32GB X Series Walkman® Video MP3 Player

The new X Series Walkman fuses an OLED touch-screen display with cutting-edge noise canceling technology.

• Unparalleled picture quality.

  Watch videos, view pictures and surf the internet in breathtaking contrast, brightness and color on the astounding, 3-inch OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen.

• Quick touch-screen navigation.

  Browse through your media library with the flick of your finger. In addition to simple, one-touch, on-screen navigation, you can also access your music, videos and photos via button operation.

• Access podcasts without a PC.

  Equipped with built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, you can browse the internet and subscribe to podcasts. Go to your favorite podcast site and subscribe straight from the device via the RSS button. Plus, with built-in Wi-Fi, you can refresh podcasts as well as access music, videos and content from other websites.

• Free personalized radio.

  Slacker Radio comes integrated on the X Series. Once you register your Walkman MP3 player with Slacker.com, you can choose up to 3 stations of music. Each station is cached on the device and can be refreshed using a Wi-Fi connection. Best of all, it's free.Rediscover music with the 32GB X Series Walkman® video MP3 player. Boasting a stunning 3.0-inch OLED touch-screen display, digital noise cancellation and wireless connectivity, the X Series takes portability to the next level. Equipped with built-in Wi-Fi, you can connect to the internet and access your favorite websites including Yahoo!®, YouTube™ and Slacker® Personal Radio. You can also subscribe to your favorite podcasting sites and receive podcasts straight to the MP3 player via a Wi-Fi connection. The X Series also features advanced audio qualities and comes with premium EX noise canceling headphones.
  

  Quality of Sound

  Digital clear audio technologies, S-Master™ digital amplifier, digital noise canceling⁴ function with Noise Canceling EX headphones (MDR-NC20).

  Discover Music

  Slacker® radio⁶ offers free personalized music that uploads to your Walkman® player when the player is connected to a wireless LAN and when you are in a WiFi⁸ zone (Slacker registration is required after 30 days).

  OLED Display

  OLED technology has a response time suitable for movie playback. A wide viewing angle of nearly 180 degrees gives consistent tone and stable contrast, as well as, a wide range of color reproduction and a high contrast ratio.

  Hybrid Operation

  The benefit of both “touch panel” and “button” operation makes the X series easy to use while using its different features.

  Internet Connectivity

  • Podcast download, register podcast on browser and link to podcast web site • “Related Links” function relates web content with music content playing on your Walkman® X series • Connect directly to “YouTube™” and “Yahoo!®” • Internet Browser⁵ • Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) connectivity to Home Wireless LAN and to public Wireless LAN. Supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup⁸

  Drag and Drop Functionality

  Easily load your music, pictures, and video onto this player by dragging and dropping them into the video MP3 player on your computer.

  Multiple High-quality Video Formats¹

  This player supports multiple high-quality video formats as well as a variety of audio codecs, giving you more freedom to download the kind of music and video that you want.

  Long Battery Life

  Equipped with a long-lasting battery that enables you to listen to up to 33 hours of music and watch up to 9 hours of video without needing to recharge²

  100 Free Music Downloads

  Purchase a Sony X series Walkman® player and receive 100 free music downloads from Sony Music. Choose from hundreds of thousands of the world's greatest songs, and start enjoying them on-the-go with your new X series Walkman player.

  Video

  • Playback : Mode: Normal/Repeat/Shuffle/Shuffle&Repeat/Repeat 1 Song
  
  

  Weights and Measurements

  • Dimensions (Approx.) : W 2 1/8 x H 3 7/8 x D 13/32 inches
  
  
  • Weight (Approx.) : 3.5 oz
  
  

  Audio Features

  • Sound Mode : 5 Band equalizer (Heavy/Pop/Jazz/Unique/Custom 1/Custom 2) and Clear Bass
  
  
  • Surround Effect : DSEE (on/off)
  
  

  Hardware

  • Display : 3-inch, OLED color display, WQVGA (432 x 240 Pixels), 262,144 colors
  
  
  • Headphone Type : MDR-NC020
  
  
  • System Requirements : Computer: IBM PC/AT or compatible computer preinstalled with the following Windows operating systems: - Windows® XP Home Edition (Service Pack 2 or later) - Windows® XP Professional (Service Pack 2 or later) - Windows Vista® Home Basic (Service Pack 1 or later) - Windows Vista® Home Premium (Service Pack 1 or later) - Windows Vista® Business (Service Pack 1 or later) - Windows Vista® Ultimate (Service Pack 1 or later) Excluding OS Versions not supported by Microsoft. Excluding Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition. Excluding 64-bit OS versions for use with PC application software "Media Manager for Walkman".
  
