
The good: The Sony S-Series Walkman is nicely designed and has a high-quality feel; it offers a load of cool extras such as integrated noise-canceling, an FM tuner, podcast support, and a smart playlist creator. In addition to the usual array of multimedia support, the Sony S-Series Walkman offers many other desirable features. There's an excellent-sounding FM radio with an autoscan mode and up to 30 preset slots. It's also the first Walkman to integrate podcast support with a separate menu item dedicated to the function, and it will remember where you last left off in a file. A light piece of software that comes in the package (called simply Content Transfer) allows users to drag-and-drop podcasts and other media directly from the iTunes interface. It will also transfer content from anyplace else on your hard drive, though podcasts transferred in this way get placed in the general music menu under the podcast genre, rather than in the specialized podcast menu. Alternatively, you can use a jukebox such as Windows Media Player to manage content.The display is bright and crisp, and the interface is customizable and easy to navigate. The player sounds great right out of the box and features several sound-enhancement options. It has Rhapsody DNA and works flawlessly with Amazon Video On Demand.
The bad: The S-Series Walkman maxes out at 8GB and doesn't include memory expansion. The packaged earbuds, which are necessary for the noise-cancellation feature, may not be comfortable for all users. There's no voice recording option.
The bottom line: Thanks to excellent sound quality, integrated noise-canceling functionality, and several smart music sorting options, the Sony S-Series Walkman is a superb choice for music aficionados.


