List of Sony Walkman products

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Various Sony Walkman products ranging from 1979 to 2016, on display at an expo in Tokyo

The following is a partial list of Sony Walkman products (but does not include the original cassette tape devices) which includes products of various formats under the brand. Up to March 2010 Sony built 400 million Walkmans (of which 200,020,000 were original cassette Walkmans) worldwide.[1]

Radio Walkman[]

A Walkman FM/AM radio receiver from the 2000s

Walkman branded portable radio receivers were made originally in 1981 under the "FM Walkman" name. Various FM, AM and DAB receivers have been made.

CD Walkman (formerly Discman)[]

See Discman, launch 1984.

Video Walkman[]

The original Video Walkman (GV-9)

Sony's first brand extension of the Walkman cassette players were portable Video8 cassette recorders with color LCD displays, released 1989.[2]

DAT Walkman[]

TCD-D100 DAT Walkman (1997)

Portable Digital Audio Tape (DAT) players called DAT Walkman were made. The first model, TCD-D3, was released in 1990.[3] The final model, TCD-D100, was discontinued in Japan in 2005.

MiniDisc Walkman[]

MD Walkman logo

The first MiniDisc Walkmans ("MD WALKMAN"), MZ-1 and MZ-2P, were released in 1992.[3] The playback-only MZ-E50 was the smallest and lightest MiniDisc player when released in late 1996.[4]

Production of the final MiniDisc Walkman, MZ-RH1 (Hi-MD), stopped in September 2011.[5]

NetMD[]

NetMD MZ-N707 (2002)[6]

Sony expanded MiniDisc's possibilities with the introduction of NetMD (NetworkMD). These allowed the use of a PC to convert music from CDs or MP3s into ATRAC3 format, and use a USB cable to transfer the music to the MiniDisc at a much faster rate than was possible when using a line-in cable. Until end of 1998 4.6 million units of the MD Walkman were built.[7]

The MZ-N10 was released in 2002. It was Sony's '10th Anniversary' product, released 10 years after the introduction of the MiniDisc format in 1992. The case was made from a magnesium alloy, and the unit featured a built-in lithium-ion battery which provided 24 hours of battery life. The MZ-N10 allowed music to be transferred from a PC at up to 64 times actual playback speed, not including the time required for audio re-encoding. It was also the first MD Walkman to incorporate the ATRAC DSP TYPE S codec, and is today (2006) the lightest recording MD Walkman ever produced. The accompanying 10th anniversary playback-only MiniDisc Walkman, the MZ-E10, was also released. It is the lightest MD Walkman ever produced, weighing 55 g (including built-in rechargeable battery) with a thickness of 9.9 mm.

Hi-MD[]

In 2004, Sony introduced the Hi-MD format. Hi-MD Walkmans use 1 GB Hi-MD discs in the same form-factor as regular MiniDiscs, and allow 1 GB of files and/or audio to be stored per disc. They also accept regular MiniDiscs, which can be initialized in Hi-MD mode for 305 MB capacity per disc (with the added ability to store audio and data, like Hi-MD discs).

Unlike NetMD, Hi-MD Walkmans allow two-way digital transfers to and from PCs virtually unrestricted. Hi-MD also allows the option to record and transfer audio in lossless linear PCM on standard MiniDiscs and Hi-MD discs. This offers sound quality equal to CD (as opposed to lossy ATRAC codecs used on standard MiniDisc/ NetMD).

Hi-MD Walkmans introduced from 2005 onwards allowed direct playback of MP3s without the need to transcode the MP3s to ATRAC format. However, SonicStage is required for transfer onto the disc itself. Playable audio cannot be transferred to the devices without SonicStage.

DVD Walkman (formerly DVD Discman)[]

In 1998 portable DVD players called DVD Discman were released. New models from 2001 were rebranded as "DVD Walkman".

Memory Stick Network Walkman[]

Released in 1999, these would be the first "memory type" Walkman, which remain the only current product type still in production. Initially from 2000 the memory type Walkman were collectively called "Network Walkman" to distinguish from other types of Walkman such as the cassette one, but by 2005 the branded name for memory type Walkman became solely "Walkman" which continues to this day.

Because Sony did not initially support the MP3 format as other companies in the industry, the players were not officially called "MP3 players" by Sony. The Memory Stick flash players were officially called "Portable Memory Stick Audio Players"; embedded flash players were called "Portable IC Audio Players"; hard disk players were initially called "Portable Hard Disk Audio Players". From 2005 all were simply called "Digital Audio Players" and "Digital Media Players".

From 2007 to 2015, Walkman players for export markets had a NWZ- prefix instead of NW-.

