I love this, I really do! - The perfect device to spur you on to renew you gym membership and actually do more than 4 sessions a year...


"New 2GB Wearable WALKMAN MP3 Player with high quality secure-fit headphones, outstanding sound quality, and up to 12 hours battery life.
With the new all-in-one Wearable WALKMAN®MP3 Player from Sony you can experience total freedom. Available in 5 gorgeous colours, this unique MP3 player fits compactly around your head so you can be free to move without the constraint of headphone wires"


In the box
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Sony Walkman NWZ202 (Built-in headphones)
Quick start guide
Software CD
Rechargeable li-ion battery
Charging dock (USB cable 1m)
Plastic protector case


Price
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£59.99

Internet - play.com, amazon.co.uk, hmv.co.uk, comet.co.uk, currys.co.uk)
Shops - Argos, Comet, Currys, Sony Centre, HMV


First impressions
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I've had my eye on this since seeing a preview image a few months ago on the internet. I own many Sony products, great build quality, reliable, high performance and innovative, with all this in mind, this made purchasing the NWZW202, or "Walkman W" for short, an easy choice.

Upon opening the box you discover what a great price this is, the unit is nice looking (I have the black and silver version) and small enough to fit in your pocket. Firstly I wrapped around my head to check it fit's, thankfully it does, my head is rather large by the way!

It's worth mentioning at this point that headphones are in ear, meaning these won't dislodge when running/jogging etc...It also comes with 2 other sized ear pieces to fit all ears.

Left in the box was some manuals, some software, a plastic dock that charges the device and is used for transferring audio and last but not least a plastic cover, this clips onto the main unit and stops it scratching when in transport.


Good start
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The device clips together with the use of a magnetic strip in-between the two headphones, when the magnet is engaged, the power shut's off, a nice feature, meaning rather than using an on/off switch, you just clip the headphones together and hey presto.

I place the unit on the supplied dock and connect the USB lead to my laptop. I'm using Windows Vista; my laptop detects the device and does all the work for me! - Within 60 seconds it's installed without the need for the CD.


Transferring audio
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The main reason I went for this is because you can use whatever software you like to put music onto it. Unlike an iPod where you are tied to iTunes...

You can use the supplied Sony Walkman software, this installs a small widget to your desktop and you literally click and drag the files you want added and drop them on the widget.

If you don't like this then use Windows Media Player to sync your library of music to it, surely everyone with a Windows based machine has this!?

Or even cooler, Windows recognises it as a mass storage device; you can just open my computer and drop files onto the device from there.

EASY!

Best of all, music transfers very speedily...An album took around 25 seconds to put on it.


Charged already!?!?
==============

I had the device plugged in for half an hour whilst I was messing about with transferring audio and eating a sandwich. I did not realise at first but this next feature alone warrants a purchase.

3 MINUTES CHARGE = 1 HOUR 30 MINS PLAYBACK
28 MINUTES CHARGE = 12 HOURS PLAYBACK

How fantastic is that!?

Picture the scene, you get back late from work, you have 10 minutes to get ready for a gym session, by the time you have put a dozen or so songs on this baby, she's ready to go for the whole of your gym session!


Sound matters
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Bare in mind, this is an MP3 player. Now what is the primary use of an MP3 player? - To play music.

Most people forget about this and just by an MP3 player because, it looks nice or you can download cool applications.

Surely if the sound quality is poor, there's no reason to purchase?

Thankfully the NWZ does not disappoint. Loud enough to keep you running that extra mile, bassy enough to keep you motivated and clear enough to...clear your head...oh I don't know! From Trance to Country, Jazz to Metal, it performs surprisingly well.


How to play
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The unit has 3 playback modes....

SHUFFLE - There is a shuffle switch on the device, this mode basically sets your unit to random, so your songs play in any order.

PLAYLIST - Create a playlist; listen to your songs when you want them to be played.

ZAPPIN - Plays 3 second clips of all your tracks at the chorus part of the song, you listen to what track you want to hear and tap the wheel when you like the sound of the clip to hear it in it's entirety.


Overall
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Another Sony success, I had an iPod shuffle before this, that iPod is eBay bound!

Great sound quality, very easy to use and transfer songs to, stylish, practical, everything you would ever need from a gym buddy.

For the money, this is number one!

RECCOMENDED HIGHLY!