Exactly what I wanted; sleek, small, stylish, ample capacity.
Written: Jan 03 '05
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Pros: Tiny, ample capacity, long battery life, well built, quality construction.
Cons: Software is restrictive, interface a little tricky, screen somewhat small and not always readable, pricey
The Bottom Line: An excellent piece of quality equipment, fulfills its intended purpose superbly, but has its quirks and is a little pricey.
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| zapb42's Full Review: Sony Network Walkman NW-E99 (1 GB) MP3 Player |
I was thinking about saving up for the HD1 but decided against it, realizing that I wanted as compact a player as I could find. I saw that Sony came out with this 1GB player and decided it was for me. The previous low-capacity NW's are pretty pricey, and I-Pod type capacity is not really necessary for me since I have my laptop nearby to refill the E99 when it needs it. It's Sony because I have had good experiences with their products in general and have come to trust them. If you are a Sony hater, maybe go look at an i-River or something.
Basically this thing totally met or exceeded my expectations. The case is metal, I believe supposedly magnesium, so it gets points for ruggedness, quality, and style in my opinion. I read some reviews that said the sound quality is a little tinny, etc. and the EQ settings do not allow enough customization. I would agree with that, I could do with a little more EQ, and with the stock earphones the sound is not too spectacular. With some nice earphones or headphones (Sony makes some decent ones) it does sounds good enough for me.
The whole MP3/ATRAC thing is a little bit of a turnoff. This does allow direct playing of MP3 files, but the SoundStage software required for the ATRAC stuff will not work with them, and so you have to use the MP3 manager software Sony provides. I have not tried this yet but it seems like an extra hassle. On the other hand, ATRAC is not as bad as it sounds. You do not have to convert all your music, as it does this on the fly when copying to your device. The compression is a lot better than MP3 and at 64kbps I would say the sound quality is comparable to 128kbps MP3. You can fit a ton of music on there at that bitrate, and I pretty much always let it go ahead with the ATRAC compression.
The interface is not exactly intuitive, sure, but I think after you get used to it it is actually pretty cool. A slightly bigger and clearer screen might have helped, but since I don't look at the screen much it doesn't really bother me. The included neck strap I use sometimes, but generally tuck it in a pocket or something. The portability is just awesome with how tiny it is. It also comes with a little pouch to hold it when you are not using it.
The battery life is phenomenal, as advertised, and this is a huge plus for me.
Generally I would recommend this player, but this is without having used any of the competing players. My experience is limited to the original Rio 300 when that came out, and the 600 when that came out, waaay back whenever that was. If you aren't all about I-Pod or HD1 capacity or price, one of these ultra compact players is right for you.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199.99
Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
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Epinions.com ID:
zapb42
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Reviews written: 1
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