  

  Capability

  • MP3 Player : Yes
  
  
  • Radio : Yes
  
  

  General

  • Music Storage Capacity (Approx) : 32GB
  
  
  • Recommended Use : Music/Video/Photo/FM/Podcast/Internet Browser/YouTube
  
  

  Power

  • Battery Charging (Approx) : USB-based charging Approx. 3 Hrs(full charge), Approx. 1.5 Hrs(approx. 80%)
  
  
  • Power Type : Built-in Rechargeable Li-ion Battery USB power (from a computer via the supplied USB cable)
  
  

  Video Features

  • JPEG Playback : Yes
  
  

  Audio

  • Antenna System : FM: Headphone Cord Antenna
  
  
  • Audio Power Output : 5 + 5mW
  
  
  • Equalizer : 5 Band: Heavy/Pop/Jazz/Unique/Custom1/Custom2
  
  
  • Format(s) Supported : Audio: MP3/WMA/AAC/L-PCM, Video: AVC(H.264/AVC)/MPEG-4/WMV DRM
  
  
  • Frequency Range : 87.5 to 108.0 MHz
  
  
  • Frequency Response : 20 - 20,000Hz
  
  
  • Tuner : Yes
  
  
  • Tuner Type : FM

  
  

The NWZ-S738F's impressive sound quality is enhanced with a noise-cancellation feature and five-band equalizer.

Carrying the torch of the Walkman brand name 30 years after the first cassette Walkman was introduced, the Sony Walkman NWZ-S738F is a high-quality MP3 player. The marquee feature is noise-cancellation, which showcases the player's excellent sound and equalizer.

• Would You Buy This?

• 37Yes
• 0No

Sony NWZ-S738F Walkman Test Scores

• Overall83
• Performance87
• Features66
• Design90

Full Test Report »

• Before You Buy

• How to Buy an MP3 Player
• Top Flash-Based MP3 Players
• Top Hard Drive MP3 Players

This is a slim, stylish player, with a brushed-metal faceplate and back. It also slips easily into small pockets, thanks to a 1.6-ounce frame that measures 3.6 inches high, 1.75 inches wide, and 0.31 inches deep--a bit smaller (but thicker) than a credit card. It's available in capacities of 8GB (for $180) and 4GB (for $150).

The NWZ-S738F sounds phenomenal, especially when using its noise-cancelling earbuds with the player's noise-cancelling feature turned on. That makes it a great option for flights, bus rides, and settings where outside noise may creep in on your listening experience. In PC World Test Center audio tests, it netted a signal-to-noise ratio score of 82 decibels--just a shade below the latest iPods and the top-ranked Creative Zen X-Fi--as well as a barely registering harmonic distortion and noise level of 0.01 percent.

The noise-cancelling earbuds are a bit bulkier than most earbuds and will probably work best with bigger ears. The headphone port on the NWZ-S738F works with any minijack, but to get the noise-cancelling feature, you need to use the included set. That's worth thinking about if you don't like the look or feel of the large earbuds.

What's more, thanks to the proprietary noise-cancellation connector on the side of the included earbuds' jack, they won't work with other devices. In short, you can use other headphones with this player, but the bundled noise-cancellation headphones won't work with standard minijack inputs.

The earbuds, manual equalizer settings, and great sound aren't the only reasons why an audiophile might want to consider this player. A number of other audio features would entice any aural perfectionist.

For example, there are six surround-sound settings (which, in my informal tests, had a clear influence on the depth and shape of the sound); these include DSEE Sound Enhancement, to restore audio lost due to MP3 compression (but it didn't produce many noticeable audio changes); Clear Stereo, which keeps the left and right channels from leaking into one another (it did, but apparently I prefer my channels mixed); and a Dynamic Normalizer setting (which made songs louder, in a good way).

The fully manual five-band equalizer comes with four presets (Heavy, Pop, Jazz, and "Unique").