NW-MS7[]

The NW-MS7 "Memory Stick Walkman" was introduced September 1999 during a Walkman 20th anniversary event as Sony's first foray into the portable solid state music player industry. The player was very small and light (69 g) with a stylish design.[8] It shipped with a white 64 MB MagicGate Memory Stick and built-in battery, selling it alongside the later NW-E3 (64 MB built-in and using two AAA battery for 4–5 hours playtime). The player could only play ATRAC formatted files, Sony's proprietary format, so was not technically an "MP3 player". The user needed to transfer songs via USB with bundled software OpenMG Jukebox (only works with Windows 98 software, later known as SonicStage). Any files not in the ATRAC format (i.e. MP3s) needed to be converted before they could be transferred and played. Popular software players at the time, such as Winamp, did not support the ATRAC format, leading to users needing to store both MP3 and ATRAC copies of songs on their computers. Additionally, only new MagicGate Memory Sticks were supported.[9]

Sony also advertized the player as having "robust" copyright protection by adhering to standards including Secure Digital Music Initiative. It would only play protected legal music downloads.[10]

It was released in December 1999 in Japan followed by January 2000 in the United States for $399.[11] It was the first and only memory type Walkman to use the classic "WALKMAN" logo. In 2000 the current "W." logo was created to fit more easily on the increasingly shrinking size of devices, and the Walkman brand was unified.[12]

NW-MS9/MS10/MS11[]

NW-MS10 (2002, Japan)

The Network Walkman line was updated with the NW-MS9/MS11. These came bundled with either 64MB/128MB MagicGate Memory Sticks and used a gumstick type battery. Software continued to use OpenMG. The NW-MS9 now had a thin metal body and had 64 MB of internal memory and was priced $330.[9] Release in Japan of the MS9 was December 2000 and April 2001 in Europe.[13][14] In Canada it was released in August 2001.[15]

NW-MS11 was released in Japan in October 2001 and came with a 128 MB Memory Stick.[16]

NW-MS70D/MS90D[]

The last Memory Stick-based Network Walkmans were released in 2002, although these new models included internal flash memory.[9] Model NW-MS70D had 256MB of built-in flash memory. It could also be expanded by its MagicGate Memory Stick Duo port. However, at the time, the Memory Stick PRO Duo had not yet been released, so therefore the NW-MS70D maximum capacity would be 384MB with the additional memory stick. The other downside to it was that it was incredibly expensive, costing as much as a 15 GB iPod. It also used a very buggy software, SonicStage, and only played Atrac3, Atrac3plus and WAV files. However, it was the smallest digital audio player at that time, called "ultra compact" by Sony. It was also solidly built with an aluminium shell and a titanium finish.[17] It boasted a 44-hour battery life. Despite a heavy marketing campaign, its sales were limited. It was much more expensive than iRiver and Mpio players and which did not require SonicStage and ATRAC recoding. Inexpensive Creative Zen and Muvo players also hindered the Sony's sales.[9]

The alternate model, the NW-MS90D, used the same software as NW-MS70D, and had a maximum capacity of 640 MB. It too was also extremely expensive. The most eminent change was the 512 MB inbuilt memory and its new black shell. Due to its price and limited capacity, it was still largely ignored by the general public.

With both these models, SonicStage software started to gain a negative reception.[9]

After this no more Memory Stick type Network Walkman were released. Future Network Walkman would only have embedded flash memory or hard disk.

HDD Network Walkman[]

NW-HD1[]

As Sony was losing market relevance amid the widespread success of Apple's iPod range, the company developed for the first time a hard disk-based player. The NW-HD1 was announced on June 30, 2004 dubbed as “the world’s smallest portable audio device”.[18] It was smaller and was advertised as having better sound quality than the iPod at the time. The HD1 featured a seven line 1.8 inch LED display and had a 20 GB hard disk. The device was brushed in high quality aluminium.[9]

However, the unit would only play Sony's proprietary format, ATRAC3, whereas other players on the market would play the open and much more widely used MP3 format without having to be converted to ATRAC3.[9]

Sony did upgrade the HD1 to play MP3s but it still needed SonicStage to transfer the files. The NW-HD1 did not sell as well as Sony had hoped - its asking price of $399 was $100 more than a 20 GB iPod.[9] Its successors, the NW-HD3 and NW-HD5, also failed to make a major dent in the iPod's sales.

NW-HD3[]

Sony Walkman NW-HD3, the first to support the MP3 format

The successor to the hard disk-based NW-HD1, the NW-HD3 was a very similar design, but it could now play MP3s natively.[9] It was announced on November 30, 2004.[19]

NW-HD5[]

NW-HD5

Sony's next model, the NW-HD5, was released July 2005[20] and was an updated design from the HD1 / HD3, boasting a simpler control system, an upright handheld format,[21] a user-removable lithium-ion battery, better file format compatibility, a unique "Follow Turn Display" that would automatically align itself based on how the player was held on startup, and updated software. A main feature was its advertised running time of 40 hours, when using low-quality format settings, i.e., 48 kbit/s ATRAC3 files, and no player-based audio enhancements (although the player does include these). Playback of 128 kbit/s MP3s was rated at 30 hours. The player was available in black, silver and red and was not sold in the Canadian market. The NW-HD5 was in direct competition with the 4th generation iPod.

