Apple had an 18-month headstart with the video iPod but Sony has finally caught up with its video MP3 player due for release next month.
The Walkman Video MP3 Player NW-A800 series will be available throughout Europe from April onwards with a recommended retail price of €179, €223.61 and €299 for the 2G, 4G and 8G versions respectively.
Sony’s competitor to the video iPod has all the standard trimmings you would expect. The screen is a 2-inch QVGA (320 x 240) TFT LCD. While not as large as the iPod’s 2.5-inch screen, the Walkman’s video footage can be viewed both horizontally and vertically.
The video Walkman features new DSEE technology, enabling quality lost to sound compression to be restored, according to the company.
The inclusion of a stereo Bluetooth transmitter enables audio to be transmitted wirelessly from the Walkman and played through any Bluetooth enabled device.
Other features include drag-and-drop video transfer. The device plays the standard MPEG-4 and videos encoded in AVC and includes converter software for other formats.
The player comes with three storage capacities: 2G, 4G and 8G. This is a mere taster when compared to the 30G and 80G offered by the iPod but the battery life is promising with eight hours’ video playback, enough to watch your entire 2G collection.
The video Walkman is available in four colours – violet, black, pink and white – with a sleek, slim design that has the fashion conscious in mind.
By Marie Boran.
