Test Driving Sony's New Walkman® Video MP3 Player

Sony lost market share to rivals in several areas last year, so it's no surprise the Japanese electronics manufacturer puts its focus behind a product once at the core of its company.

In a quest to end Apple's dominance of audio electronics, Sony's new Walkman Video MP3 Player efforts to be everything the I-pod is, at a fraction of the expense.

For this review, I sampled the 8GB version, which comes in multiple colors. The unit features a 2.0" LCD screen, long lasting battery, and multiple video codecs. Sony claims this version can handle 1,850 songs or 30 hours of video. The battery supposedly last 45 hours under continuous music play or 8 hours of video.

The device didn't take as long as anticipated to charge in my computer's USB port. And while it was charging, I was already loading it with songs, pictures, and movies. The device syncs easily with Windows Media Player, and includes drag and drop software for items not found in your WMP library, like an I-tunes song.

I transferred several songs from WMP and I-tunes with speed and ease and can find few faults with the Walkman's main purpose. If you're anal retentive and have ripped a CD using I-tunes software instead of WMP, the Walkman default's to artist instead of album. For example, if you ripped the "Twilight" soundtrack in I-tunes and then sent the songs to the Walkman, they would all appear in individual artist folders, instead of under one album.

I'm also quite impressed with the Walkman's video capabilities and transfer speed. I uploaded a digital copy of "Bedtime Stories" in MPEG 4 format in about five minutes. Playback was smooth, sound quality as anticipated, and the device didn't glitch or lock up while fast forwarding and rewinding. The Walkman also allows you to change view from ascending to descending so your movie fills more of the screen. Unlike the I-phone, you must do this manually. Also, the device has trouble accessing I-tunes video.

A few other notes. You can't expand the memory on this device, so I highly recommend you purchase the 8 GB and not the 2 or 4. Also, the Walkman features an FM radio and can display .jpg pictures transferred through WMP or the drag and drop program. If you pay attention to sales, you can find this device for under $100.