You can't make playlists within the player, but the NWZ-S738F does have some unique on-board features. One of them is the "SensMe" playlist generator, which analyzes your songs' beats-per-minute counts--and "moods," according to Sony-- and builds automatic playlists based on those parameters. In SensMe mode, the player assigns playlists names such as "Daytime," "Relax," "Energetic," and "Extreme" (the mood, not the band). In my informal tests, SensMe worked well enough to create "mood-based" playlists.

Other features include an FM radio, podcast sorting, an "Intelligent Shuffle" feature with a shuffle-by-year option named "Time Machine Shuffle," and photo and video playback. The 2-inch-diagonal, 240-by-320 screen is vibrant for photo and video viewing and bright enough to see in nearly any lighting condition, but it's a bit too small to enjoy watching videos. Already-small clips are shrunk down more if they're in wide-screen or 16:9 format. Plus, there's no way to zoom in on an area of a photo once it's displayed.

On the bright side, you can set your own photos as your home screen's background, change orientation of the photos and videos from vertical to horizontal via a menu option, and listen to music while you're browsing photos. All in all, the screen is great for navigating menus, but not for viewing photos or watching videos.

Navigating the player itself is as easy as it is intuitive. A ring consisting of four directional buttons surrounds the center play/pause button on the front of the NWZ-S738F, as well as dedicated Back and Option buttons on either side of the ring. The Back and Option buttons double as the Home button and power-off button, respectively, when pressed for a few seconds. A volume rocker and lock switch reside along the right side of the device, and the noise-cancellation on/off switch, proprietary charging/synching connector, and headphone jack are all on the bottom of the player.

The player feels well-constructed and solid in the hand, so this player seems built to last the daily wear-and-tear of being jammed into your pocket or thrown in your bag.

File support is fairly limited: on the audio end, the NWZ-S738F will play MP3s, protected and unprotected WMA, WAV, and DRM-free AAC files. On the video side, it supports MPEG-4 (H.264 codec) and M4V files, as well as JPEG still images.

The player supports dragging and dropping your media files onto it as a drive, but Sony also includes a mini-CD with the player to install Napster and Windows Media Player 11 (both of which the NWZ-S738F supports), a PDF of the user's manual, and a plug-in that lets you drag and drop files from iTunes. Also in the box are the USB-to-proprietary-connector charging and syncing cable, a proprietary-connector-to-headphone-jack audio-out cable, and troubleshooting and Quick Start guides. The player is designed well enough that it can be mastered without the documentation.

This is a great player for audiophiles: if you like your music tweakable, clean, delivered via some creative on-board features, and in a slick, durable chassis, the well-priced Walkman NWZ-S738F is a great option. You may want to look elsewhere, however, if video and photo playback and file support is a top priority.

With its latest iteration of the iPod Touch, Apple has added two highly coveted features--external volume controls and a speaker--and lowered prices,

When PC World reviewed Microsoft's previous Zune flash player last fall, we questioned whether support for wireless and for video was overkill on a device that holds only 8GB of content. This fall, Microsoft addressed the storage limitations by adding a new 16GB model to its flash family.

• Would You Buy This?

• 36Yes
• 7No

Microsoft Zune 16GB Test Scores

• Overall76
• Performance71
• Features70
• Design83

Full Test Report »

• Before You Buy

• How to Buy an MP3 Player
• Top Flash-Based MP3 Players
• Top Hard Drive MP3 Players

But other than expanded storage and a glossy black case, the main changes involve the Zune 3.0 firmware--which is not preinstalled on the new Zunes (you must visit Zune.netto obtain it). What's more, the player's new features, though interesting, serve mostly as incentives to get you to buy from the Zune Marketplace.

The 16GB Zune retails for $200--the same price that the 8GB Zune carried when it debuted. Size (including the 1.8-inch screen), weight, and the device's battery life (according to the company's spec) remain the same for the $200 Zune 16GB. At 0.3 inch thick, the 16GB Zune is noticeably bulkier than the 0.24-inch third-generation iPod Nano; it also weighs a bit more, at 1.7 ounces versus 1.3 ounces for the Nano.

The Zune supports AAC, MP3, WMA, WMA lossless, and its own DRM format for Zune Pass subscriptions. In case you'd sometimes rather listen to radio, the Zune includes a built-in FM tuner.