Unfortunately, the NW-HD5 was shipped with a cosmetic design flaw which meant that the buttons developed small visible cracks under their plastic coating. Although this did not affect functionality, many customers complained. Sony United Kingdom Limited allowed owners to send the units back to be re-fitted with slightly raised, crack-resistant buttons. Perhaps because of this problem, the NW-HD5 was on the market for a very short time before being pulled in preparation for the next model.

In January 2006, the NW-HD5 became unavailable as a normal purchase from retail electronics stores and was relegated to online auction sites and used-electronics warehouses as a consumer item. Eventually the whole of the Network Walkman line would be discontinued for Sony's new solution.

NW-A1000/A1200/A3000[]

Sony NW-A1000 6GB (2005)

The A Series digital music player was introduced September 2005 as the top flagship range with an electroluminescent screen, available initially in 6 gigabyte (NW-A1000) and a larger sized 20 gigabyte (NW-3000) versions and later in mid-2006 an 8 gigabyte version (NW-A1200). Battery life can reach 20 and 35 hours respectively. The player supports ATRAC3, MP3, WMA and from firmware version 3.00 it also supports AAC.[22] The player is pebble-shaped and has a highly reflective front, build with a metallic back, and a generally minimalist style. It was available in black, silver, purple, pink and blue,[23] In its press release, Sony said the series is "Simply called 'WALKMAN'" thereby dropping the Network name from all its future DAP products.[24] It was announced a few hours after Apple's first iPod Nano.[25] Release in the USA was in 2006.

There are a number of features to select music according to a variety of criteria, which Sony advertized as adapting to the listener's "individual tastes".[4] The "Artist link" function prompts the Walkman to search, find and display similar artists in that genre. There are two new shuffle modes. By selecting "My Favourite Shuffle", the device automatically selects the 100 most listened to songs and plays them at random. The "Time Machine Shuffle" function randomly selects a year and plays all of the songs from that particular year currently held on the device. On the left side is an "Artist Link" button. A recent firmware update (V3.00) added the "Artist Link Shuffle" function to the list of Intelligent Shuffle modes, along with a clock and calendar. The primary means of putting music on this device (as with previous models) is to use Sony software: SonicStage and Connect Player.

The A1000 was the final HDD Walkman when it was discontinued in 2007; after this all Walkman digital audio players would be solely flash memory.

Flash-based Walkman (formerly Network Walkman)[]

These are embedded flash memory audio players. This section does not include Memory Stick type Walkman.

NW-A600 Series[]

NW-A605 (2005, Japan)

In Japan, the NW-A608/A607/A605 were released in November 2005 along with the NW-A1000/1200/3000.[26] It is a small thumb drive design and successor to the global E Series NW-E50x/E40x. Future devices in Japan in this style would be released under E Series (globally until 2008, after which it was exclusively B Series).

B Series[]

NWZ-B163FR (2011)

The B Series were entry-level, small, USB thumb drive style players with less features than the E Series. The B Series was only for the overseas market (not released in Japan). Original model, released in July 2007, was a line of 1 GB (NWD-B103/B103F) and 2 GB (NWD-B105/105F) multifunction MP3 player and voice recording function. It was the firm's first-ever MP3 player to be liberated from the SonicStage software - allowing simple drag and drop[27] - but it has been shorn of the ability to play back ATRAC and AAC music files.

The Auto-Transfer option allowed this Walkman to search for all the MP3 files on the PC and then copy these files directly to the Walkman. It also could record CDs directly from a Sony compatible Hifi system via USB connection without any PC (the NWD-B105 also supported WMA files). It also came with a three-line colour display; the voice recorder (MP3) came with bit rates of low (96 kbit/s), mid (128 kbit/s) and high. Models with the built-in FM tuner ("F") had 30 preset stations with a frequency of 87.5–108.0 MHz, with the capability to record and play FM content. The five preset equaliser also had a custom setting option.

