Sony Network Walkman Nw E507 1GB

Smelly-vision should hold on to its hat – if you want to see futuristic you should get your hands on the Sony NW-E507.  Its royal design and splendid performance puts it miles in front of all other MP3 players on the market.
 

Design
The NW-E507 is available in two awesome colours (gold and silver) keeping in line with its futuristic design.  The headphone jack situated at the top and the USB port at the bottom.  The USB is cleverly guarded by a rubber stopper to prevent those little bits of crisps and fluff from your pocket  sneaking in there to cause havoc.  The earphones are cool too as they are refreshingly black – not white like most other sheepish brands are offering.  The size is a bit chunkier than the iPod shuffle and a bit heavier but it remains pocketable without causing discomfort when you sit down, even when wearing jeans.  The design is extremely durable and would probably be the only survivor alongside the cockroach in a nuclear bomb.  On the front there is a retractable button which doubles up as a jog wheel, on either side of this you will also find the volume buttons.  The jog wheel does take a few goes to get to grips with but once you’ve mastered it you’ll find it accurate and a pleasure to use.  The screen is clear apart from in very direct bright sunlight conditions but if you are like me it will spend most of its time in your pocket so this isn’t an issue.

Setup/Installation
Getting the Sony Sonic Stage encoding software set-up was no problem at all but actually downloading songs was slow and tedious.  The software doesn’t communicate with you so you quite often sit there not knowing if it is doing anything at all.  I would put this down to it being a poorly designed programme. 

Features
On the plus side, it can hold around 45 albums (700 songs), it’s only a 1GB but it manages to fit so much one as it supports Altrac which is an encoding method that compresses songs.  As with most MP3 players, it supports WMA and MP3 files so transferring your existing collections won’t be a problem.  One drawback is that it isn’t compatible with iTunes but you can use the less impressive Sony connect online music store which is okay.  It’s also got an FM radio with an extended aerial which doubles up as the headphone lead.

Performance
As the NW-E507 has a flash base which means there are no moving pieces inside.  This causes prevention of skipping and protects files from corruption even when it undergoes the ‘slam into a wall’ test.  It is perfect for sport fanatics that want some entertainment without annoying hiccups.  The sound quality is very similar to the iPod but just fractionally quieter.  And for those Forest Gump influenced athletes out there you’ll like the fact that this little beauty provides you with at least 50 hours of playing time.  You can just run and run and ….run.

Overall Opinion
Superb design and superb performance sums the Sony NW-E507 Network Walkman up really.  There isn’t much more you could want from an MP3 player – especially at such a reasonable price.

Lisa Malyon