Sony leaks next wave of budget Walkmen
updated 05:45 pm EDT, Sun August 17, 2008
Sony E430 Walkman Leak
Sony is planning a new entry level Walkman that would combine the simple features of its stick players with the more advanced features of its full-size devices, the company itself has accidentally revealed through its New Zealand website. The NWZ-E430 series appears a sequel to the A600 series with a slightly larger two-inch screen and at most 8GB of storage, but will be easier to load than earlier models; full drag-and-drop support allows not only loading music and video through the operating system's file manager but through sync software; both iTunes and Windows Media Player are claimed to support new Walkman range.
Few extras will be included with the players, though all have an FM tuner as well as support for widespread formats such as AAC, MP3, and WMA for music as H.264 and MPEG-4 for video. Battery life, however, is claimed as a specialty with up to 45 hours of music and 9.5 hours of video in ideal conditions versus half as much for current players from Apple, SanDisk, and other rivals.
No pricing or a launch date is available from the New Zealand pages, though the starting costs are likely to be low with 2GB and 4GB versions at the bottom of the range. Sony offers its current A600 players at $100 or less for a 2GB model in the US. [via Sony Insider]













Um.
08/18, 07:39am reply
Why are they even bothering?
gambit-7
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Feb 2001
walkman?
08/18, 09:12am reply
so 1980s. Time for a new name.
climacs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
Its Sony
08/18, 10:52am reply
Do they ever give up on anything? Remember mini discs, those stupid UMD movies and I could go on.
Duo
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2001
If it does AAC
08/18, 11:02am (3 replies) reply
If it plays MP4 (aka AAC - AAC is not an Apple format, it's the successor to MP3), I might buy one.
Because I really really don't like the iPod click wheel.
resuna
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2005
iTunes
08/18, 02:16pm reply
It won't support copy righted itunes music but should support non-DRM AAC music - most Sony phones support AAC.
rytc
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2001
reminds me of...
08/18, 04:35pm reply
...a Zune with an extra button.
Also - how is this related to Mac news MacNN?
UberFu
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2002