Sony Walkman NWZ-W202

You might say that Sony’s Walkman branding got the ball rolling for the portable media industry and their innovative products have always tried to live up to the original quality and more importantly, the expectations of the techno community. I can’t honestly say that the Walkman W202 is an altogether brand new concept as there have been earphones and headphones that came with on-board media options like an MP3 player or an FM radio like they had in the good old days. That aside, here’s what my overall experience with the W202 was like.

Form Factor
Simply explained the W202 is a headset styled MP3 player. The heart shaped design it forms when put together serves two purposes, sort of. Firstly it represents ‘The Heart of Music’ at least that’s what I was told by a company rep and secondly it’s also to help you figure out how to actually wear the device.

A quick run through – face the earphones towards you in the form a heart. Separate the earpieces and then place it over your head. And slip the earphones over and then into your ears.

It’s lightweight so it’s not difficult to wear or carry around.

Built of the righty’s, it’s the right earpiece has all the controls. A mini USB port to fit into the cool desktop USB dock, volume keys, A multifunction jog dial that can be depressed for play pause, activating the Zappin function (I’ll get to that a little later) and a Shuffle switch. Sony has included a variety of earpiece sizes to make sure it suits your ears correctly as well as a plastic lock casing to keep the player together if transporting it in a bag or another medium other than round your neck. It’s lightweight so it’s not difficult to wear or carry around.

The Player comes with Sony’s Walkman Content Transfer PC application for smooth transfer of files to the player’s on-board 2 Gigs of memory.

Features and Performance
First off, let me explain how the whole ‘Zappin’ technology functions in case you’re wondering. What this technology does is provide you with a ‘live’ option of your music file. Considering that there’s no display to view files or playlist function Sony has incorporated this option. What it essentially does is during transfer the player locates the most recognizable passage from the track and when the Zapping function is active the device has an option for selecting long clips or short clips of each track either in sequential order or shuffled if that is active. Simply put, it plays a portion of each track on the drive so you can make a selection in lieu of looking at a song name on a display.

The Content Transfer software allows you to just click and drag files from your PC to the app for seamless transfer. You can also do the same from your iTunes Library. If you prefer it can also Sync with Windows Media player for the same. It doesn’t support DRM song transfers.

The automatic repeat all functionality is actually quite a handy feature. As soon as the player reaches the end of the last song it will simply start playing the list all over again so there’s no gap or pause. Other functions also include Sony’s AVLS (Automatic Volume Limiter System) similar to the system found in iPods and other media players, allows you to set a volume limit under the peak level.

The Sony Walkman W202 is a great device but it just seems like something only the rich kids can afford.

This is one way to prevent you from going deaf as the W202 has no issues with doing just that as it’s really REALLY loud. In fact, anyone within a six foot radius of you in a given room would be able to name the song you’re listening to. And that’s not at peak volume. Sound quality is great. I have no complaints whatsoever in this department.

One of the biggest drawbacks to a player with no display is having to memorize the button placement and functionality. Since some features require you to keep the multi function key pressed for 2 seconds to do something and another for three and then press it once to activate it or adjust something can be quite annoying. The instructions are all available on the brochure. A word of advice, make sure you adjust all settings, functions levels et al. the first time to your preference so won’t have to any other time.

Sony expects the W202 to provide users with a 14 hour non stop playback, which is reasonable for any MP3 player. The W202 however, clocked in at 12 hours and 50 minutes (give or take a few minutes) on an average with volume peaked out. Almost 13 hours of playback is a good thing. A very good thing, so no issues here either.

The Bottom Line
If anyone asks me, I’ll be happy to admit that the Sony Walkman W202 is a great device. It’s ergonomic, light weight and quite comfortable to wear when running or working out. The wireless concept is exactly what ‘Today’s’ technology should be like. Sound quality, coupled with volume are great, so what if the guy next to you in the train can hear what you’re listening to. The important thing is you won’t be able to hear him or anyone else. But with a price tag of Rs. 4,999 for just 2GB (which is enough), it just seems like something only the rich kids can afford.