Dubai: Want to swim or run and listen to your favourite music on the go. That is what Sony is targeting at with its NWZ-W273S Walkman Sports MP3 Player.
Over time, most MP3 players get abused with the sweat and water due to a workout.
This device is meant to get abused and can withstand depth of two metres under water.
The wireless and one-piece design has a 4G internal capacity and has four different sets of earbuds to be used when swimming. It weighs just 29 grams.
With a 4GB of storage, it may be too small to be your main MP3 player but ideal for swimming where more than 950 songs can be stored.
It does not fall off even when you are running or playing games.
The two ear pieces are connected by a rubber wire that has to be worn around the back of the neck and around the ears.
To make it waterproof, Sony has a specialised cradle instead of micro USB port for charging the device.
Dock the two ear prices into the cradle, the device can be fully charged within 90 minutes.
The killer feature of this device is that users can listen to non-stop music for one hour by charging for three minutes.
The left side of the device houses the volume button, playlist and shuffle button.
The right side houses the play/pause button, track control button, and power on/off button.There is no display to show what track users are listening to or what function you have chosen. Music can be dragged and dropped into the storage through USB cable using a windows or Mac computer.
It is so simple and easy. Users can as easily sync your playlists on the Walkman with Windows Media Player and iTunes.
Maximum volume
The controls are easily accessible but difficult to operate when using a swimming cap. The positioning of the earbuds has to be right to get the maximum volume otherwise it sounds like as if it is coming from a distance.
It played all my iTunes and AAC songs fine with no problem. It also supports FLAC, MP3, MP4, WAV, WMA formats.
The device provides enough bass, mid-range and high-range sounds but not loud enough.
For using it in water, select the right earbuds otherwise water will get inside your ears. I tried different earbuds to get the right choice.
The device cannot be paired with any smartphones or apps and can only be used as a standalone. Available in premium black and premium red.
It is priced at Dh299.