The NWZ-B140 was introduced in 2009 featuring Sony's song search technology.[28] The NWZ-B150 series was introduced in April 2010 with a 3 line LCD display.[29] The B160 series was introduced in June 2011.[30] These were followed by B170 series in early 2012,[31] and the current series, B180, in April 2014. The B180 series consists of one 4 GB model, NWZ-B183, and its FM radio variant NWZ-B183F, and has 20 hours of battery life.[32]

E Series[]

Walkman Bean (2005)

NW-Ex/E10/E55/E75/E9x[]

The E series was originally a pure music player without a large LCD display. The first generation players came with 96 MB (NW-E5), 64 MB (NW-E3) or 32 MB (NW-E2) built-in flash memory, instead of the other models at the time with Memory Stick. The player looks like a cigarette lighter deemed "ultra compact and light" weighing 45 grams.[33] The NW-E3 was released in Japan on June 10, 2000 as the very first "Network Walkman",[34] and from 2001 elsewhere.[14] The larger capacity NW-E5 was released in Japan in December 2000.[13] These players continue the use of OpenMG software like the Memory Stick Walkman.[13]

Models NW-E7 and NW-E10 were first released in Japan in October 2001. The NW-E10 has 128 MB memory, with cited storage for 240 minutes of ATRAC playback.[16]

In 2004 models NW-E75 (256 MB) and NW-E55 (128 MB) were released. These have an acrylic finish and come in either silver (NW-E75) or either blue, red or pearl (NW-E55).[35]

The NW-E99 and NW-E95 were introduced in October 2004, with 1 GB and 512 MB internal memory respectively. They had native MP3 support.[36]

E100 Series[]

The NW-E100 series was released in March 2005 which has a circular design.[37] The player comes in 1 GB (NW-E107), 512 MB (NW-E105) and 256 MB (NW-E103) capacities and was available in several colors. Rated battery life was up to 70 hours playback. It was designed to take on Apple's iPod Shuffle.[38]

E500/E400 Series[]

NW-E405 (2005)

In March 2005 the NW-E500 and NW-E400 Series were introduced, which are USB thumb drive styled with an electroluminescence display. They are the same except that NW-E50x has FM radio tuner.[39] Sony said these were modeled after glass perfume bottles.[40] These feature a multifunctional knob controller used for navigating similar to some of the earlier E Series. Sony also claimed it has a "superquick battery charge" giving 3 hours of battery life by charging for 3 minutes.[41] This feature was carried over to various other Walkman players afterwards. Models were: NW-E507/E407 (1 gigabyte), NW-E505/E405 (512 MB), NW-E503/E403 (256 MB).

E300/E200 Series (Bean)[]

The "Walkman Bean" model was released in late 2005.[42]

E000 Series[]

In August 2006 Sony released the NW-E00X series, filled with 512MB, 1 GB or 2 GB of flash-memory. Very compact, this Walkman offered a battery life of up to 28 hours. It had a built-in USB key for easy file transfer. The battery charge/recharge was through USB connection. It was also equipped with a bright and clear 1 line OLED display for easy navigation. Dimensions were: width 24.6mm, height 79.0mm, depth 13.6mm and weight 25.0 grams. It no longer has a dial but instead has normal buttons.

Supported multiple codec ATRAC (ATRAC3 66 kbit/s, 105 kbit/s, 132 kbit/s, ATRAC3plus 48 kbit/s, 64 kbit/s, 256 kbit/s) MP3 and WMA (and later AAC), via SonicStage 3.4 software for music management and transfers of tracks for Windows.

This series also worked with Linux and Mac using the free software originally called NW-E00X MP3 File Manager, that eventually become in Symphonic, and now JSymphonic. JSymphonic is an open source, cross-platform program (that runs on any Windows/Linux/Mac machine with java 1.5 installed), that, once copied into the Walkman enables the transfer of several audio files, including MP3, to/from several flash based Walkman Series. It can be downloaded from here and is in continuous development.

E010 Series[]

NW-E013 (2007)

In March 2007, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, some countries of Europe and Canada had the Walkman NW-E01X series (NW-E013, NW-E015 and NW-E016) a small USB flash player. Weighing only 23 g, the NW-E01X was available in capacities from 1 to 4 GB and came in five colors: pink, violet, teal, black, and gold. Its features included a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, built-in FM tuner, a three-line color OLED display, calendar and time function, and Clear Stereo and Clear Bass technologies to enhance the audio quality. A release date and pricing for the NW-E01X in the United States was also unknown.

E020 Series[]

The NW-E02X series, were released in Japan in March 2008. The memory sizes were 1 GB for the NW-E023, 2 GB for the NW-E025, and 4 GB for the NW-E026. Each size was available in a five color assortment: white, pink, green, red, and black. The faces of the players were designed for admit changeable color and design templates. The supplied earbuds were the MDR-EX82 earphones in white for the white, pink, and green player and black for the red and black player.

These could play ATRAC, PCM, WMA, MP3, and AAC, (DRM'ed WMA and AAC couldn't be played). As in older models the connector, was the standard male USB. The screen was LCD and displayed three lines along with an optional album-jacket function. It had a five-band equalizer and Sony's "clear stereo" which means pre-set EQ function.

They had a built-in Li-Ion cell which had a quick-charge for approximately three hours playback from a 3-minute plug-in and a complete charge takes about one hour. Sony mentioned the capability of FM reception, (Japan band of 76 to 90 MHz), usually devices with an F at the end of the model number. Dimensions were 83.7 × 22.3 × 16.2mm and weigh 30 grams.

