impressed with Sony's Walkman series and we've been eagerly anticipating the newest arrival. This latest model -- also known as the NWZ-A820 series or the lengthy NWZA828KB and NWZA828K -- takes over from the NWZ-A810 series and adds stereo Bluetooth, plus a host of other improvements. It's currently available for around £160, but will we be as impressed this time around?
Design
Sony's players never fail to win style points with us. The A828 is sleek, with an aluminium enclosure and a beautiful 61mm (2.4-inch) screen. The 320x240-pixel display is bright and boasts terrific pixel density to produce a sharp image. You'll see vivid colours and decent blacks on this screen. Slightly larger than its predecessor, the A828's navigation pad has also been redesigned -- a four-way control pad sits in the middle. Dedicated 'back' and 'option' buttons are on either side à la most mobile phones.
What we do quite like is the dedicated button for switching Bluetooth on and off -- it's extremely useful. On the downside, the player uses a proprietary USB cable, so you'll want to kick yourself if you lose the one supplied.
Features
Obviously then, Bluetooth is a feature and you'll find Bluetooth headphones in the box -- they're very average, though -- along with the standard earphones. The player will pair with Bluetooth speakers and other earphones -- we hooked them up easily to a pair of Etymotic ETY-8s. Sadly, you can't sync to a PC this way.
Supported audio formats include MP3, protected and unprotected WMA and unprotected AAC, while video support simply includes MPEG-4. Napster purchases and 'Napster To Go' songs work without problem, and syncing with Windows Media Player, Napster or Windows drag 'n' drop is about as painless as rolling around in a pile of marshmellows. Album art is supported, too.
Operating the player couldn't be simpler unless, of course, you were doing it with your mind. Menus are basic and attractive, with no obvious stumbling blocks for technophobes or digital newbies. The larger font and clear screen will ensure you won't be squinting at the player while you change tracks. A thumbnail layout and attractive slideshows give JPEG photos and videos a similarly engaging feel.
Organising your inspirational workout playlists -- the Rocky theme, Eye of the Tiger, etc -- can be done within Windows Media Player, but they cannot be created on the fly within the player itself. The bundled software is convoluted functionality-wise, but will handle your podcasts and even Flickr feeds. You can easily add the feed for your contacts' most recent photo uploads and their photos will automatically appear in the player's photo library when you connect it to a PC.
Podcasts are synced in the same way, though they just appear within artist / album lists as if they were music. There's no playback position bookmarking for podcasts, however; you won't find support for Audible downloads, an FM radio, voice recording or gapless playback either.
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User reviews2
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Mike Buck 12 September 2008
Good: Ease of use, music quality
Bad: Could be cheaper, PC software is still rubbish!
Comment: Had this now for about 3 months, and i'm amazed with it, i'm not one of these, MP3 player means ipod people, personally I put quality of music playback ahead of it looking pretty, but this is as good looking as any ipod, the buttons are easy to use, and are well placed, the music playback is brilliant, either through the in-ear speakers or the bluetooth ones you get with it, the bluetooth ones are a bit chucky, but hey!
One thing that they need to resolve is the PC software, now called Media Manager, its still exremely average, and as much as it pains me to say this, itunes is in a different league compared to it. Media Manager doesn't cache changes to send them all at once, this means every time you add an album it send it to the player there and then and you have to wait for it to finish! But do what I did, and don't use it, the Walkman installs itself as a plug n play device on your PC so you can just drag and drop anything onto it! The software is better than it was, but thats not saying much. The other option is to use Microsoft's Media Player to do it.
Even so I'm still gunna score this on it music playing abilities cos thats why i bought it! and its brilliant. The battery lasts for ages, obviously if you use it with the bluetooth headphones, or a bluetooth speaker then it doesn't last as long but its still impressive. The menu is easy to use and the screen is clear. Its thin and light, sure it longer then the G3 nano, but its narrower.
So in conclusion, if you someone that wants an MP3 player as a music player and not as a fashion accessory, then this is the one for you! sure it costs a bit more, but i'll pay for quality.
Just remember, just cos more ipods are sold doesn't make them the best!
Peter Norman 4 May 2008
Good: The sound quality is fantastic, far better than any ipod
Bad: Bluetooth headset
Comment: I have owned 3 ipods including the ipod touch, none compare to the sound of the Sony Walkman NWZ-A828, and thats whats counts in the end
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