Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony NW-S205F 2 GB Flash Sports Digital Music Player with Armband (Black)

I've had mine for 3 weeks now primarily for using in the gym and I really like it. It is tiny, slick and classy. I have WOWed people with this. They were shocked that there are other cool MP3 players besides iPod.

Here is the breakdown of what I like and dont like:

Pros:

Small
well-made
Good battery life
Sounds great
The display is just right.
I am amazed how great the user interface is given minimum number of buttons and controls.
Radio tuner (it's an extra $50 to add it to iPod)
No need to look at it to change songs. The silver ring on top is the control; you skip songs with that. Way cool.
The armband is super handy and well made; Perfect for working out; just perfect.
Did I mention small and stylish?

Cons:

Battery not replaceable; pretty much like almost all other MP3 players, however by the time the battery goes, you wanna buy a new one anyway.
The earphones: This is pretty much why I am giving this player a 4 star instead of 5. Although they are around the ear sets, but these particular ones don't fit well. I have another Sony around the ear sets that fit great and I was disappointed to find out these suck big time. It could be that I have big ears, but still.
Music software: It is pretty bad. Don't forget to update the software which makes it easier to use, but still sub par. I figured, since I am not gonna upload music to it so often, it shouldn't bother me, and I was right.

I have always been a fan of the "sporty" mp3 players vs the larger multi gig "hard drive" mp3 players or even mid-side ipod-ish style mp3 players.

Pros
-Great display.
-Decent radio
-Great charging options (as it says a very short charge will get you good to go for a good workout period no problem)
-Awesome design, looks sleek.
-Nice armband, protects, solid, looks good.
-Cool features i.e. "shuffle shake" or sports mode, (plays different playlists based on your speed), stopwatch.
-Software is kinda nice how all the navigation/downloading features are all in one program.
-Unique twist navigation (that little silver band on the player) can be slid up and down on the top of the player as well as twisted left and right to navigate. Pretty simple.

Cons
-They let you sort by album/artist/title etc, but even then it can be tedious flipping through them if you want to get to certain songs.
-Like an ipod in that there's no way to get the battery out, not an issue for a long time, but something to keep in mind...
-There isn't really an explanation for the different features on the player itself, some reading required.
-Sony's music format, oma or something like that, pretty lame. Not really recommended to download from the sony site if you can get mp3 format somewhere else. That being said if you research it, you can convert oma to mp3.

Overall, very nice for working out, if you want an mp3 player to house your 40gig collection and leave in your car, not really the mp3 player for you. If you are a little tech savvy and want one for on the go, and especially working out, then HIGHLY recommended.

I bought this player a few weeks ago and have really enjoyed it so far. It's super small and light, one-line display is easy to read and visible in bright sunlight, FM radio has good reception, good batterly life, navigation is extremely easy and it didn't take long to learn how to set everything up.
Even with the lower/smaller audio format bit rates (ATRAC 48kbps), which is supposed to have the lesser sound quality, the sound is great.

I read some complaints in the online reviews about Sonic Stage, Sony's software. However, I haven't had any trouble with it. I've found it very easy to use, CD's import quickly as well as transfer to the player quickly. I'm not sure about the playlist feature because I'm old school and prefer to listen CD's in their entirety. The sports related features are very helpful.

A really great buy and I would highly recommened it to anyone!

Others have commented on the main problem I have with this device. Unfortunately, I didn't read enough reviews, and bought this thing. I wish I hadn't. Please heed this warning. I need to feel passionately a product to review it, and I hate what Sony has done with the player. The player itself it actually a very nice piece of hardware, and I have never operated a music device that is as aesthetically pleasing as this one. It is just plain cool to look at, operate, and the sound is great. However, the software kills that package. Or rather, the fact that you absolutely, positively MUST use the software is what kills the package. Not wanting to take the Steve Jobs route, I have purchased two Samsung players in the past. Both of those players allowed you to (gasp!) take your .mp3s and place them directly on the player for instant playback on the device. Pop out the cable, plug in the headphones, and you could listen to your music. Logical, correct? So, I take this thing out of the package and put some Modest Mouse on, pop out the cable and plug in my headphones. To my surprise, all I got was silence and a "NO DATA" notification on the display. The terrible bands that were preloaded onto this thing played wonderfully though.
Yes, I read the quickstart manual and it stated that to transfer music to the player, you might want to do it in SonicStage. I put a folder of music on the drive. Nothing. I took the .mp3s out and placed them directly on the drive. Nothing. I put a folder full of music in the ominous folders that were preloaded with the device. Nothing. Finally, I decided to give up and use SonicStage for the file transfer. I transferred my music in SonicStage, popped out the cable, stuck in my headphones and...music. Dang...do I really need to do this every time I want to load music onto this thing? As far as I can tell, the answer is yes. That means no taking this thing to my brother's house and effortlessly loading some of his songs onto it. I'd need to bring my Sony software with me. Want to hear something even more flabbergasting? The music that is loaded onto the player is invisible. Putting songs directly onto this thing makes them viewable, but not playable. Loading them on in SonicStage makes them playable, but they are nowhere in sight. Perhaps my player is possessed by El Diablo, or something.
Okay, I'm not a baby. I would be (sort of) okay with being forced to use SonicStage if the file transfer didn't take FOREVER. Here is a funfact for you: transferring 1.8 gigs of music to the player in SonicStage will take 26 minutes. Now, granted, I don't have the most up to date computer around, but 1.8 gigs is certainly not taking 26 minutes if I drag the music straight onto the player. I guess what I am trying to say with this cautionary tale of woe is that you should only purchase this if you are able to deal with its digital bureaucracy. If you can overlook the restrictions (yes, RESTRICTIONS on a device that you purchased for your own personal enjoyment), you might be able to enjoy using this player.

I dig the player. Sound quality is good, player is small (basically an oversized MD in-line remote), controls are intuitive and there are plenty of options such as EQ settings, display orientation, order of play etc.
The display is very clear but is a little "deeper" than I expected, it feels like peering into something under a layer of thick glass. I didn't expect the viewing angle to be great (because of the depth) but I can read it when wearing the included armband, so I guess it's ok.

In what's basically a recurring theme for all of Sony's portable digital audio offerings, SonicStage is the weakest link. It needs a lot of work to catch up to iTunes but I have found that it is not so bad in managing albums, which is mostly what I do. My library is about 7 GB right now and is mostly WMA that I imported. SonicStage stores native WMA and will convert into ATRAC (Sony's codec) when synchronizing to MiniDisc or other Sony players, which tends to be a slow process. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the NW-S205F does support direct WMA playback in its hardware and SonicStage syncs pretty quickly (meaning that it does not convert), so I'm definitely glad about that.

The included headphones don't seem to fit my ears very well. In any case, they seem to be designed for sport so I supplied my own - the MDR-EX71SL. The short cord seems to be a perfect match for this player when its sitting in the armband or my shirt pocket. I'm already using this player more than any other I have but I think I'll use it more when I get the accessory neck strap for it. That product appears to be out in Japan but still not out here. Another nice accessory that is included in the Japanese package appears to be belt/shirt clip. I hope that is available for purchase soon too, it will certainly be useful when using the unit as a pedometer alone.

I have not used the unit in direct sunlight, nor have I tried the calorie counter, pedometer functions but I hope to try that out pretty soon. Maybe I'll update this review then.