From 2008, the E Series was repurposed into entry-level video-enabled players.

NW-M500 Series[]

The M Series is a small thumb drive styled player released in Japan in December 2013 for 18,000 yen.[43] The M Series is similar to the E Series except that it is metallic, more expensive, a higher build quality, and features noise cancelation, S-Master MX amp, NFC, Bluetooth with aptX, and a microphone for hands-free phone.[44] In addition changing songs has a twisting "shuttle switch" like the older E400/E500/A600 Series instead of buttons.[45] In Japan it was released in 4 colors topping out at 16 gigabytes (NW-M505). It was released in Europe in late 2014 but only came in black and 8 gigabytes (NWZ-M504). Also release that year in Asia Pacific region. No successors were released in the series.

S Series[]

Sports Walkman[]

Sony used the "S2 Sports" brand from other Walkman types for certain fitness-friendly small Network Walkman players. The NW-S4 Sports Network Walkman had a sleek pen shape and a sporty water resistant design and came with an arm strap and 64 megabyte of embedded flash memory. It was released in April 2001 for $200.[46] Later in 2004, the NW-S23 S2 Sports Network Walkman was released with 256 MB internal flash memory.[47] A 128 MB version called NW-S21 was also released.[48]

The NW-S200 S2 Sports Walkman released 2006 were cigar shaped and made of aluminium, also featuring a G-Sensor and a pedometer.[49] It is water resistant and came with an armband and sporty headphones.[50] Models were NW-S205 (2 GB), NW-S203 (1 GB), NW-S202 (512 MB).

NW-S700/S600 Series[]

October 2006 saw the introduction of the NW-S700/600 Series with an "elegant" design,[51] coming in five colors and featuring a 3-line OLED display including album art.[52] The Sony "NW-S700" series is the first flash-based Network Walkman with built-in Active noise control technology. It blocks surrounding noise with integrating mic in its EX-earphone. This player is one of only a few other DAPs of its time that have a noise cancellation feature at this size. The earphone has a proprietary design specifically made for this player, thus making it impossible to plug into other DAPs, even the ones that come from Sony.

This Walkman has a small OLED screen capable displaying album art and some text information about the song and the player features. Navigation is done with a swiveling switch carried over from some previous small models. The S700 comes in 1 GB (NW-S703), 2 GB (NW-S705), and 4 GB (NW-S706) capacities; some countries sell the 2 GB and 1 GB models only. Selected models with the "F" suffix are also equipped with a Stereo FM Tuner.

Future small sized and/or sporty players would only be released under the B Series or W Series. The S Series was changed into a new mid-level video-enabled range.

W Series[]

Model of the Sony Walkman W series

The W series is a wearable music player built into a set of water-resistant headphones. The original model (NWZ-W202) was released in 2009 and had 2 GB of internal memory and could play 11 hours of music and can "quick-charge" for three minutes to yield up to 90 minutes of playback. It can play back MP3, AAC (unprotected only), and WMA (subscription included) files. It was the first Walkman with Zappin, a Sony function which allows the user to browse through tracks by playing a snippet of the chorus of each song.[53]

The NWZ-W270 series, which is fully waterproof, was released in April 2013. Model W273 has 4 GB internal memory and W274 has 8 GB.[54]

In January 2016, the WS413 (4 GB) and WS414 (8 GB) were announced with a new salt water and dust proof design, and an Ambient Sound feature.[55]

Sony Ericsson Walkman / Walkman Phone[]

Main article: List of Sony Ericsson products § W Series: Walkman phones

Between 2005 and 2011, Walkman-branded mobile phones from Sony Ericsson were released. These were mobile phones with extra emphasis on music playback. The first such device was the W800, and the last device that used Walkman branding was Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman.

Domestically Walkman-branded mobile phones by Sony Ericsson were first released in 2006 under partnership with operator KDDI (owned by au). The first model was the W42S 3G phone in 2006 with 1 GB internal memory and expansion with Memory Stick Pro DUO. It was marketed as the "Walkman Phone".[56] It could download music directly to the handset without PC connection using KDDI's web music store.[57] Succeeding models were released called Walkman Phone W52S, Walkman Phone Xmini (W65S), and Walkman Phone Premier3.

Sony Xperia smartphones from 2012 to 2015 came with a Walkman-branded music application.

Video MP3/MP4 Walkman[]

The "Video Walkman" are full portable media players with video and image support that first appeared in 2007. They are all embedded flash memory based.

A Series[]

The A Series was the flagship range of video Walkmans.

NW-A800[]

Main article: Sony NW-A800
A800

The Sony NW-A800 series was the first video-enabled Network Walkman.[58] Announced on March 1, 2007,[59] this series has a metallic build. A chrome-like strip surrounds the edge of the device, and accenting of the same style surrounds the buttons and makes up the logos on the front. It features a QVGA display with ID3 tag and album art support.

