Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony 4 GB Walkman Video MP3 Player with FM Tuner (Silver)

I bought (and then returned) this player. The size and sound of this is just amazing. Better than Sansa and iRiver. The video looks great (if you can manage to get it uploaded). The reasons for returning this were:
1) In Noise Canceling mode, I could hear a high-pitch noise that was annoying (my Bose headphones don't do this).
2) To Use it with Airplane Audio system you need to BUY an Audio Input Cable for $28 + $6.95 shipping
3) It uses a propreitary cable to charge/upload which must be carried with you (why doesn't SONY use USB?)
4) The included software does not do video conversion, that "upgrade" is $13 extra and it seems only it can convert video to a format that this unit can play
5) The memory is not expandable! You only have 8 Gb max.
Hope this helps someone. Fortunately, I returned mine withing the 30-day window.

Bought this unit for a friend. It was on sale and was much cheaper than the equivalent Ipod. Now that i have used it, I would pay the full price and more! It is so much better than the Ipod. Navigation is simpler. The sound is better. Screen is crisp. Battery life kills the ipod.

The only thing that it does not have is the touch dial, but the simpler navigation makes up for that. AND it has a radio!!!

I honestly cannot see how the ipod competes with this product... reading all the reviews, it seems like you have to try one to know what you are missing....

27 March 2009 - Note, This is 4 weeks after the original review. I have bought a unit for myself as well even though i have another mp3 player. This player is incredible. I have tested the Noise Cancelling mechanism on a train by simply playing the music so low that i could not hear it. The earbuds muffled some of the ambient noise but when i switched the noise cancelling system on, I was blown away. Apparently there are microphones on the outside of the earbuds that pick up the ambient sounds. This is then sent to the processor and the processor "kills" the ambient sounds by using destructive sound waves for those ambient sounds. I am not that Tech savy but all i can say is that it works!!! This is truly an amazing unit.

The walk man holds most every thing I have as to songs. The tuner works great. Would buy the walk man over an ipod any day. The noise canceling ear buds work as advertised and are comfortable while working out or motor cycle riding.

The box and Sony claim it suppors acv, mpeg4, MPR WMA , and Unprotected aac files. I stick MP3 for music. Once you register the unit, you can "upgrade" (12.00US) the software to load WMV video. I spent the money, but am sure Audials or Videoraptor could have converted the video files. I use it every day at the gym. Video is clear, and no problem with the screen size, can even read text of captions. Very nice feature to re-orient the video, so regardless of arm I can still see the picture clearly. For the money this smokes the IPOD. Sony pioneered personal audio with the walkman, and the family just keeps getting better.

I am a Sony fan, & Sony did it again!

I was looking for a 'MP3 player on the go' I got this at a decent deal directly from Sony-style, & I must say, it worth the money.

Here is the list of good things -

1 Sound quality is outstanding. The bass, clarity & especially the volume level.
Note: it's not outstanding out of the box. You have to tweak few features & change the settings as per your need to make it that way. You have options of building your own settings apart from the presets (which is sufficient for a normal user).

2 The ear buds provided with this unit - excellent quality, & this is one of the biggest plus in terms of cost - normally you need to get an extra pair of quality headphones for other players, but this "noise cancelling" ear bud is comfortable too. I have tested with other ear bud I previously had, they don't come even close!

3 The noise cancelling feature & ear bud so nicely stops other noise from reaching your ear, that you will only notice lip movement even if someone is talking just beside you with substantial volume! You can test this feature by pausing the song & turning on & off this feature.

4 Navigation ease (mostly similar to mobile phones) & dedicated volume button makes this easy for everyone. I like the 'option' button most - its like right click of your mouse & you can navigate to anywhere you like.

5 Size, shape, quality of material used is excellent, I liked the black one most, but as this was a gift to my wife, I chose red one, & it looks very elegant. I like it over IPOD nano, because of the shape, IPOD nano is too slick to handle.

6 Battery life is excellent - if you hear 1-2 hr a day, full battery would give you more than a week's time before it will need a recharge

I really could not find any cons yet, I am truly satisfied with it. Unlike other players I have used, this player didn't freeze a single time yet as well, but that's what should be normal. I just disliked the wire of the ear bud - the left ear one being small as compared to the right ear one, which is irritating, but I can live with it.


I would place it ahead of its competitors, nano, sansa or zoon, this one is a winner. Thank you, Sony!