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walkman

Sony Ericsson unveils Walkman W595, W302 phones

Sony Ericsson not only unveiled the slimtastic W902 today, but it also took the lid of two other Walkman handsets: the W595 and the W302. Both will be available toward the end of this year.

Like the W902, neither the W302 or the W595 have headphone sockets. Instead, you'll need to use a bundled extension cable to connect your headphones to the proprietary connection. These days, this is just unacceptable in a music phone. Other manufacturers, such as Nokia and Motorola, are seeing the light and now put proper headphone sockets on some of their phones.

Anyway, annoyances aside, … Read more

Sony Ericsson W902: Style dictator, headphone hater

There are two key features a portable music player needs: first, the ability to play music, and second, somewhere on the device to put headphones. Sony Ericsson's new top-of-the-line Walkman music phone, the W902, only gets one out of two right.

You read correctly: it's another premium music device with no headphone socket. Instead, you'll need to use an adapter cable to connect your decent earphones to Sony Ericsson's ridiculous proprietary connector. This gives you hands-free talking capabilities, but it also gives you meters of cabling flapping around needlessly. And who wants to remember to take … Read more

iPod alternatives for AAC audio

Apple isn't the only game in town when it comes to AAC-compatible MP3 players. Advanced Audio Coding files may be the default iTunes option for ripping CDs into your music collection, but Apple holds no exclusive claim to the format the way they do with Apple Lossless or the iTunes store's FairPlay DRM.

So what portable devices are out there for folks who appreciate the benefits of AAC audio, but want to steer clear of the iPod? I've put together a product roundup of my top six non-iPod AAC players, along with an Insider Secret video that … Read more

Hands-on with Sony Ericsson's flip Walkman

How long has it been since we heard about Sony Ericsson's retro-looking W350i? A while, that's how long. Months. The wait's over though, because we've snagged one of our very own.

It's an unusual, but slim, Walkman handset--technically not a slider, technically not a clamshell, but not a traditional candybar, either. It's got a fold-out flap, like the old-school Ericsson T28 of the early 2000s, which covers the main keypad when not in use.

While this flap is closed, however, you can use some dedicated MP3 player controls that sit on its exterior. The … Read more

From headphones to earbuds: quiet is the new loud

Rob Walker, the author of the just-released "Buying in," is a marketing connoisseur, an expert in reading the cultural underpinnings of commerce. In his Consumed column for the New York Times Magazine, he examines how technology shapes consumer culture and vice versa. In tomorrow's piece he elaborates on the history of headphones, and how their role evolved in modern society, from the first Bose set to the Sony Walkman to the iPod earbuds.

With the miniaturization of devices, the public exposure of personal space increased. I remember that when I was 14, I came home from school, … Read more

MTV does another phone for Europe

MTV is continuing its march across Europe to get its logo on various continental-based gadgets. Its latest effort is a co-branded "MTV Edition" of Sony Ericsson's W760i Walkman phone.

It's the second MTV handset released on the European market, following one designed by Paris-based ModeLabs for France. Both are sliders, though the newest version at least tries a different design, as opposed to the rather lame logo on ModeLab's red 3G phone.

The Sony Ericsson version also features a GPS receiver, games, and an "enhanced music experience," according to MobileWhack, as well as … Read more

Pick any color for your new Walkman

If you've ever bought an MP3 player that comes in several colors, you might have felt the agony of having to choose which one. Should I get that white one to match my MacBook? Go with basic black because it matches everything? The new NWD-E020F series Walkman players may help solve that fashion conundrum.

Like its predecessor, the E010 series, there's a cap on this new entry-level player which hides a built-in USB jack. This makes for more convenient song transfer, a proposition made all the sweeter now that the process is a drag-and-drop affair, less SonicStage. Its … Read more

Earth Day: What's missing from CE devices today

In honor of Earth Day, let's look at a once-commonplace feature that has almost entirely disappeared from today's consumer electronics. To illustrate my point, here's a picture from my gadget archive, a perfectly ordinary Sony radio Walkman of mid-90's vintage:

Now let's look at the back:

Notice anything? No? Let's look closer:

What's that...a screw? Remember those? Yes, indeed, thanks to the constant drive for sleekness and cost-cutting you never see screws on CE devices any more, especially portable ones.

What does this have to do with Earth Day? A couple of … Read more

MP3 Insider 93: Congrats Donald!

Donald gets called away early to welcome his new bundle of joy into the world, so Jasmine rustles up a replacement cohost in smartphone/GPS editor Bonnie Cha, who has a bone to pick with MP3-playing GPS devices. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 93

Iriver E100: meh - http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/iriver-e100-4gb-black/4505-6490_7-32896226.html?tag=bubbl_1Sony noise-canceling Walkman: not meh - http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/sony-walkman-nwz-s716/4505-6490_7-32893676.html?tag=links;reviewDenon AH-C551 - http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/denon-ah-c551-in/4505-7877_7-32788210.html?tag=links;reviewGPS and music: not so much - http://reviews.cnet.com/best-gps/… Read more