It is available in 2 GB (NW-805), 4 GB (NW-806), and 8 GB (NW-808) capacities. The interface is similar to that of a mobile phone. The screen is a 2.0-inch (51 mm) QVGA (240×320) colour LCD and can be used either horizontally or vertically. The Lithium-ion rechargeable battery can last up to 30 hours for music and 8 hours for video. This player is an ATRAC Audio Device which relies on SonicStage to manage music. For photo and video management it uses Sony's Image Converter. It also introduced the new 22-pin WM-PORT dock connector,[60] replacing the 42-pin connector found on the predecessing A Series (A1000/1200/3000).

The NW-A800 has been released in the European Union, Asia, New Zealand, and North America. As of 19 May 2007, Sony Canada has released the 8 GB and 4 GB models.[61] The 2 GB model was released on 13 June 2007.

NW-A810[]

Main article: Sony NW-A810

Announced August 2007, the NW-810 hardware wise is the same as NW-A800 but introduces some substantial changes in its media manager software for the international market. The player was the first flagship to eliminate the need of Sony's proprietary SonicStage program, introducing a drag and drop feature to transfer media instead as well as native Windows Media Player support. It also no longer supports Sony's ATRAC format.[62] Sony called the A810 as being built on an "open platform" and promoted it.[63] It was also the first video-enabled Walkman in the U.S. market.

NW-A910[]

The NW-A919 is a 16GB video Walkman with a digital 1seg TV tuner and recorder allowing the recording of 16 hours of live broadcasts. The player has a touch screen, measures 47.2mm×86.0mm×12.3mm and was available in black or silver. It was released in Japan in November 2007.[64] Tech press in the west nicknamed it TV Walkman.[65][66]

NW-A820 and A720[]

NWZ-A820 (2008)

In March 2008, Sony debuted A820 and A720 series. The A820 was the first Walkman equipped with a Bluetooth module which can be used to connect wireless headphones - the A720 lacks Bluetooth. The upgraded A820 and A720 had a 2.4" LCD display and a selection of memory from 4 gigabytes to 16 gigabyte. This also includes the popular 8 GB version. In some regions the package will contain a pair of Sony In-Ear Earbuds with sound-reduction technology. The EX85 series earbuds are included in the US retail package. It will not include an FM radio, additional memory storage, or a voice recorder.

NW-A840[]

Introduced September 2009, the A840 Series was very thin (marketed as "Super Slim"), only 7.2 mm thick. It has a 2.8 inch OLED display; it was not filled with extras such as touchscreen or internet capabilities, which was reserved for the Walkman X Series.[67] The A840 came in capacities of 8 gigabyte up to 64 gigabyte. It also introduced several new features, including a Language Learning function, a playlist bookmark function, and Virtual Phones Technology. It has rated 50 hours music playback time or 10 hours video playback time.[68]

NW-A850[]

The A850 Series was released in November 2010 exclusively in Japan for 24,000 yen (16 GB), 30,000 yen (32 GB) and 40,000 yen (64 GB).[69][70]

NW-A860[]

NW-A867VI

The A860 Series was introduced in 2011.[71] It has a 2.8 inch LCD touchscreen and is styled like a contemporary smartphone. It shipped with the usual SensMe and Karaoke Mode functions.[72]

E Series[]

In 2008 the previously thumb drive style E Series was repurposed into a new line of entry-level, slim and colorful portable media players (the thumb drive design had by then become the B Series). The E430 Series was launched in 2008 with a 2-inch display.[73] The E440 series featured a 2-inch QVGA color display and was 9.3mm thick.[74]

NWZ-E383
Black NWZ-E383

Its successor, E450 series, was introduced in July 2010.[75] This player was the first featuring Karaoke Mode, a new function that reduces lead vocals in a song. It also featured (for the first time on a Walkman outside Japan) scrolling lyrics using an LRC file. The player came in black, red, blue, pink or green.[76][77]

This was followed by E460 in 2011[78] and E470 in July 2012.[79] Cheaper variants were also released.

The E380 series included models such as the and its variants, which were released in 2013.

The current range, E390 Series, was released in 2016, with a new rectangle design over the E380 Series.[80] It comes in variants of 16 GB (E395), 8 GB (E394) and 4 GB (E393).[81]

F Series[]

NW-F887 with 64 GB memory (2013)

The F Series was introduced in 2012 as the replacement of the Z Series. They are portable media players running the Android operating system. The first series, F800, came with Android Ice Cream Sandwich software and was also the first Sony Walkman to support the FLAC format.[82]

F880 Series adds NFC support allowing for easy pairing with NFC compatible devices like speakers,[83] a built-in FM transmitter,[84] and other improvements. The 16GB NW-F885 was priced $274, the 32GB NW-F886 priced $304, and 64GB NW-F887 priced $405. Its original release date in Japan was October 19, 2013.[85]