In our lab tests, audio quality was good, but the player's 20-step digital volume control doesn't permit much fine-tuning. On certain tracks, sound would be too low at one step and too high at the next. The player's signal-to-noise ratio of 80dB is consistent with its predecessor's and comparable to that of some of our highest-ranked players.

The Zune can play back video and display photos on its 1.8-inch, 320-by-240-pixel screen, too; with support for H.264, MPEG-4, and WMV encoding.

Video looked okay when played back on the device, but I wish that the screen had been expanded in the new models. Still, it's fine for watching TV shows or short clips, which is all that the Zune Marketplace offers anyway. Zune owners can preview and download shows from NBC, Fox, and cable networks such as MTV, Bravo, and Comedy Central from the Zune Marketplace.

The 16GB Zune retains the 8GB version's touch-sensitive control, which doubles as a clickable D-pad controller so you can scroll in four directions. When you select an artist and an album, scrolling up or down takes you through songs on that album Scrolling left or right switches to other albums by the same artist. Overall, the Zune has a very intuitive interface.

The most significant new features in the Zune 3.0 firmware are 'Buy from FM' and built-in wireless. Unlike Apple's 'Genius' feature, which applies only to newer iPods, Microsoft's free firmware upgrade is available for all generations of Zunes.

'Buy from FM' is a nice feature if you listen to music on the radio often. When you come across a song you like, you can tag it by clicking the center button--and if you're in a Wi-Fi hotspot, you can download it immediately. If Wi-Fi isn't available, your device will form a queue of songs for download.

Since I rarely listen to the radio, I can't see myself using this feature. But Microsoft claims that 50 percent of Zune owners use their built-in radio regularly, and 'Buy from FM' is certainly a useful feature for them. The tagging capability comes in handy for identifying songs that you like but don't know the name of.

The wireless feature also allows you to find, buy (at $0.99 per song), and download content from Zune's Marketplace while on the go. If you have a Zune Pass ($15 per month), you can download or stream an unlimited number of songs directly to both your player and your computer.

Microsoft announced that it is partnering with McDonald's to provide free wireless for Zune customers at about 10,000 restaurants. We weren't able to test how well the players respond to ketchup spills.

As with the 8GB Zune, you can share playlists, songs, albums and podcasts with your Zune-owning friends within a wireless range. It's a great feature, but you can listen only three times to any song that you receive in this way; then you have to buy it from the Zune Marketplace if you want to keep listening to it.

Other updates include Audible.com audiobook support, a couple of free games (Texas Hold 'Em and a puzzle game), and a home-screen clock.

Overall, the Zune 16GB offers some nice features, but despite its new firmware and doubled capacity, there are better flash players on the market. If you're looking for maximum storage space, the SanDisk Sansa View offers a 32GB player; and the 16GB Creative Zen X-Fi, our top-ranked MP3 player, lets you expand your storage via SD Card. If you prefer something extremely lightweight that integrates with a lot of third-party speakers and accessories, the fourth-generation 16GB iPod Nanos may be a better choice. All of these devices are available for about the same price as the Zune, so unless you're a big fan of Zune's software and the Zune Marketplace, you can probably find a better value elsewhere.

The second-generation iPod Touch adds speaker and volume controls--and delivers one of the most polished media players available at a lower price.

With its latest iteration of the iPod Touch, Apple has added two highly coveted features--external volume controls and a speaker--and lowered prices, too. However, the Touch's physical changes are incremental, and they don't bring the device up to the level of its sibling, the iPhone 3G.

• Would You Buy This?

• 295Yes
• 51No

Apple iPod Touch 32GB Test Scores

• Overall83
• Performance93
• Features67
• Design97

Full Test Report »

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To be sure, the lower prices make the Touch a more attractive purchase than before, coming in at $229 for 8GB (previously $299), $299 for 16GB, and $399 for 32GB (down from $499). The prices are more in line with what Apple and AT&T charge for the iPhone 3G: $199 for 8GB, and $299 for 16GB. (You don't have to pay a monthly fee to use the Touch, though.) While the amount is still more than what you might pay for competing media players, you get more with the Touch, too.

