Sunday, November 6, 2011

SONY WALKMAN NWZ-W262 MODEL FINAL REVIEW

Pictures of the new Sony Walkman MP3 W262 Model:


Unboxing the contents






Myriad of colours for all





Thanks to Sony Malaysia I have been giving the Sony Walkman NWZ-W262 a real stress test. Ever since receiving it on 14 October 2011, I have been using it from running in hot weather and under the rain too, to travelling in public transportation. And it is still holding up.
Compared to the older generation of W series (W252 and W202), it is much lighter and smaller and surprisingly fits snugly into the ear filtering most outside sound. This new model weighs approximately 32g and it comes with a myriad of 4 trendy two-toned colours (blue, pink, black and white). The colours are not of hideous shades but trendy and complements individual’s active lifestyle.
Besides that, its features like lightweight and water-resistance is a plus sign for active people like myself. I do not have to worry about normal Walkman with wired earphones (fear of sweat damaging it, how to clean it after a run, the dangling or wires during a run etc).
I have utilised it for my all my training runs (totally about 150km) since obtaining the set. With 2GB storage like its predecessors, I can run a full marathon with it without concern of running out tunes to accompany me and feeling the uneasiness of something being stuck to the ear (hence the emphasis on lightweight). For one, it does not look like a blue tooth when I use it to travel in public transportation.
The furthest I have used to run with it is 20km. And I have no qualms or complains whatsoever that it made me uncomfortable during the run. The buttons for switching songs, volumes etc are pretty user friendly too. It is at the bottom of the unit and its does not take a rocket scientist to figure out which buttons to press during the run.
For 2GB, I cannot gauge how many songs an individual can deposit into the unit but according to the specifications, it is approximately 470 songs (128kbps). The reason I make this statement because I upload long mashes and remixes of songs which sometimes go on for more than an hour for just one track and I normally use 192kbps for better quality audio. For audio quality it is rather good but of course, do not expect perfect bass or treble but it is adequate to fulfil my running expectation.
Washing the unit is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Just rinse it under running water and wipe it clean and its ready for use.
Charging is also relatively easy with the USB cable. The features of this model are similar to its predecessors but of course there are some improvements in terms of style, colour, weight and the strap connecting the left and right ear units is more flexible compared to W252 and W202.
The price is very affordable at RM299 per unit.
A little warning though, do not use this unit if you are doing your training runs on open roads (as it sieves out most outside noise due to the EX headphones). I tried it once and I was nearly grazed by a motorcyclist as I could not hear the honking). In addition, do not use this unit when driving (this one is common sense).
Other than that, this unit is excellent for park running/race and our current active lifestyle (regardless whether a runner like myself, or students (hence the affordability factor) and working adults who prefer a frill free MP3 unit with basic but up to par standards features).
An added advantage is, it has good after sales service, unit user friendliness and hassle free, and lightweight (I cannot stress this enough).
I hope Sony will add more storage memory and increase its continuous playback time in future units of the same calibre.
My rating for this unit:
Ease of installation: 9/10
Ease of usage: 9/10
Features: 8/10
Sound: 7/10 (well, it does not have Clear Audio technologies (e.g. Clear Bass, Equalizer etc) like other series, however I have taken into consideration on the part of being a runner, I may not need these features as I just need motivation and companionship during my runs).
Storage: 7.5/10 (This could be improved in future models)
Trendiness and stylishness: 9/10
Price: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10

5 comments:

julia lim said...

I used the older model and it didn't fit me too well cos my head and ear holes seemed smaller than the size the device had... it kept slipping off during runs which got kinda irritating after a while.

thank god there's a smaller model now... maybe i should hint to someone as a Christmas gift to me.. hehe!

KEVIN MEETS THE STARS said...

Jules

The ear buds also come in interchangeable small, medium and big (in the package). My ear hole is kind of big, so, I changed the buds to the big pair and it fits snugly.

A recommended buy.

ftsvd said...

I've had the 1st model (W202) for a couple of years but have only used it on a regular basis for the past 8 months (found time to start running again after my similarly-aged colleagues started having diabetes and heart attacks). After running about 70km, I've found that the USB port has rusted! And after 150km, it has difficulty connecting to the computer for file transfer and for charging, despite scraping some of the rust off.

Although they claim the new model is sweat-proof, what do you think about the USB port? Does it have a cover? Does it look like it is in a location where it's likely to collect a lot of sweat? The W202's USB port is on the bottom surface, so sweat will tend to accumulate at the USB port.

Thanks for your review! I like the photo of the W262 completely submerged in water. :)

KEVIN MEETS THE STARS said...

The USB port is on the back of the right side of the unit. There's a tight cover which you wouldn't notice. So far I have no problems with the port. The other buttons (play, skip, etc) are below of each of the ear piece.

Anonymous said...

I bought w262 after my iRiver t10 died... Unfortunately, w262's audio output is only 5+5 mW, compared to iRiver's 15+15 mW. The w262 is a very good and comfortable player, but in a noisy environment (ie gym) is inadequate.