S Series[]

Main article: Walkman S Series
NWZ-S616F (2007)
NWZ-S765 (2015)

Sony launched another series of Walkman video player, type S. This was considered as a lower end product line compared to Walkman A series.[86] The NWZ-S610 and S510 Series launched in August 2007 with a 320 x 240 pixel QVGA LCD display.[87] The S610 has different styling and was marketed $20 cheaper than the A810 released at the same time.[88] Just as the A810, the S610 was the first series to remove ATRAC support and not require SonicStage.[62] Shortly afterwards the S710 Series was launched which is very similar to S610 except that it adds Noise Canceling and also retain ATRAC support.[89]

The NWZ-S730 and S630 Series was introduced in August 2008 focusing on slimline designs,[86] and for the first time introducing Sony's SensMe technology to a Walkman digital audio player, which analyzes and lets the user play music based on moods.[90] They were noted as the thinnest ever Walkmans at the time, 7.5 mm thick. The main difference between the series are that the S730 adds noise canceling which the S630 lacks.[91]

The S540 Series came in August 2009 with endowed external stereo speakers on the players' front, as well as Sony Clear Stereo and Clear Bass technologies. However it was now plastic build instead of aluminium. It also removed the SenseMe and Intelligent Shuffle features. The 8GB S544 went on sale for $110 and the 16GB S545 for $130.[92]

S750 Series was proclaimed by Sony as "super-slim" when introduced in September 2010.[93] It features Clear Bass, Clear Stereo, SensMe, Lyrics Sync, Karaoke Mode and other features.[94] In 2011 the new S760 Series introduced Bluetooth.[95] These were followed by S770 and S780.

NW-X1000 Series[]

Sony Walkman X Series (2009)
Main article: Walkman X Series

The Sony Walkman X series was a touchscreen audio and video player that was on the market from 2009 to 2010, designed to compete against the iPod Touch.[96] It has a 3-inch (76 mm) OLED touch screen, internet access through Wi-Fi and digital noise-cancelling as well as applications for Slacker and YouTube. It is available in 16 GB and 32 GB versions.

Media files can be transferred using programs such as Media Manager, Windows Media Player 11 (both programs are on the CD), and Content Transfer (Sony made), but they can also be dragged and dropped from the computer to the device using a file manager such as Windows Explorer (if drag and drop is used, some id tag information is not included, such as the year). If MTP is not installed on the computer, the Walkman switches to UMS/MSC mode.

Like all Sony players sold outside Japan since 2007 (since the NWZ-A810 series), the player is not gapless (there is a gap between tracks, unless WAV/PCM audio files are used), it does not support lossless compression, and there is no on-the-go playlist feature (playlists can only be created on a computer).[original research?] No revisions of the X Series were made; it was replaced by the Z Series.

NW-Z1000 Series[]

Main article: Sony Walkman Z Series

The Z1000, introduced September 2011, was the first Walkman product using the Android operating system.[97]

High-Resolution Walkman[]

Sony's current flagship range is the "High-Resolution Walkman", a series of portable media players which focuses on high-end, premium sound quality, specifically high-resolution audio.[98][99]

A Series[]

NWZ-A15

The A10 Series hi-res Walkman was released in September 2014, with the ability to play 24-bit FLAC files as well as ALAC and DSD. It features Bluetooth and NFC. The player is small sized relative to smartphones of the time and has a 2.2 inch non-touch display, demonstrating the focus on a "classic" music player.[100] The base NWZ-A15 16 GB model retailed for US$299.[101]

For the 40th anniversary of the original Walkman, Sony introduced the NW-A100TPS in September 2019, with a design inspired by the original cassette player.[102] The limited edition models have a "40th Anniversary" logo on its back. Model A100TPS has 16 GB of internal storage, a 3.6 inch display, 26 hours of audio playback, and both a 3.5 mm headphone and USB-C port -[103] the latter replacing Sony's proprietary WM-Port.[104] The A100 Series has a similar design as the A50 but with a larger display and borrowing physical key designs from the ZX300.

