Solid Sony Quality
Written: Mar 26 '02
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Pros: Sexy Styling, Smallest player around, solid all around Sony performance.
Cons: Tiny - easily dropped/lost, no belt clip/arm band. Non-swappable memory
The Bottom Line: Has all the features of the competition, in a quality attractive package. Legendary Sony quality and service. Quirky software is usable with a little tweaking.
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| kelleyja's Full Review: Sony Network Walkman NW-E3 (64 MB) MP3 Player |
This tiny player is a head turner with great performance, sexy styling and "Its a Sony" which means, you know what you're getting. When you buy a Sony you're buying the Honda of electronics - Its not a Ferrari but not a Pinto. Its reliable, good on features and appealing to everyone.
First a note on small MP3 players. These are primarily for use while working out, jogging/running or activities that would make a portable CD player impractical. These devices will not skip and are tiny. They are not a replacement for your portable CD player nor are they meant to be. MP3 compression, by nature, is not as good as CD and it is much easier to get a MP3/CD player if you're looking to take your whole CD collection on the road with you. With that said...
This player is spectacular. It has 64Meg of memory which boils down to about 20 songs. It can do 3 different compression ratios, the lowest one will allow in excess of 100 minutes of sound. Control is through a simple jogwheel play button, which allows you play/stop and ffd/rwd on a single control. Ease of control is a critical feature, you can operate this player from your pocket without having to look at it. You'll see others with six ambiguous, identical buttons which you have to look at to operate. The body is slightly smaller than a lighter, but similar in shape and is fairly tough. Lets face it, this player is almost too small and you probably will drop it. I've dropped mine a couple of times off the kitchen counter onto a hardwood flood and its still ticking. It takes 1 AAA battery (most others take 2), which lasts about 2-3 hours. This is on par with other dual battery units which run 6 hrs max. on a set of AAA's. Its the nature of the beast that these things eat batteries quickly, again if you need a set of AAA's to last 20 hours - use your CD player. Remember, Sony has been around for the better half of the century for good reason, they make quality innovative products. It comes with a year warranty and Sony service centers are everywhere. Try finding a 'D-link' or 'Rio' service center.
Now for the issues, keep in mind you can find flaws with all the players on the market, I think the Sony's are small. I'm sure you're wondering about the software, right? Well installation and compatibility are not exactly a plug-and-play operation. The average user will be able to make it work with a good half hour of work. The included software is not compatible with all versions of windows, there is a 50/50 chance you will have to download the Sony version of Real Jukebox which is free and compatible with everything. The software does convert the MP3's to a similar proprietary format called ATRAC, but the process is easily accomplished, and you still keep your MP3 files. The memory is not expandable or swappable, most other players use MMC or Compact Flash cards which are easily changed. However, these medium are still very expensive. Its not worth the cost to buy a few of them to swap, but theoretically its possible to do. My only other concern is that it lacks a belt clip, this was surely left out because the player is physically too small for a suitable restraint device. It does come with a lanyard you can wear around your neck.
I bought mine new for $125 at Media Play, which was well worth the price.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 125
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Epinions.com ID:
kelleyja
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Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 1 member
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