I bought this as my first walkman because all i wanted was a simple box which i could drop a tape into and listen to it on the move. It cost me about £14.00 and I trusted Sony because I know they rule the Walkman world.

At first all was good, I could listen to the music within my home. Before i dared go out listening to it I binned the headphones that came with it because a) i'd rather be seen bumming my best friends dad than be seen walking down the street in these, b) i was worried that minor gusts of wind might cause them to break into many sharp fragments which could slit my jugular, and c) the sounds of my trousers moving as I walked would block out the sound of the music altogether. I got some better headphones and enjoyed the slightly below average sound quality while I unwittingly pressed in the reverse button in my pocket constantly.

Within 6 months it started playing at diferent speeds depending what mood it was in. This was funny, then mildly comical, followed by annoying and finally suicidally frustrating. As the twelve month guaruntee ran out, it packed in and decided to spin the tape around but keep all the sound to itself, refusing to share the incorrect tempo choons with me.

I took to the delightful man at the Sony Shop , who said "Yeah mate, i'll fix that for ya, cost a few squid tho coz yer owld gar-unt -teez runned out" I politley thanked him and instantaneously decided to buy a new and more importantly different walkman. The salesman went to help another customer and I saw he had left his Sony Customer Relations Guidebook on the desk. I glanced at the contents to see a whole chapter dedicated to this walkman. I flipped to the first page about to see this: "Always remember NOT to start laughing at the customer who puschased an EX-162 until he/she has left the store"

I'll leave you with this: please don't feed the flames of crappy walkmans and spend a few more pounds on a nic
er Sony model. From 30 quid up they are actually really good!