Sony launches two new E-series Walkmen with big batteries and bigger bass


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7-10-2013e380lead.jpg

 

Samsung and Apple aren't the only companies out there still making PMPs. (Well, there's also Cowon, but those are rarely seen in the west.) No, Sony is still a chip off the ol' dedicated media player block. Unlike its two biggest competitors though, Sony has forgone the addition of smartphone like features and a mobile OS with apps, instead choosing to keep the focus on the music... man. The introductory level model, the E380 (above), has a rather small 1.77-inch display, but that's plenty of room to navigate the up 8GB of music with the D-pad on the front. And you can be sure that while you're kicking out the jams for 30 continuous hours on a single charge your tunes will sound top notch thanks to the five-band EQ and bevy of sound-enhancing technologies like Clear Bass and Clear Stereo.
 
The E580 takes things up a notch, pretty much across the board: storage maxes out at 16GB, the screen moves to 2 inches and battery life more than doubles to 77 hours of audio playback. Plus, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones are included for blocking out the world around you. But, again, the big focus here is on audio quality. You get all the same sound-enhancing tech as you do on the 380, plus a few new additions like DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine), which tries to restore those precious high frequencies lost to audio compression. Though, if you'd rather not deal with audio compression at all, the E580 supports both Apple Lossless and FLAC. We're left guessing on price for the moment, but both models should land on European shelves before the months end.

 

 

 
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off topic, Cowon appears to be going backward also.

 

On topic: bigger bass?  :x I also hope they change that mickey mouse design. 

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Maybe it's just me but why would you purchase a stand alone mp3 player when you can just use your smart phone (which almost everyone has today) to do the same?

 

You would need to carry two devices instead of one. I just dont see the logic behind it......  :|

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off topic, Cowon appears to be going backward also.

 

On topic: bigger bass?  :x I also hope they change that mickey mouse design. 

How is Cowon going backwards? They make some of the best sounding music players that are decently priced. 

 

The Sony E series has always had the mickey mouse design...

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Maybe it's just me but why would you purchase a stand alone mp3 player when you can just use your smart phone (which almost everyone has today) to do the same?

 

You would need to carry two devices instead of one. I just dont see the logic behind it......  :|

battery concerns maybe? depending on the person and the phone they have

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Maybe it's just me but why would you purchase a stand alone mp3 player when you can just use your smart phone (which almost everyone has today) to do the same?

 

You would need to carry two devices instead of one. I just dont see the logic behind it......  :|

sigh, there is still a (small) group of people who want different devices for different purposes. DAPs/MP3 players like this typically sound better, offer more functionality, and don't take away battery life from your phone. It's like saying why buy cameras? Pretty much every modern cellphone has a camera these days...

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battery concerns maybe? depending on the person and the phone they have

 

 

sigh, there is still a (small) group of people who want different devices for different purposes. DAPs/MP3 players like this typically sound better, offer more functionality, and don't take away battery life from your phone. It's like saying why buy cameras? Pretty much every modern cellphone has a camera these days...

 

Battery life is getting better and better each year for all smartphones but for some it may be a valid point.

 

About the camera, with the cameras in smartphones today i see no reason to carry a different pocket camera with you really. If you have a DSLR then it's a different story.

 

Again, it's just me. But i am interested in seeing how much of those walkmens they will actually sell..

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Maybe it's just me but why would you purchase a stand alone mp3 player when you can just use your smart phone (which almost everyone has today) to do the same?

 

You would need to carry two devices instead of one. I just dont see the logic behind it......  :|

 

The security of redundancy for example.

If you have one device and lose it, you lose everything. If you have one GPS, one phone, one music player and loses one, you still have two of your device.

Or if you need your phone for an emergency and that the battery are depleted because you used it to play music.

 

I understand the logic of integration and for people to have a single device. Myself, I prefer to have several devices for different and separated usages.

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Battery life is getting better and better each year for all smartphones but for some it may be a valid point.

 

About the camera, with the cameras in smartphones today i see no reason to carry a different pocket camera with you really. If you have a DSLR then it's a different story.

 

Again, it's just me. But i am interested in seeing how much of those walkmens they will actually sell..

yes batteries are getting better in phones but you still have to admit most phones will still barely last all day if even that if you're listening to a lot of music on it

 

phones still can't compete with standalone mp3 players yet as far as how long the battery lasts

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Battery life is getting better and better each year for all smartphones but for some it may be a valid point.

