I would call this Sony’s techno-glamour. I had a close look at its predecessor HD1, beautiful, sleek but something was missing. That something has exactly been taken care of in Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3, but there are still some glaring and annoying flaws in this glamour product from Sony ... Read review
Advantages: Read the review Disadvantages: Nothing loud except the price tag
...been taken care of in Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3, but there are still some glaring and annoying flaws in this glamour product from Sony but chances are Apple iPod is in for a real push to exist at the top of consumer’s mind and Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 is taking the walkman culture to the 21st centaury and rightly so.
On the face of it there is hardly any difference with the HD1 but just spend some time with it, quite few striking ... ...which has become synonymous with Sony products. You can’t but admire its beauty, sleekness and functional achievements. Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 is even smaller and less heavy than the Apple iPod 20 GB which is some achievement for a typical hard drive player. It’s simplicity and style is something to be grudgingly admired. (The player is meant to be used in Landscape orientation).
One of greatest achievement is its support to native ... more
I would call this Sony’s techno-glamour. I had a close look at its predecessor HD1, beautiful, sleek but something was missing. That something has exactly been taken care of in Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3, but there are still some glaring and annoying flaws in this glamour product from Sony but chances are Apple iPod is in for a real push to exist at the top of consumer’s mind and Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 is taking the walkman culture to the 21st centaury and rightly so.
On the face of it there is hardly any difference with the HD1 but just spend some time with it, quite few striking and key difference will be immediately noticeable. Like HD-1 it froths technological brilliance and arrogance which has become synonymous with Sony products. You can’t but admire its beauty, sleekness and functional achievements. Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 is even smaller and less heavy than the Apple iPod 20 GB which is some achievement for a typical hard drive player. It’s simplicity and style is something to be grudgingly admired. (The player is meant to be used in Landscape orientation).
One of greatest achievement is its support to native MP3 playback (Sony’s MP3 digital audio player category started with S23 way back in 2004). Talking about iPod, it is machine with fabulous features with PIM, impressive third party app support, calendar but interestingly the HD3 is hardly a player stuffed with impressive features. It doesn’t have a clock even.
Let just have a description of HD3, in design it is very similar to the HD1 except the addition of scintillating color schemes and some terrific backlight hues. The main upgrades are encasing in very tough plastic. The primary play and menu control has a wee bit larger five way directional pad made of plastic with 1.5in LCD display, very simple.
But one annoying aspect is the requirement of the Sony’s own SonicStage 2.3 for using Musicmatch, Windows media player or any jukebox software for that matter. It has a very subtle and smart headphone jack, the wired remote not being included, dedicated volume control and small but smart Menu and Mode buttons. The hold control, a battery on/off switch (very useful) and propriety cradle connector port is at the bottom. The hold strap options is there but not included.
It has got a slightly strange and rather unusual but effective track selection method the mode button cracks your music files in categories like Artist, album etc. Select a particular artist all his songs will be played and the best part is right-click, you will be guide to all its album. It has got a user defined bookmarks and in fact can have 100 bookmarks.
The file formate support has been taken care of quite successfully more or less. It supports native MP3, WMA, ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus. The big plus is HD3’s excellent and power packed audio quality while playing ATRAC3 and MP3 formats. Virtual surround and EQ settings works with least fuss and in fact top class.
The LCD lovely settings. At default settings even, looks great, gray back ground with dark text which can be changed. Performs excellently both indoors and outdoors. Essential informations like track, album, artist, genre and time elapsed are displayed by the player interface complete with individual icons. Besides HD1’s proprietary port it has a very handy adapter clinging to it and includes power, USB as well. helping those on the go and light.
Navigating the Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 is smooth moving one from the other although HD1 bug persists with 2-4 seconds delay.
A big USP of Sony Network Walkman is it excellent battery life of 30 hours but I could not achieve more than 22 and a half to 23 hours, even that is excellent. The transfer time is a excellent 8.2 MBps over USB 2.0.
A quick look at the technical specifications:
PC interface(s) supported USB
Flash memory installed No built-in memory
Digital storage Built-in 20 GB 1.8" Hard disk drive
Weight 4.6 oz
Dimensions (W x D x H) 3.5 in x 0.6 in x 2.4 in
Available body colors Black , Silver , Pink , Red
Included accessories Carrying pouch
Software type Sony SonicStage
Carrying Case
Case type Pouch
Digital Player / Recorder
Supported digital audio standards MP3, WMA, ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus
Edit functions Erase
Supported bit rate 48 - 256 KBps
External hard drive function Yes
Built-in Display
Audio system built-in display LCD
Diagonal size 1.5 in
Additional features Hold button, Volume limiter
Headphones type Binaural Ear-bud
Slot(s) provided No
Battery / Power
Battery Lithium ion Rechargeable Player battery
Mfr estimated battery life 30 hour(s)
Power device type Power adapter
The 20 GB storage is great, swallows 4000 songs nice and cool. The USB 2 is very fast. But the earbuds supplied are bad a good headphone is a must to get the best out of it. But it must be said it is not as intuitive as the iPod and neither as instinctive. Creative Zen and iPod are more simple to use out of the box. As usual with Sony audios the sound quality is exclusive, SonicStage will have no problems converting WAV and unprotected WMA formats ATRAC3.
The playlist manipulation should give a food for thought to the guys up there sittings at Sony’s R&D, besides listing problems songs tend to jump on the other a fraction of a second and continue playing- a source of annoyance.
At $300 it’s premium level stuff but instep of the fact that it makes the wallet thin, still worth it.
