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:
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!
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.
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. :)
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.
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.
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