... It sort of reminds me of the mobile phone market where Nokia were/have been seen as market leaders and their phones as being "must haves" on people's lists, despite the emergence of other brands such as Sony and Samsung.
Up until recently I owned a 30 gig Ipod video. Don't get me wrong, ... Read review
Advantages: Control, battery life, big screen, sound quality, superior headphones Disadvantages: A little light in terms of weight but the purchase of a skin eleviates this
...of other brands such as Sony and Samsung.
Up until recently I owned a 30 gig Ipod video. Don't get me wrong, it was ok in terms of sound quality. I thought the battery life (up to 14 hours) sucked and Itunes was the most user unfriendly software I've ever used.
So, one day, I read a magazine review of the NW A808, and I bought one. The first thing that strikes you is the size of the screen which is bigger than the Ipod ... ...songs and menu on the Sony (using up, down, left and right) is quicker, responsive and easier. It feels more natural.
My wife will argue that the sound quality on the Sony is not as good as the Nano, but I disagree. There are an abundance of settings that can be adjusted to get the sound you want. The headphones are amazing, coming with not only a headphone extension lead, but also different sized headphone pads. I personally think ... more
I recently spent 2 weeks working in London and commuting to my office using the tube. Everywhere I looked, people were listening to Ipods. It sort of reminds me of the mobile phone market where Nokia were/have been seen as market leaders and their phones as being "must haves" on people's lists, despite the emergence of other brands such as Sony and Samsung.
Up until recently I owned a 30 gig Ipod video. Don't get me wrong, it was ok in terms of sound quality. I thought the battery life (up to 14 hours) sucked and Itunes was the most user unfriendly software I've ever used.
So, one day, I read a magazine review of the NW A808, and I bought one. The first thing that strikes you is the size of the screen which is bigger than the Ipod Nano's. The other noticeable thing is its' weight, which sort of makes it feel "flimsy", and as though it needs a little "beefing up". I've now bought a skin and that's made a big difference.
The control system is far, far superior to that of the Ipod wheel, which I found cumbersome to use. Scrolling through the songs and menu on the Sony (using up, down, left and right) is quicker, responsive and easier. It feels more natural.
My wife will argue that the sound quality on the Sony is not as good as the Nano, but I disagree. There are an abundance of settings that can be adjusted to get the sound you want. The headphones are amazing, coming with not only a headphone extension lead, but also different sized headphone pads. I personally think the sound quality of the Sony is not only better than the Nano, but also clearer and crisper But then, I'm no expert who writes for magazines.
Yes, you can store videos and photos on the Sony, but I only bought it for the music.
Reviews on other sites indicate that the Sony equivalent of Itunes, named Sonic Stage is very user unfriendly. Again, I totally disagree. I took 5 minutes out to read the 30 page manual and i was sorted. Although I found it took a lot longer to transfer the songs onto the Walkman compared to the Nano, as far as I'm concerned Sonic Stage is an Itunes beater by a massive margin.
So, going back to the beginning of the review. Whereas Nokia have been market leaders in the mobile phone market, and Apple Ipods in the portable audio department, Sony have now come along and not only (in my opinion) produce better mobile phones, but also Ipod beaters. Just because the Ipod might be seen as the "must have" gadget which everyone wants, it doesn't mean it's the best. That title must surely go to the Sony Walkman.
Advantages: Dynamic playlists, high quality audio, great headphones, cool design, easily fixed and calendars/dates. Disadvantages: Dodgy sound-toggler, headphones can break in heavy usage conditions.
...problem was resolved easily by Sony through Argos (where I purchased mine.)
The headphones (Beautiful!) unfortunately broke due to heavy-usage, however they also resolved that when I sent it back.
On a brighter note, it can store 5 Playlists, and lots of DYNAMIC playlists (You can create dynamic playlists on the computer, and they have functions such as "Play for 2 hours" or "Play 20 songs").
There is a calender on it which is very convenient ...
PyroSchizBJK 03.09.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony Walkman NW-A808 8 GB
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Look & Design
Range of Features
Value for Money
Quick review of Sony Walkman NW-A808 8 GB
just got it today after my ipod nano broke, an i've got to say it looks and feels just as good if not better with the large screen. thumbs up so far ...
daveravin 29.06.2007
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony Walkman NW-A808 8 GB
...as a serious competitor. This sony mp3 player is as good as they get at present, plays music and sounds brilliant, stores photos and movies which can be played on a brilliant large colour display. As with all sony mp3 players it has a superb battery life lasting 30hours which outdoes all its rivals especially apples nano's. It looks great being ultra slim stylish and lightweight and has a massive 8gig flash memory. The build quality is second to ...
101riggers 29.06.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Sony Walkman NW-A808 8 GB
Advantages: Small, light and great battery life. Disadvantages: The hold button is easily switched off.
Great product, which is a little small for watching videos, but has more than enough space to put one or two movies on and hundreds of tracks. With its excellent battery life it's a brilliant product to make your long commute to work in the morning fly by!
The menus are extremely easy to navigate and gives a range of ways to organise tracks. It also includes an option to create playlists on the go, so you can pick and choose your songs of the week ... ...slightly annoying thing about this product is that if you turn it off and put it on hold and then put it back in your pocket, it is extremely easy to accidently take it off hold and it starts playing without you noticing.
The software also lets it down a little bit, but all in all great value for money. ...
lollapopandmaffoo 03.04.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Sony Walkman NW-A808 8 GB
Product Information for "Sony Walkman NW-A808 8 GB" »
Audio system
Capacity
8 GB
Digital Storage Media
Flash memory - integrated
Sound Output Mode
Stereo
Digital Video Playback
Yes
Digital player (recorder)
Supported Digital Audio Standards
WAV, WMA, ATRAC3plus, MP3, ATRAC3
Supported Digital Video Standards
MPEG-4
Playback Modes
Repeat shuffle, repeat all, one track repeat
Headphones
Headphones Type
Headphones - binaural - ear-bud
Connectivity Technology
Wired
Sound Output Mode
Stereo
Connections
Connector Type
1 x headphones
1 x USB
Manufacturer's product description
This WALKMAN can play high quality videos, MP3's or flick through your photo album, plays contents downloaded from Internet, podcasts or simply from your camcorder to watch your home videos on the run. Packed with features, a high quality 2" LCD with user friendly interface so calling up your files is easy and multi-format support so even your AVC, MP4 or most other file types are just a drag-and-drop away. High quality video on such a small screen? No problem, AVC Baseline refers to "Advanced Video Coding" is a video format that achieves vivid and high video quality. 4 'Clear Audio Technologies' are featured - the Digital Sound Enhancement Engine improves the degraded sound of compressed audio and restores high frequency range to reproduce natural sound close to the original source, Clear Bass reproduces bass sound quality without distortion, Clear Stereo LR prevents audio signal leaking from one channel to another, reproducing the clear stereo sound of the original source and 13.5 mm EX Headphones for added pure and live sound.