 

About the camera, with the cameras in smartphones today i see no reason to carry a different pocket camera with you really. If you have a DSLR then it's a different story.

 

Again, it's just me. But i am interested in seeing how much of those walkmens they will actually sell..

Yes, battery life is getting better, but some of these MP3 players go for 50+ (if not more) hours alone. If you use your smartphone for listening to music and doing other things, you'll not match those numbers. There is no way in hell a smartphone camera matches a decently priced point and shoot (imo). A dedicated device is usually best at what it does, not a convergence type device. 

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It's all true, i agree of course that those devices has a MUCH better battery life than a phone that does a lot of other things as well.

I for example charge the phone over night, then go to work and listen to music on the way and when i get to the office i can always charge the phone again.

 

A lot of people have access to charging their phone one way or another (electricity plug ot USB). I just prefer to have one device to carry instead of several.

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Maybe it's just me but why would you purchase a stand alone mp3 player when you can just use your smart phone (which almost everyone has today) to do the same?

 

You would need to carry two devices instead of one. I just dont see the logic behind it......  :|

The same reason people buys dedicated soundcards just as me, audio quality. You must have good hearing though... and spend time REALLY listening to the music to note differences, at the end you get so much used to good audio quality that when you switch to a cellphone or onboard audio it plainly irritates you.

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The same reason people buys dedicated soundcards just as me, audio quality. You must have good hearing though... and spend time REALLY listening to the music to note differences, at the end you get so much used to good audio quality that when you switch to a cellphone or onboard audio it plainly irritates you.

Well, i am not talking about purchasing a device like a dedicated sound card because your dont need to carry it like you carry a walkmen. I am simply talking about the logic behind taking with you more than one device when actually one device can do the job of both.

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How is Cowon going backwards? They make some of the best sounding music players that are decently priced. 

 

The Sony E series has always had the mickey mouse design...

Check their latest designs even iaudiophile admits their going backwards. I won't deny they produce the best sounding music players!

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Well, i am not talking about purchasing a device like a dedicated sound card because your dont need to carry it like you carry a walkmen. I am simply talking about the logic behind taking with you more than one device when actually one device can do the job of both.

Why did you bother posting about these devices if you don't see any point in them?

 

If you can see the benefit in certain situations, then you are not doing a very good job of covaying that.

 

If you can't, then I think you are being very short sighted. You know, the old... "I have no use for it personally, therefore anybody that does is some sort of idiot."

 

That's how you are coming across.

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Why did you bother posting about these devices if you don't see any point in them?

 

If you can see the benefit in certain situations, then you are not doing a very good job of covaying that.

 

If you can't, then I think you are being very short sighted. You know, the old... "I have no use for it personally, therefore anybody that does is some sort of idiot."

 

That's how you are coming across.

 

First of all i posted it because it's news. In your opinion if i dont like something or see no point in something then i should not post news about it?! Well this is a very weird way of thinking.

 

News is news, if i like it or not is not relevant at all! Other people here seem to like it so i did "my job" for them in bringing this news.

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I like that you posted it, but then you just proceeded to bash it, and keep repeating the same crap every time somebody gives you a usage scenario.

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I for one still use my Zune HD for trips (other countries, out in the woods etc) because I can't guarantee that I can charge my phone at the end of the day. So dedicated music players still have a place in this market.

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I like that you posted it, but then you just proceeded to bash it, and keep repeating the same crap every time somebody gives you a usage scenario.

I post the news and then if i see fit i comment about it. Each time i replied to a comment i wrote that it was IMO. I am allowed to write my opinion and even repeat it. If you dont like my comments you dont have to read them. 

 

I just dont understand why you are bashing me right now.....

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It was just getting on my ###### that every time somebody gave you a valid example of why these devices are still relevant, you just shot it down with the same rhetoric.

 

You seem unable to comprehend anything outside of your own usage patterns.

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Maybe it's just me but why would you purchase a stand alone mp3 player when you can just use your smart phone (which almost everyone has today) to do the same?

 

You would need to carry two devices instead of one. I just dont see the logic behind it......  :|

As others have said, battery.

Plus, with apps getting bigger and bigger, photos being taken at higher resolutions then it leaves little space on many phones for music.

 

I still have my Creative V+ (sold my Zen Micro - best player ever!) and use it a bit more now than I did.

 

Would be interested in this but because I don't use it very often, I don't think I'd pay more than ~?30 for it.

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