Exclusive: Sony NWZ-W202 Walkman MP3 player review

Posted by Rhiain Morgan on Wed 21 Jan 2009

Wrap- up

Audio experts Sony revealed two new MP3 players at this year’s tech extravaganza, CES. The big news was the X-Series OLED Walkman but the sporty W202 also caught our attention. Tipped as Sony’s answer to Apple’s iPod Shuffle, is this gym enthusiast's MP3 player a case of too little, too late?

- Watch our hands-on video with the new Walkmans

By no means designed to replace your existing iPod or higher-spec Walkman, the W202 is essentially an additional player for taking to the gym, going walking or doing other sporty activities.

In regards to specification, the W202 matches the iPod Shuffle, with 2GB of storage capacity, and a lack of display, however that's where the similarities end. You see, the W202 actually looks like two Bluetooth headsets stuck to a stethoscope wire, designed to hide at the back of your head. Even though they fit fairly comfortably in the ear, we’re not too sure how long they’d stay there whilst you’re jogging along trying to get rid of the post-Christmas bulge.

Sony's touting its new ZAPPIN feature as being a seamless way to browse, search and listen to music on devices which lack displays. As you skip through your tracks, it plays a “popular” part of the song, usually the chorus, and lets you decide if you’d like to play the whole track, or skip to the next one. You can "ZAPPIN" long or "ZAPPIN" short. In principal, it seems a great idea, in practise, less so. The W202 we tested was bamboozled with classical music and also our extensive back catalogue of 90s dance tracks, often playing bits of the track that were least familiar to us.

Sound quality is as would be expected from a Walkman. Obviously you can’t change the headphones but for a small player the bass is pretty formidable. The controls are a little fiddly; reaching up to your ear to skip between tracks and adjust volume sometimes results in actually taking the headset off to look at what you're doing.

One of the best features in the W202 MP3 player is the 'quick charge', which will give you 90 minutes of playback from just three minutes of charging. Re-charge the device completely, and you can enjoy aural pleasure for at least 12 hours. Not bad for a little tyke.

Available at the end of March, the Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 will cost £59 from the Sony Style website.

Link: Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 MP3 player

User Comments

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By g4rfi3ld

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":D Is there anything good besides battery-life? I mean what about other features?

Couldn’t find any information's regarding technical functions such as Bluetooth et.al"

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