Sony Walkman Sports Series NW-S205F review
| Design We at Unbeatable love the design of the Sony NW-S200 series. It’s really sexy in the slender canister that looks like one of those old fashioned ladies cigarettes. The NW-S200 is available in two versions, the NW-S203 which comes in a 1GB version and the NW-S205, this one which is available in 2GB comes in a shiny black and made out of brushed aluminium. Both Sony Walkman versions measure 3.8 inches by 0.6 inches and weigh just under an ounce, which is super-duper light. There’s a small single lined OEL display that is brightly lit and shows coloured text on a dark background. Most of the controls are operated by the dial at the top which you use by twisting. Then on the side you’ll find the buttons for Play and Pause and for changing the volume. | |
| Setup/Installation |
| If you've already used Sony MP3 software there'll be no problems at all - you'll know exactly what to do. If not, you need to transfer your software to your computer, save songs via SonicStage and then transfer them to your Walkman MP3 player |
| Features |
| Navigating around the NW-S205 couldn’t be easier. If you want to select a particular mode just twist the knob and it will take you through the different selections including search, songs, playlist, FM radio, sports mode and settings. Pull the dial out and you can select albums and navigate through them. Push and hold down the dially knob and it puts the Sony Walkman on hold. The FM radio can also be used to tune it to the TVs when you’re down the gym which is handy. It’s also got this funky device that shifts from standard to shuffle playback mode if you shake the S205 three times. You can tell the Sony NW-S205 is made with gym members in mind because as well as the features you get, the Walkman also comes with an armband and sport-style earbuds. The S200 series comes with built-in G-Sensor which gives you information such how many calories you’ve burned as well as having a stopwatch and a device that triggers off and switches your music off when you’ve finished the time. It also has a function that allows you to select a playlist specifically for your activity, so you could have fat music for running, and slower music for walking. The NW-S205 MP3 is water resistant so it doesn’t matter if you accidentally throw it down the toilet, it will still work. The Sony NW-S205 plays AAC, MP3, WMA and uses Sony’s SonicStage software and has a battery life of 18 hours. |
| Performance |
| We loved the look, feel and use of the Sony Walkman MP3 player. It was really easy to use and great for the gym. In fact, it’s exactly here that the NW-S205 comes into its own. The gym features that have been added such as the stopwatch, the calorie burning measurer, the music playlist selector, are all fantastic and make the whole gym experience better. Even the FM radio works well and considering when you’re in a gym you’re surrounded by metal girders and lots of electrical goods, this is a surprise. The sound quality from the headphones are great and you soon forget you’re listening to something to small. In fact, that could be the only problem, forgetting you have it on. The only downside is the software that comes with any Sony product – it’s something that they’ve still not sorted out. But once the music is on the device it’s easy to use and fun to play with. |
| What's In The Box? |
| Sony Walkman NW-S205, headphones, software, charger. |
| Overall Opinion |
| Sony's NW-S200 S2 Sports Walkman is going to become your best friend down the gym. It doesn’t argue back, it doesn’t burden you with weight, it just gives you pure musical pleasure. We think apart from the frustrating Sonicstage software the whole experience is really good. |
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Pros + Looks great + Very light + Easy to use + Lots of great features |
Cons - Uses SonicStage software |
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Appearance 9/10
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Songs Capacity 7/10
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Build Quality 8/10
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Ease Of Use 8/10
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Value For Money 9/10
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Overall Rating 
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By Babita Wakelin
17/10/2006 at 3:48:53pm
17/10/2006 at 3:48:53pm
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