Pros and Cons of the New Sony Walkman a Series MP3 Player

The Apple iPod is dominating the market, the Zune is dead, and the Sony Walkman A Series MP3 player is proof that the Sony Walkman is far from dead - but it might have a few problems.

Pro: New and Improved Design

The new Sony Walkman A Series MP3 player will sport a very minimalistic design and feature a 3.4 inch OLED touchscreen surrounded by a large bezel. The newly re-amped Sony Walkman MP3 player will also feature six media playback buttons on its side, support 3.5mm standard headphones, have customizable nameplates, come in multiple colors (including white, black, pink, and other colors) and sports a new Home button for easy navigation. The new design of the Sony Walkman A Series MP3 player is a huge upgrade from its predecessor and resembles something more comparable to an iPod and less like a generic MP3 player.

Con: Non-Android

A Sony Walkman running on Android and fit to take on the iPod Touch MP3 player has been a major rumor in the online tech blogosphere and on rumor sites for quite some time, but unfortunately, the new Sony Walkman A Series is not the Android Walkman of legend. The new Walkman's software will be very similar to its predecessor and will not offer third-party app support and will likely stick to the MP3 and video playing basics.

Pro: Upgraded Hardware

Not only will the Sony Walkman A Series MP3 player feature a new exterior, but it'll also feature several great upgrades on the hardware front. The A Series Sony Walkman music player will come in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacity variants, feature an 3.4 inch OLED touchscreen, and will support both Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi '" but not 3G of 4G mobile internet connections.

Con: Price

While the Sony Walkman of the past was a more economically friendly option than purchasing an iPod '" and were known to cost lower than $100 '" the Sony Walkman A Series MP3 player will cost almost as much an iPod Touch while offering less. Cnet.com lists the pricing model of the Sony Walkman A Series will go as follows: 8GB for $225, 16GB for $267, and $352. With the high prices of the new Walkman series, it's safe to say that they'll no longer be considered budget MP3 players '" but the added cost won't necessarily mean better quality.