Sony's new Walkman players pack noise canceling

Another push to compete with the iPod

By Martyn Williams

October 13, 2006 12:00 PM ET

Recommended

IDG News Service - TOKYO -- Sony Corp. is packing its new Walkman digital music players with noise canceling and other audio-enhancing technology in its latest attempt to challenge the dominance of Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod.

"The strongest point is audio quality," said Hiroshi Yoshioka, corporate senior vice president of Sony and head of its Walkman division, at a Tokyo press conference.

Front and center of Sony's marketing will be built-in noise canceling. The system is tuned to cancel out background noise in the 100Hz to 1kHz range, such as that often present on trains, aircraft or cars.

The Sony Walkman with cradle
Image Credit: Sony Corp.

To do that, the system uses a microphone to detect the noise to be canceled out. On the new Walkmans, that microphone is in the headphones, which means listeners must use the supplied headphones for the noise canceling to work. In a demonstration yesterday, the headphones did a good job of canceling out simulated train noise.

The noise canceling is something that has to be demonstrated to be understood, Sony said, so it is planning to offer such demonstrations in shops across Japan.

Two other features, both of which are headphone independent, include "clear stereo," a system that better separates the left and right channels and stops audio bleed between channels, and "clear base," which improves the bass response.

The players have a battery life of 50 hours, and can display album art on a small color OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display panel. Listeners can search through their music by song name, album name or artist name.

The players are compatible with MP3, Windows Media, AAC, ATRAC, ATRAC Advanced Lossless and Linear PCM audio files. However, they won't play Windows Media or AAC tracks encoded with digital rights management: That limits downloads of DRM-protected tracks to stores using Sony's ATRAC system.

The new players, which will appear in Japan later this month and in other markets later this year, draw on Sony's rich history of audio engineering and Sony is aiming the devices at music fans. As part of this plan it will promote them through sponsorship of a series of events linked with Japanese cable TV music channels.

The devices measure 87 millimeters by 27mm by 15mm and weigh 47 grams.

The S700-series, which come with noise canceling and an FM radio, will come in versions with 4GB, 2GB or 1GB of memory. They will cost around $242, $192, and $150 respectively.

In comparison, the 4GB version of Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod Nano costs $198 in Japan and the 8GB version is $250. That might make the 4GB Walkman look expensive at first glance, but when the price of a pair of noise-canceling headphones is added to the iPod price, consumers might find Sony's price more reasonable.

Sony will also sell two models without noise canceling or the FM tuner. The S600 series will be available in 2GB and 1GB capacities and cost $167 and $125 respectively.

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

Jump to comments

Sony Walkman

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

EFD vs. HDD - What You Need to Know

Enterprise flash drives provide a new Tier 0 storage layer capable of delivering high I/O performance at a very low latency. Proper use of EFDs in an Oracle environment can deliver increased performance compared to fibre channel drives. Read the recommendations for identification of the best DB components for EFDs.

WHITE PAPER

Gartner Research Report: Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers, 2009

The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic and innovative. Vendors focused on solving enterprises' most-pressing application problems have become the top players.

WHITE PAPER

Eight Criteria for Server Load Balancing

Server load balancers are a simple yet highly effective means to scale an application environment while ensuring its availability. Today's solutions should also address application performance and security. Read about the top eight criteria you should consider when choosing a server load balancer and how Citrix NetScaler meets those requirements.

White Papers & Webcasts

How to Calculate ROI & TCO of Enterprise BlackBerry and iPhone Uses
Download Now

Accelerating Your Mobile Workers: Controlling the Uncontrollable
Today's workforce is truly mobile. Unlike the managed environment of the office LAN, remote users face many challenges to being productive while out...

eGuide: Enterprise Security
Smart Security Strategies for 2010. Read now!

Managing Laptops Outside the Office
Learn how you can reduce costs by tracking mobile computers no matter where they are located.

How to Improve Remote User Satisfaction and Maximize ROI by Using SSL VPNs
Download this white paper today!

Mobile U Webinar
Watch Now!

The New Mobile Order
Download Now

4G Ahead Video Program
Uncover the features and benefits of the two leading 4G technologies for enterprises considering future deployment.

WAN Application Delivery for Executives
Learn how to simplify server and application administration without creating performance problems for distributed users.

Horror stories: Managing IT Across Multiple Locations
How one extra sharp IT manager eliminates daily agony, hassle and repetition.

All White Papers | All Webcasts