Let's begin with what stays the same. This version of the Touch continues to share many characteristics with the first-generation Touch and with the iPhone 3G. All have a bright, gorgeous, 3.5-inch, wide-screen multitouch display with 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 pixels per inch. All have 802.11b/g wireless support. And all sport the same operating system software that allows for easy navigation, a host of useful apps (Safari Web browser, calendar, e-mail, contacts, Google Maps, YouTube, weather, clock with multiple alarms and stopwatch, ordinary and scientific calculators, and notepad), and the ability to expand your device through Apple's App Store.

Playing music remains a breeze. Press the home button below the display to activate the screen, and then selectMusic from the dedicated buttons along the bottom of the screen. In vertical view, the music's cover art dominates the display; orient the player horizontally, and it switches to Cover Flow view, which lets you page through the cover art as if you were viewing a flip book.

In addition to easily setting playlists on the fly, you can now use the new Genius autoplaylist creation feature directly from the Touch. First you must enable this feature oniTunes 8; but once enabled, it makes creating a playlist from songs in your music library a snap. Genius won't work for every song--for example, if the song is not on iTunes' radar, or it lacks complete ID3 tags--but the feature is certainly a convenient, almost category-focused addition to the iPod Touch's repertoire.

Audio sounds adequate through the included earbuds, but you may want to consider upgrading, either to Apple's forthcoming, step-up $80 earphones or to a high-quality pair from a third-party vendor. The earphone jack remains at the bottom of the Touch, just as on the first-gen model; that's in contrast, oddly enough, to the iPhone 3G, which places the jack at the upper left of the unit.

You have good reason to upgrade your headphones: According to our tests, the second-generation iPod Touch improves its audio output dramatically, jumping up a notch to receive a rating of Superior on the PC World Test Center's suite of audio tests. The Touch, together with its new Nano sibling, are our new leaders in our audio output results.

According to Apple, the new Touch's battery life is significantly better for music playback: 36 hours, as compared with 22 hours for the first-generation model. Video playback is only a bit improved over the previous model, rated for 6 hours versus 5.

The Touch's physical design is slightly altered. The original model measured 4.3 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide and 0.33 inches deep; the new edition retains the height and width but shrinks the depth by a barely perceptible 0.03 of an inch (or half a millimeter). The new Touch is a smidgen lighter than the old, coming in at 4.05 ounces versus the first gen's weight of 4.2 ounces.

Leading the new hardware features for the Touch are the external volume controls. The rocker-like buttons are positioned along the upper-left side of the Touch, just as they are on the iPhone 3G. On this device, however, the buttons are made of a sharp, inexpensive-feeling black plastic. Though they're a welcome addition, I wish they better matched the overall feel of the metallic Touch. (Another button gripe: The home button feels chintzy when pressed, as it makes a clicking noise. The iPhone 3G's button operates far more smoothly, with no noise.)

The second-generation Touch also adds a speaker to the base of the unit, much like the iPhone 3G. But, again, the Touch is subpar in comparison: The sound is tinny and thin next to the audio emanating from the iPhone 3G; whether that is due to the iPhone 3G's differing construction (the iPhone has a plastic back, and is slightly deeper than the Touch) or owing to the speaker itself is unknown.

The third new hardware feature sees the integration of the Nike + iPod software and receiver (for capturing your movement data) into the Touch itself. Simply add the extra-cost Nike + iPod Sensor for your shoe, and the Touch becomes an appealing workout companion.

Still missing from the Touch are an integrated camera and GPS--both features found on the iPhone 3G. Also, it still lacks a voice recorder (a feature added back to the new iPod Nano) and--like all iPods--an FM tuner, although you can download apps (some at extra cost) to fill the voice-recording void and to gain Internet radio support (when you're connected over Wi-Fi).

Arguably, beyond the price drop, the big news about the Touch has nothing to do with the hardware and everything to do with the continuing evolution of the App Store, which offers plenty of games (700 and counting) among its arsenal. With the addition of games, the Touch widens its position as an entertainment platform.

The Touch remains a tremendous and innovative device, with enticing features, unparalleled ease of use, and plenty of expandability through the App Store. As attractive as it is, though, I still believe it has room to improve. New features coupled with lower prices increase the second-generation model's appeal, but this version of the Touch doesn't supply enough incentive for existing owners to upgrade.