walkman

What's wrong with you?

Doesn't everybody have at least one of these things? I'm just curious, is there anyone out there who flat-out refuses to buy an iPod or Zune or whatever? Are you just bucking the trend? Oh, and please tell us how old you are. I want to know if there are any iPod-less kids reading the Audiophiliac.

This is just a quick pointer to a hilarious post I ran across this morning: BBC Magazine invited 13-year-old Scott Campbell, to wear a vintage Sony Walkman for a day. He took the challenge seriously, and wrote up his impressions of the Walkman versus the modern equivalent.

Some choice excerpts:

"It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape."

"I managed to create an impromptu shuffle feature simply by holding down 'rewind' and releasing it randomly."

"I'm relieved that the majority of technological advancement happened before I … Read more

No one knows if the "B" in B-Series stands for budget or boring, but both are fitting descriptions for Sony's lowest-tier Walkman MP3 player. Still, in these troubled times, the world needs cheap, pretty things, and Sony is doing its best to breathe some new life into the wallet-friendly Walkman.

The latest refresh of the Sony B-Series Walkman has only been announced for Japan (so far) and lacks pricing and release date information. Typically, the B-Series sells in the U.S. at around $45 to $60, and judging from the latest specs, we wouldn't expect anything … Read more

Remember the Sony Walkman? It was, at one time, the iPod of its day. No other portable media player was capable of competing against the Walkman. Everyone wanted to get their hands on Sony's stellar device. And every year, when Sony would tweak it just a little bit, we all jumped at the chance to buy the latest and greatest Walkman.

But today, the Walkman is just an also-ran. Apple's iPod is dominating the business. With a firm grip on the market, there's currently no sign that Apple will be relinquishing its lead in the PMP space anytime soon. But Sony hasn't given up.

According to Engadget, the Japanese electronics powerhouse is planning to release an Android-based Walkman next year.

It makes sense. Rumors have been swirling since 2008 that its Sony Ericsson joint venture would be releasing an Android-based handset. Why wouldn't Sony also consider Google's mobile operating system for the Walkman?… Read more

In an effort to streamline the development of their mobile products, Sony may adopt Google's Android OS for future versions of their Walkman audio players, mobile phones, and mobile Internet devices such as the Mylo. By using a shared platform between devices, Sony could be hoping to emulate the success Apple achieved with the iPhone and iPod Touch, and their common iPhone OS.

The move to Android may also help to hasten products to market, allowing Sony's developers to repurpose apps and interface designs between products. Sony's latest Walkman, the iPod Touch-rivaling X-Series, only recently began shipping, … Read more

Sony, once the king of personal technology, has spent years wandering through the desert, looking for a hit. Sony Chairman and CEO Howard Stringer attributes this to the company's continued fixation with proprietary lock-in:

Sony hasn't taken open technology very seriously in the past. Its CONNECT music download service was a failure. It was based on OpenMG, a proprietary digital rights management (DRM) technology. At the time, we thought we would make more money that way than with open technology, because we could manage the customers and their downloads.

This approach, however, created a problem: customers couldn't … Read more

Just a week after the Sony Ericsson Idou became official, the other phone that the company unveiled at GSMA 2009 was released into the wild. The W995a is notable not because it has an 8.1-megapixel camera and a Walkman player--we've seen those before--but because it had a 3.5-millimeter headset jack and kickstand. Yes, we know that those features may seem insignificant, but as usability goes, you can't top them. After a long wait we finally can use our own headset on a Sony Ericsson Walkman phone.

The W995a has other attractions, of course. The display is … Read more

Jasmine: "June has always been an action-packed month for me. I can't remember the last time I didn't know someone who was graduating from somewhere, and I have always spent the third Sunday of the month hanging out with my dad. As such, I have plenty of experience picking out apt gifts for the occasions, no matter what my budget at the time. In that spirit, I've rounded up a handful of gadgets that range from uberaffordable to ultralux."

Check out Jasmine's picks for dads and grads.

Donald: "College is a time when … Read more

Q: I have a question about the new Walkman or really any MP3 player. How do I know the Walkman or the Creative Zen will work with iTunes? The rest of my family already have iPods, and I want something different but my concern is all the music I have tied up in iTunes, how do I know what MP3 players will work with that music?--Marty, via e-mail

A: The short answer is: it depends. First off, if we're taking about working with iTunes the software, the answer is no...unless you want to use a "hack" such as iTunes agent. Now, when it comes to iTunes, the music store, things get a bit more complicated. If the music was purchased in iTunes at 99 cents a pop before the DRM restrictions lifted (which happened on April 7 of this year), then it will only be compatible with the iPod, since that is the only MP3 player that supports protected AAC. However, if the files are unprotected AAC--purchased after the date above or as AAC+ tracks at $1.29 per--they will play on the most recent Walkmans and the most recent Zens (as well as other players, such as the Sansa Clip).

If you're really gung ho about not using an iPod and have a bunch of protected music, you can run it through a program like TuneBite.… Read more