NWZ-X1051FBSMP
4.7
5
26
27
In summary: BUY IT!
I just recently bought this Sony X1051; having it for about a week now (so I can't really rate on the Reliability yet). Before buying it, I researched ?extensively? online, however, I could only find a lot of ?general? reviews but not much about how this player works technically (anything that beyond the spec). So if you want to buy this X1051 and still thinking about it, I hope my review helps you to decide.
Money worth, YES: the 16gb model costs about $300, but don?t forget, it comes with 100 free songs that you can download from SonyMusicPass (be careful, you only get this offer if you buy from Sony Store or sonystyle.com, NOT from other retailers) and a nice pair of noise canceling headphones (I guess the market price is about $50). So, $300 minus $100 (assuming $1 per song) minus $50 for the headphone, the player itself costs only $150, not too bad. I didn?t get the 32gb model because 1) over my budget, 2) I figure with 16gb, the minimum I can transfer is about 3,000 songs (at the highest 320kbps), which is about 12,000 minutes of music and can last me 8 full days! More than enough for me.
Sound quality, EXECELLENT: I don?t have any equipment to test the db, khz, low-to-high range, etc. So I can only compare the sound coming out from this X1051 to other devices that I own, such as cell phone, iPod, and other PMP by playing the same songs. The Sony X1051 sounds great, at least no distortion to me. Besides the Clear Stereo and Sound Enhancer on/off options, it also has 6 different settings of surround sound, and 6 different settings for equalizer (4 presents and 2 are customizable). The CS, Enhancer, Surround, and EQ work independently but consume a little bit more battery (the battery life is so long that I can?t even tell the difference.
Battery life, GREAT: for the first charge, I timed it, it takes about 3 hours to fully charge the player, which agrees with what it says on the manual. I have not used the player until the battery is fully drained yet, but Sony stated it can play 33/9 hours of music /videos. I know these numbers are probably overstated and based on the optimum operating environment. Even it?s only half of what Sony claimed, the player can still play about 15/5 hours of music/videos, more than enough for me because I bought this player mainly to play music.
Slacker, a good addition: the Slacker radio can work WITHOUT the internet connection because I can save/cache up to 3 stations when I can connect to an available Wi-Fi. I signed up Slacker (free) right away because that way, I can choose the 3 radio stations that I want and cache to my player. If you don?t sign up with Slacker, I think you will have 30 days to play whatever the 3 stations are saved by default in the player. According to what I read online, there are about 100 songs in these 3 Slacker stations and use about 1gb of memory. The sound quality is also great because of the file size. If I do my math correctly, 100 songs in 1gb is about 10mb per song, and that is roughly a 4-5 min song at about 256-320kbps. You don?t have to understand these estimated values; all I want you to know is the quality of these songs cached is VERY GOOD.
One of the major reasons, besides the sound quality, I bought this X1051 is that it supports drag and drop to transfer your songs to the player.
Now the CONS: These CONS don?t bother me but may affect other people who are currently looking to buy a new MP3 player, so I list them here anyway.
1) I don?t think I can bookmark any of my favorite Youtube videos.
2) Subscribing and adding Podcast video to the player is tricky (I have not tried Podcast audio yet).
3) Entering a web address is difficult because there is no qwerty keyboard, and you have to type in the full and exact address including http://www (unless you select URL on the keyboard, type ?h? to bring up the suggested words, then select http:// etc.
4) No other apps you can download or use. I do not use the X1051 for videos and internet browsing that much; I rather use my smartphone for these functions, so they don?t really bother me.
Things that I have not tried yet:
1) There is a WM-Port ?to-3.5mm plug provided. My guess is to have a direct audio output from the player instead of using the headphone jack.
2) There is an adapter for ?using with in-flight entertainment systems?. I understand that I can use any headphone with that adapter when flying on a plane, but the manual says I can actually connect the WM-Port ?to-3.5mm plug with this adapter then connect it to the in-fight entertainment systems? I don?t get it.
3) I have not tried any Podcast audio yet.
4) I have not tried to convert any videos and transfer them to the player yet.
5) I have not tried to listen to the FM radio yet.
Hope whatever I wrote here makes sense.
September 28, 2010
Watch out Apple Ipod here comes the Walkman X .
I bought the Walkman X from Sony, and I have to say it the best MP3 digital music player I've ever owned. Truly the best digital diplay on any small electronic device. The sound settings of the Walkman has many hybrid settings and features, the video and photos look amazing, too. The Walkman X takes you into an amazing world of sound and vision. Lightweight, solid design, great battery life, on and on. I say buy one today.
July 29, 2009
Hope will last long time
This player is better than anything I've ever had. I use it in my car and for general day to day use. When my friends that actually know about technology see it and know it is a quality product even though its more than a year old. This still works like new. I wish sony would continue to make just dedicated players for high quality instead of adding android and evrything else to it. I hope to keep this player forever. But I will not replace it until it breaks.
April 18, 2012
Great music source while driving
I was looking for an optimal music delivery solution for a long commute. At first, I was going to go with satellite radio but it's not portable when I need to get another car. I also love Rhapsody since you can save and skip songs. This is a fantastic solution. The few changes above would make it even more incredible.
I'd highly recommend the Zagg shield to cover the screen; it eliminated the smudge problem without any change in touchscreen responsiveness. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003922XG0/ref=oss_product
June 26, 2010
