Sony Walkman NWZ-S545
The basics
16GB Flash memory media player with stereo speakers and 2.4-inch QVGA LCD. FM radio, stand for video watching, alarm. 42 hours battery life (audio). Measures 49x99x19mm. Weighs 68g.
The good
Sony cares more about your ears than that daffy old aunt who always gives you hand-knitted ear-muffs and Q-tips on your birthday. Sound quality is fine through the supplied earbuds and simply impeccable with real headphones, with sharp video on the 320x240 screen that isn’t far behind. FM radio and voice recording showcase Sony’s determination to compete in the mobile arena and battery life is suitably long: nearly two days of audio on a single charge, and a full 17 hours even with the stereo speakers turned up to maximum annoyance level.
The bad
The previous S639 Walkman had ever-so-mature noise cancelling, executive time-saving on-the-go playlists and thoughtful podcast support. The S545 has tinny built-in speakers and an oversized screen instead, suggesting that Sony has given up on an adult audience and is wooing customers who are too young to buy this Walkman’s real competition – a mobile phone. Transcoding and loading vids can be a pain, too.
The bottom line
Forget what the S545 isn’t – an advance on the excellent S639 – and concentrate on what it is: a top-notch audio and video player that happens to look a bit like a mobile phone. Just don’t use those speakers in public unless you enjoy being laughed at... or worse.
User comments (2)
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MarkDouglas06 September 2010
The reviewer above makes fun of the speakers-- are you kidding? I think these "official" reviewers are just snobs who have to pee on something to feel superior. Show us a unit this small amazing with BETTER sound. One may exist, but not at this price, and not that we knew about. We didn't expect to put on concerts with this, and of course most of the time, we use headphones, or we can easilly plug it in any of 500 billion speakers that exist around our house. Besides it sound very very good anyway. Its about the size of a credit card, they managed to squeeze in a very clear screen, so that doesn't leave a lot of room for some Boze speakers. We love this little device, it was a bargain price, and other than you have wrestle with the video formats to convert them first, its fantastic.
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