Graphic Designer and Hardware @ Computer & Electronics store Lizardprice.com
Graphic Designer and Hardware @ Computer & Electronics store Lizardprice.com
Member since:10.10.2006
Reviews:8
The Sony HD5 is a very sleek, expensive looking MP3 player that doubles up as a large storage device if you don't own enough music to fill its Micro Hard drive with a capacity of 20GBs, that's around 13,000 Songs! (Even more if you use less bit rate)
MP3 has been around for years and has dominated the main market of online music files for most of its life, but Sony like their own format, ATRAC. ATRAC gives the user more control over the sound and levels of their music, using equalizers to change bass, treble and mid to give you the sound you want, also in playing the "better" quality music you get a longer battery life, as Sony's ATRAC reduces the amount of energy used out of the battery, .wma and .wav are also supported.
Most MP3 songs that you own, or have ripped off you CD collection will however have to be converted using Sony's Sonic Stage software
(included in the box) if you want the benefits of ATRAC, if not, then you are still going to have to use Sonic Stage to transfer your music across to the MP3 player, as Sony believe its not a good thing to just drag and drop music files, after all the person who buys the songs, owns the right to have them, not for example the computer you just happen to drop them on, like your friends!
In transferring your music using this software Sony's HD5 is able to categorise all your music, into Genre, File type, Artist, Favourites, and Bit rate, which is nice in one sense, but means that your files are not accessible unless you are using one of (3computers with the software installed)
A nice little feature of this drive however is that it can be used as a mass storage device similar to flash cards, or flash sticks as files that aren't playable through the menu (music that was sent to the drive using Sonic Stage) you are able to save music files to the drive as a file, but it will not be playable through the walkman, only when its connected to the pc again will it be able to be played in windows media for example.
Connection to the PC is through a USB cable which is included in the box, it allows you to transfer files directly to the drive, or to send music files and play list to the player using Sonic Stage. Not only do you get to update your library and use the drive as a storage device, you also get the battery charged up for you through the USB cable (chargeable through the wall using included wall charger)
The battery last for up to 40hrs but I rarely if ever reach the end of the battery, as the device has only gone totally flat and switched off once in the whole time that iv had it, and i got it when it first was released, so that's a good few months to a year that this device has been running without a full charge (every time you update the device, or add new songs/browse your HDD while inserted into USB it will charge itself!)
The finish of the player is very pearlescent, keeping the device looking smart, and sophisticated. The body is made out of some form of metal which is quite durable and hasn't scratched in the time iv had it, although one thing that i didn't initially think was going to last is the USB and power in cover, which is made of a shiny thin plastic, which slides over the USB slot, its held in place by a small piece of metal which feels like its going to brake if you pull it slightly, but that's a big surprise that its still there, and working the way it did when i got it!
The screen of the Sony screen can be inverted, from white details with black background, to white background with black writing (good for outside use) The contrast of the screen can also be edited, but the overall quality past 2 or 3 percent up or down isn't very pleasing to the eye, and makes the screen look like it was made out of tracing paper.
Sony also throw in a small cloth pouch which is supposed to keep the drive safe from dust and scratches, which has worked quite well to say it doesn't have a hard back. Unfortunately you cant connect this MP3 to your arm, or belt without the use of a 3rd party product.
There is also a slot in the top of the MP3 player for a remote (not included)
The drive can be used in you car with a tape deck with the aid of a cheap and cheerful adapter (tape to stereo - plugs directly into where the earphones would go)
On top of the MP3 player is also a little slider that stops the buttons from being pressed when the drive is in your pocket!
There where some complaints a wile back with the buttons "seeming to crack" but this has never happened, and even little hair lines are still not visible between the D-Pad where 4 buttons share the same face.
The overall weight and size is quite small for what you get, and price when i received mine was £150 (same as the price of a 5GB Creative Zen Micro) but of course this is a 20GB! Size is around 6cm high, 1cm deep, 3-4cm wide.
The long life 40hr+ battery is user accessible so no sending your ipod off to the factory to get it opened up!
So if you're looking for a strong, spacious MP3 player, with lots of energy and style...
You have met your new best friend!
I hope this review was helpful! ;)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: 40 hr battery life, plays mp3 and atrac music files and can be used as a hard drive to store other files. Disadvantages: new shape has lost some of the uniqueness of the earlier models. won`t play wma files
Advantages: Small, massive battery life, decent buttons, looks great and great sound Disadvantages: low resolution screen, softwares a bit iffy at times
Oct 12th, 2006
very helpful by (100%):
