Walkman A Series

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The Walkman A Series is a flagship line of portable media players by Sony as part of its Walkman range.

NW-A1000 and NW-A3000[]

Sony NW-A1000 6GB

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). It was the replacement of the NW-HD5 in the Network Walkman line and remained a hard disk player as opposed to the smaller E Series players.

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.[1] 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,[2] In its press release, Sony said the series is "Simply called 'WALKMAN'" thereby dropping the Network name from all its future digital audio player (DAP) products.[3] It was announced a few hours after Apple's first iPod Nano.[4] 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".[5] 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.

NW-A800[]

Main article: Sony NW-A800
A800

The Sony NW-A800 series was the first video-enabled Network Walkman.[6] Announced on March 1, 2007,[7] 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,[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] Sony called the A810 as being built on an "open platform" and promoted it.[11] 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.[12] Tech press in the west nicknamed it TV Walkman.[13][14]

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.[15] 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.[16]

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).[17][18]

NW-A860[]

NW-A867VI

The A860 Series was introduced in 2011 (alongside S760 and E460 series).[19] 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.[20]

NW-A10[]

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.[21] The base NWZ-A15 16 GB model retailed for US$299.[22]

NW-A20[]

Released in 2015 the A20 Series also has noice canceling.[23]

NW-A30[]

NW-A35

Introduced in October 2016, the A30 Series can also playback Direct Stream Digital (DSD). It now has a 3.1 inch touchscreen display.[24]

NW-A40[]

NW-A50[]

NW-A100[]

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.[25] 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 -[26] the latter replacing Sony's proprietary WM-Port.[27] The A100 Series has a similar design as the A50 but with a larger display and borrowing physical key designs from the ZX300.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "A series (WALKMAN® MP3 & MP4 video)". Sony. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
  2. ^ Randolph Ramsay. "Sony NW-A1000 Walkman review: Sony NW-A1000 Walkman". CNET. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  3. ^ "Sony Introduces MP3 Player". Arab News. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  4. ^ "Sony targets Apple with new Walkman music players". macworld.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  5. ^ "Sony Group Portal - Product & Technology Milestones−Personal Audio". sony.net. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  6. ^ "web.archive.org/web/20071028075729/www.walkmanvideomp3.com/". Archived from the original on 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  7. ^ "Sony announces Walkman NW-A800 video MP3 player". Tech Digest. March 2007. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  8. ^ Jasmine France. "Sony NW-A800 debuts in Europe". CNET. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  9. ^ "Sony Style Canada". Sonystyle.ca. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  10. ^ "Sony's NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610 now really, really official and ATRAC free". Engadget. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  11. ^ "NEWS: Sony goes open platform with new Network Walkman players | What Hi-Fi?". whathifi.com. 3 September 2007. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  12. ^ "NW-A910シリーズ | ポータブルオーディオプレーヤー WALKMAN "ウォークマン" | ソニー". Ecat.sony.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  13. ^ "Sony NW-A910 TV Walkman: Tivo in Your Pocket". WIRED. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  14. ^ "Sony NW-A910 TV Walkman |". newlaunches.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  15. ^ "Sony Gets Slimmer Yet with Walkman A840 | Gadgets#". Geniusbeauty. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  16. ^ "Account Suspended". cyberindian.net. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  17. ^ "Sony Gives The Walkman A Series Another Generation". Sony Insider. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  18. ^ "Sony NW-A850". OLED-Info. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  19. ^ July 2011, Kate Solomon 27 (27 July 2011). "Sony unveils new look wireless Walkman A-Series". TechRadar.
  20. ^ "Sony unveils new look wireless Walkman A-Series". TechRadar. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  21. ^ "Sony NW-A25 Review – Dead Media or Niche Luxury?". Everyday Listening. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  22. ^ "Sony out to get Neil Young with high-res Walkman A15 audio player". TechRadar. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  23. ^ "Sony Launches New Walkmans, H.ear Headphones, and More at IFA 2015 | Technology News". gadgets.ndtv.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  24. ^ "Goondu review: Sony Walkman NW-A30 - Techgoondu Techgoondu". techgoondu.com. 30 October 2016. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  25. ^ Snelling, David (September 10, 2019). "Sony Walkman is back - Firm reboots its famous music player with this iconic update". Express.co.uk.
  26. ^ "Sony 40th Anniversary Walkman includes retro cassette player case". SlashGear. September 5, 2019.
  27. ^ "Stereo Magazine: Farwell to the WM-Port". stereo-magazine.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
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