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General discussion

Is this a good MP3 player to buy for the price?

Oct 30, 2008 8:23AM PDT

I have recently been looking for MP3 players and came across this player a few days ago. It is a Sony Walkman NWZ-E438F. I can get this for 89.99 at BestBuy, so for the money, would it be worth it?

Discussion is locked

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I don't think you can go wrong with the Sony
Oct 30, 2008 9:17AM PDT

While it's not their top of the line player, it's pretty good. You're not going to get the nicer earbuds, podcast support, or noise cancelling features that Sony's more expensive players may have. It does have an fm tuner and if you are a Rhapsody To Go subscriber, it supports that. I bought this player myself a couple of weeks ago at Best Buy, but I got it on sale for $10 less. I probably would have paid their regular price. It's not my main player, but I got it because of Rhapsody To Go/Rhapsody Channel support. I haven't had a chance to use the fm tuner yet.

It feels solidly built. The face is a little smudge prone, but it's something that I can live with. I also have the older NWZ-A816, which I like better because it has a nicer/smudge-resistant finish, but it doesn't have Rhapsody support so I barely use it.

I think at $89.99 it is competitively priced with the Creative Zen Mosaic. I'm not sure of the Mosaic's features, but I don't like its plasticy look.

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slow to sync?
Nov 3, 2008 12:36AM PST

The CNET review for the E438 complains that it is slow to sync to Rhapsody To Go. Is that true in your experience? Do you know if the S-series is any better?

And what exactly is "unsupported" about podcasts. They're just MP3 files, right?

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I don't think it's that bad
Nov 3, 2008 3:14AM PST

It will probably sync faster if the to go content resides on your computer and you have a faster internet connection. I have DSL. I usually don't download them to my computer. I usually stream them and when I do download I download to the player rather than my hard drive. And I still don't think it's that bad.

As far as podcast support, I'm talking about integrated podcast support, much in the way iPods support podcasts. iPods have passive bookmarking on files that are specifically identified as podcasts that are aggregated through iTunes. You can listen to a podcast, interrupt it and listen to something else then come back to that podcast later and listen where you left off.

Because podcasts are mp3s (some are aacs) the Sony E series will play them just fine. You can play them through or stop it and go back later. However, if you listen to something else then go back to the podcast you either have to listen from the beginning or fast forward to where you left off. Not a biggie, I guess. But I have a few iPods that I end up listening to my podcasts on anyway.

The S Series does have integrated podcast support.

I'm just saying the the E Series is a good player for the price, features, and build quality. If you want something that does a little bit more, spend a little more and get the S Series.