Series Image Model Capacity Release Date Display Rated battery life New features
NWZ-A10 (NW-A10) Sony Walkman NWZ-A15 igital audio player 2015.JPG NWZ-A15 16 GB 2014 2.2" (5.6 cm) 320 x 240 (QVGA) 30 hours (Hi-Res Audio), 50 hours (MP3) NFC, MicroSD Card slot [1]
NWZ-A17 64 GB
NW-A16 32 GB
NW-A17 64 GB
NW-A20 NW-A25 16 GB 2015 Noise cancelling [2]
NW-A25HN 16 GB
NW-A26HN 32 GB
NW-A27HN 64 GB
NW-A30 NW-A35.png NW-A35 16 GB 2016 3.1" (7.8 cm) 800 x 480 (WVGA) 22–45 hours DSD, touchscreen [3]
NW-A35HN 16 GB
NW-A36HN 32 GB
NW-A37HN 64 GB
NW-A40 NW-A45 16 GB 2017 aptX, USB DAC [4]
NW-A45HN 16 GB
NW-A46HN 32 GB
NW-A47 64 GB
NW-A50 Sony Walkman NW-A55.png NW-A55 16 GB 2018
NW-A55L 16 GB
NW-A55HN 16 GB
NW-A56 32 GB
NW-A56HN 32 GB
NW-A57 64 GB
NW-A100 Sony Walkman NW-A105.png NW-A100TPS 16 GB 2019 3.6" (9.1 cm) 1280 x 720 (HD 8-26 hours
NW-A105 16 GB
NW-A105HN 16 GB
NW-A106 32 GB
NW-A106HN 32 GB
NW-A107 64 GB

ZX Series[]

The ZX Series is a high-end Walkman hi-res range, sitting above the A Series. Some of these run on Android software rather than Sony's own operating system, and provide access to Google services just like Xperia smartphones.

NW-ZX1 was introduced in January 2014, a high-end player with a 4 inch display and a high quality digital amplifier that sold for about $900.[105]

Model NW-ZX507 was introduced at IFA 2019, retailing for €830/£750, with native DSD and MQA playback.[106] It also had a USB-C port replacing the proprietary WM-Port for data connection.[104]

Series Image Model Capacity Release Date Display Rated battery life OS
NW-ZX1 NW-ZX1 128 GB 2014 4" (10.2 cm) 854 x 480 (FWVGA) 16 hours (Hi-Res Audio), 32 hours (MP3) Android
NW-ZX2 NW-ZX2 2015 33 hours (Hi-Res Audio), 60 hours (MP3)
NW-ZX100 NW-ZX100 2015 3" (7.6 cm) 400x240 (WQVGA) 45 hours (Hi-Res Audio), 70 hours (MP3) Custom
NW-ZX100HN
NW-ZX300 NW-ZX300 64 GB 2017 3.1" (7.8 cm) 800 x 480 (WVGA) 26 hours (Hi-Res Audio), 30 hours (MP3)
NW-ZX300A
NW-ZX300G 128 GB
NW-ZX500 NW-ZX505 16 GB 2019 3.6" (9.1 cm) 1280 x 720 (TFT) 16 hours (Hi-Res Audio), 20 hours (MP3) Android
NW-ZX507 64 GB

WM Series[]

Introduced at IFA 2016, the NW-WM1A is a top-end portable media player retailing for €1200, and has 128 GB internal memory. A gold plated edition called NW-WM1Z was also released, retailing for €3300 as part of Sony's Signature Series. Model NW-WM1Z had 256 GB of storage[107][108]

Model Image Capacity Release Date Display Rated battery life OS
NW-WM1A 128 GB 2016 4" (10.2 cm) 854 x 480 (FWVGA) 33 Hour (MP3 128 kbps)

30 Hour (FLAC 96 kHz/24 bit)

26 Hour (FLAC 192 kHz/24 bit)

11 Hour (DSD 11.2 MHz)

Custom
NW-WM1Z 256 GB

Special editions[]

Sony has partnered with various companies, brands or music bands, to release special Walkman digital audio players (most exclusive to Japan). Below are some editions:

  • Disney Hannah Montana pink colored E Series released in Christmas 2009[109]
  • Franz Ferdinand black colored A Series (A1000) in January 2006 in Japan (only 100 manufactured)[110]
  • Kingdom Hearts III limited edition A Series (A55) including branded headphones, released in Japan in February 2019[111]
  • Disney Christmas Edition S Series (S760) released in Japan in Christmas 2010 with Mickey and Minnie Mouse decals and silicon case[112]
  • Disney limited edition S Series (S770) with Disney characters released in Japan in September 2012[113]
  • Moomin limited edition A Series in Japan in 2019[114]
  • Ghostbusters 35th anniversary Walkman released in the United States in July 2019, only 100 units manufactured[115]
  • Hatsune Miku 10th anniversary S Series (S310K) Walkman released in Japan in 2019[116]
  • The Gazette limited edition F Series and S Series in Japan in August 2014[117]
  • Disney Frozen 2 limited edition A Series (A55) Walkman released in Japan in 2019[118]
  • Final Fantasy XV A Series (A30HN) Walkman released in Japan in 2016[119]
  • Naruto A Series Walkman (A25) "Naruto vs. Sasuke Final Battle" with branded headphones released in Singapore in 2016[120]
  • Love Live! Sunshine!! limited edition A Series (A55) Walkman released in Japan in May 2019[121]
  • Saekano the Movie: Finale limited edition A Series (A55) Walkman released in Japan in Janurary 2020[122]
  • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba limited edition A Series (A105) Walkman released in Japan in April 2020[123]

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