WhenInManila and you hear the word “WALKMAN”, isn’t it that we remember the days of the old Sony Walkman Casette and CD players? And how the were so “in” during the era of casettes and CDs? Aren’t you questioning of how the Walkman family of Sony fares now? During the rise of MP3 players, the Walkman family was, to be honest, dying. So many MP3 players were popping here and there, plus the current rise of iOS and Android smartphones that could handle movie and audio media seamlessly. Now, where does the Sony Walkman stand in this new generation and era?
Let me introduce to you the latest Sony Walkman, the Sony Walkman Z. It’s no slouch, it’s no simple Walkman that plays your ripped CDs and Casettes.
It runs on the Android platform! You heard that right Mr. iTouch, you have a competitor, and darn boy ain’t it a fighter!
The Sony Walkman Z boasts a 4.3 inch screen that screams gaming against the competition. having a thickness of only 11.1mm and weighing 156grams. It definitely feels solid and durable. Something really different with the Sony Walkman Z that is barely available to any other competition is the HDMI port. It allows easy output of HD content to and from the device. Imagine just plugging in the Sony Walkman Z to your LED TV and firing up that 1080p video you have in your pocket. Pretty cool! Speaking of gaming and smooth UI, the Sony Walkman Z is packed with the 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. Ensuring that all those apps run smooth and silky.
The Sony Walkman Z isn’t simply just a music player. The Android OS that it operates on is very similar to Android formats of the latest generations of smartphones. You get full capacity of the Android platform, and you get the huge selection from the google store. share and post that music you’re playing, or play your favorite games while singing your favorite tunes! It’s an all in-one entertainment device to be honest. The xLoud also offers strong audio playback, truly enhancing the Sony Walkman experience even without the use of earphones or headphones.
For me, what sets the device apart from the competition as well as a smartphone that would make the experience redundant is that, the Sony Walkman Z has a specially “W” button that instantly brings you to the music app and menus at the top of apps and even when the device is locked. Simple finger swipes could also be used to skip through tracks which I find is a better experience over Apple’s iTouch. Another aspect of the Sony Walkman Z that I find to be an upper-hand against the Apple iTouch is basically, the screen size. The 4.3 inch screen really gives it more appeal as an entertainment device. It is 4.3 and not 4.7 which basically gives it more capability of single handed use.
Apart from these also is the fact that the Equalization options of the Sony Walkman Z will surely squeeze out the perfect sound signature that will fit your taste. Far beyond Apple’s stock EQ settings.
The exclamation point that I would really want to underline regarding the Sony Walkman Z, is with it’s sound quality. To be honest, the Sony Walkman Z would easily beat the crap out of any Apple device through sound quality alone. Initially, I have heard the Sony Walkman Z in its stock Ginger Bread OS form. The sound quality was nothing short of good. It had really bodied overall sound, having the mids round and the mid-bass really punchy. Combining the Sony Walkman Z with the Sennheiser IE80 was nothing short of superb! I didn’t need to use any amplifier at all because it was just perfectly a satisfying match. It was a dark sound signature that would benefit and attract more of those who seek the lower ranges of music. Recently though, the Sony Walkman Z finally got hold of the Ice Cream Sandwhich update of the Android OS. Yes, not yet Jelly Bean, but it was a big update for the Sony Walkman Z. The mid-bass was cleaned out properly and gave the device a much better character and less darkness. Truly something spectacular for the said device. Imagine buying an already good sounding player and having an update make it something more blissful? When did iOS ever had that anyways?
Pairing the Sony Walkman Z is simple as acquiring a Line-Out cable or adapter to use your custom interconnects. It’s very similar to acquiring an LOD for Apple devices. Overall, the Sony Walkman Z triumphs any single Apple device so far, specially if paired with an amp. Hats off to Sony for always being competitive in the battle of portable players! The only time the Sony Walkman Z would find defeat over an Apple device is when it’s an iPod Classic paired with the Cypher Labs Algorhythm Solo portable DAC. But then, that’s a huge huge price difference since the Solo is already around $600 alone. Overall, Sony hasn’t lost their game. They still now how sound quality should be the main focus over other fancy shmancey antics of other devices.
Sony Walkman Z: The new “Walkman” revolution?
