NWZ-E464BLUE
2.5
5
6
6
GREAT mp3 player for video, music, audiobooks
We now own *3* of these units (mine is the step up 16 gig version, but basically the same). The other two units belong to our 7 and 9 year old. I spend 2.5 solid days researching mp3 players, iPod Nanos (5th and 6th generation), and iTouches. I learned a lot. Let me summarize our findings and help you understand why we purchased 3 of these great little units.
BTW, my daughter had an old generation of this since she was 6. The battery life was great, took kid wear (though she was very good with it), and we NEVER had an issue (until my hubby spilled water on it Lol).
Needs: audiobooks with bookmarking, podcasts, music, video, voice recording for the occassional lecture/seminar, and pictures (nice to have)
Sony meets all of these needs with the best price on the market. iPod nanos were expensive: the 5th generation is tough to find for a reasonable price, the 6th generation is TOO small for any of us to enjoy, and the iTouch is far more than we wanted to spend - and was overkill for our needs (I really don't need an app for that.)
We use iTunes to manage our music (too many issues with Media Player). The mp3 player comes with the transfer software in the memory. Simply attach the player to your computer with the supplied cord (yes, it's proprietary - it is necessary to connect to their bases and speakers), surf out to the folder using My Computer, copy the file to your hard drive and install (then you can format the player from inside the player to give you back that space and ditch the preinstalled music). The Content Transfer software allows us to drag from iTunes (or Windows) over to the player and the software takes care of conversions, file smooshing, etc. File smooshing, yes, a technical term for reducing an 890 meg, 27 minute video file to 342 meg.
Bookmarking... let me educate you. The mp3 industry does not have a standard on what this means. For Sony, bookmarking marks the track (at the beginning) so you can easily find your favorite song or the chapter you were on in your audiobook easily. Bookmarking does NOT bring you to where you were IN the track. In music, no big deal. In an audiobook with a 30 minute chapter... nightmarish. BUT, don't be discouraged, I found a workaround to make this work BEAUTIFULLY. Read on.
I discovered that if you pause a Podcast, go listen to some music, turn off the unit, do some other stuff and come back to your podcast, you pick up where you left off - no bookmarking required, it just is smart like that. So guess what we did? We went into iTunes and made all of our Audiobooks podcasts (select the files, right click, under Options, change the media type to "Podcast").
There are 2 BIG benefits to having done this: First, I can pause my audiobook and come back to where I was without fast-forwarding. Second, my audiobooks are no longer in the music queue. I can randomize/shuffle ALL of my music and ONLY music plays.
Sure, I know. iPods do this nicer with podcasts being podcasts, audiobooks being audiobooks with pausing and holding your place in the track. Have you looked at the price of iPods lately? Especially when you compare feature for feature, an iPod will run nearly TWICE the cost of the Sony and you get a dinky screen on the Nano (6th gen) and frankly, as I said, an iTouch is overkill (and overpriced).
Other cool features: carrying around photos of my kids, FM radio with preset capability, language learning (if you are studying a foreign language, karaoke mode (if you load the .lyr file), audio recording for lectures/seminars, or even recording my own audiobook for our 2 year old.
We are MORE than pleased with our Sony for the kids and for mom. 8G is plenty of space for them.
If you aren't looking for frills, but a good solid mp3 player, you have found an excellent choice, and for the price, you can't beat it (besides, with 5 available colors - it is great the kids are never confused as to which mp3 player is theirs!).
September 23, 2011
Battery practically always low
I own the NWZ-E464 since fall 2012 and it broken after 3 months. It took 1,5 months to repare. But, it's not the worst.
Con: It's not possible to completely shutdown this MP3/4 player. When you bring it with you, in your pocket or in a bag, it will be discharge frequently when you will want to use it. Even if you lock the player, in hope to save power, it will open up with a light control pressure to indicate that the player is locked. Just that suffise to discharge the player. Often, I have to recharge it 2 or 3 times consecutively without able to use it. And, to add to the problem, it's not possible to listen music or radio when it's charging.
About the volume control, it's badly placed on the angled side of the player. When you try to change volume with one hand, the player will flip in your hand because you are pressing on the angled side. It's simply ridiculous.
Also, some indicate that battery life is good. It's not the case with mine. I also own a Coby which is a lot better on the battery life.
Don't buy this.
December 5, 2012
Best mp3 player
i just needed Arabic language for this player to play Arabic song lyrics just release a firmware update including Arabic language it will be the best mp3 player
April 8, 2012
Broke within 3 months
Well, I liked this player, good sound, until it suddenly was stuck in the "hold" mode. No matter what I would do, even resetting or updating the firmware, it still remained in hold mode making the unit useless. Piece of junk
March 22, 2012