Note of Caution: SonicStage is a very versatile software but please don't make upgradations just like that, it might give you campatibility chaos with existing music files except MP3s
P.S. My point of annoyance is the ''issue of using'' SonicStage but no complains about the softaware, it's perfect.
Advantages: Good music quality, very durable Disadvantages: Sonicstage software is really terrible
I originally bought this mp3 player in preference to an iPod because of the reasonable price given that it has a 20GB hard drive and the fact that you are supposed to be able to drop it from 1m without damaging it. This was of particular interest to me because I was planning on using the mp3 player whilst snowboarding and wanted it to be able to withstand small impacts if necessary. It has definitely lived up to its claim of being durable as I have ... ...still working as well as when I first bought it. Having a 20GB hard drive allowed me to transfer all of my music onto it which was very useful when I spent a year travelling around the world. The sound quality is good and it is relatively easy to use but the biggest problem with it is the really terrible Sonicstage software you have to use to transfer music to and from the player. I originally had version 2.3 of the software but updated the software ...
trev11 27.06.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 20 GB
Advantages: Light, Long Battery Life, slim Disadvantages: Cases unavailabe, Sonic Stage Software,
...that consumers have raised, but Sony has ignored. Nevertheless I'm still a relatively happy customer.
The NWHD3 is supplied in a box with a few bits and piece in it - a USB cable, a bulky charger (why for such a compact device did sony bundle this monstrosity), Sonic Stage 2.3 CD, Quick Start Guide, 1 pair of very cheap headphones (dispose of immediately) and a fabric case which is nothing short of useless. Just on the headphones - update to a deacent ... ...current pair are sony EX71's. Instructions are basic, if you want to know how to find out how your player works, best go and install the CD and get the instructions in PDF format.
First things first - i should state straight off that because Sonic Stage is quite awkward to use when importing MP3 collections (it leaves them scattered all over its filing systen and not in any particular order) you should arrange any mp3's you have into albums or get ...
leddy 18.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 20 GB
Advantages: Amazing battery life, simple to use, small and pretty Disadvantages: Could be a bit louder
...a different brand.
I chose Sony as they are a company that I like to use and I have always been impressed with their products. The cost of this mp3 player has gone down in time, however it is still cheaper than the 20GB ipod. There are other brands on the market now such as the creative zen and apple so the price has gone down.
The design is very sleek. It is smaller tham a packet of 20 cigarettes, as a woman who loves tiny bags, this is the perfect ... ...super duper impressed with, that Sony get 5 gold stars from me for ,is how long the battery life lasts for. I felt I was charging my ipod every other day where as I only charge this up once or twice a week. You get about double the battery life which is good if you have a long commute ahead of you and can't charge it. Also it gives you a pre-warning by beeping and switching your music off to let you know that the battery has nearly died. I have worked ...
rubyramone 26.04.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 20 GB
Advantages: Great design, hi-quality sound (Better than iPod), easy to use, smaller than iPod, better software than iTunes. AMAZING battery life. Disadvantages: Menus on Walkman if you have a lot of albums to get through - are a little bit time consuming to navigate.
...only criticism I have-is that Sony don't have a click wheel, which makes searching for albums a little bit time consuming - especially if like me - you have many songs on your MP3 player. Nevertheless - that for me - is a minor criticism - becuase there are so many positives from this MP3 player.
Another thing to note - is that Sony has developed a sensor, which means if you drop it from a height of 1 meter onto concrete - (which can happen when ... ...12 hours - at best. Sony NW-HD3 - 30 hours. OK - it's not quite 30 hours. I tested it - I played music non-stop at full volume with EQ settings - and just left it playing, and it went for 28 hours. That's SERIOUSLY impressive, and is by far the most impressive thing about this MP3 player.
SOUND QUALITY
It's excellent. I compared the sound using the same pair of headphones with an iPod and the Sony unit. The Sony unit came out on top. The stereo ...
TheFirstEscapist 06.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 20 GB
Advantages: Great sound quality and battery life Disadvantages: Sonic stage can be slightly annoying
First of all I'd like to state that this device deserves its nickname, The Ipod Killer. I've had the NW-HD3 for over a year now and haven't been let down once by it, it's a fantastic little device. The sound quality is excellent with no hesitation between tracks it plays everything smoothly and the 20GB capacity is brilliant, espeically for the size of the unit. I've managed to fit all of my music onto it, which pleases me no end!
Another thing ... ...life is amazing, it beats the ipod and others by far. Although to get the full 30 hours you'd need to convert all your music to ATTRAC2, you still get an amazingly long playing time when playing normal MP3s. To get music onto the HD3 you need to use Sonic Stage. For those of you familiar with the software, it should be a piece of cake but it can be annoying for first time users. Sometimes it's a bit slow or can stall, but it is still an okay piece ...
bluerose28 22.08.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 20 GB
Windows 98 SE or later - Pentium II - 400 MHz - RAM 64 MB
OS Required
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows XP
Peripheral / Interface Devices
USB port
Manufacturer's product description
As well as playing music in Sony's ATRAC3plus format, the Sony NW-HD3 is also an MP3 player. The Sony NW-DH3 has a 30 hour battery life. The Sony NW-HD3 comes with a range of features designed to deliver quality, choice and convenience for every fan of portable music. The built-in 20 GB hard disc can hold the equivalent of 13, 000 tracks or 900 CDs worth of music when using high quality ATRAC3plus audio compression technology. It offers 30 hours of uninterrupted playtime from a single battery charge and withstands almost all kinds of movement to deliver a skip-free performance. Specially developed G-Sensor technology enables the hard disc to resist impact to protect your valuable music or other data. Its aluminum body makes it light to carry.
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