Sony NWZ-A818

Some of the popular MP3 players like iPod Touch,Creative Zen Vision,Zune have already been reviewed here but one brand that also makes good players has not been reviewed here is Sony.Sony MP3 players are not as popular as some of the ones mentioned above but that might change if Sony manages to match them.The Sony NWZ-A818 is a very slick player that gives stiff competition to other MP3 players.

Sony NWZ-A818 specifications:

• Weight: 530 gms
• Display: 240 x 320 2″ TFT screen
• Flash memory: 8 GB
• Audio formats supported: MP3,AAC,WMA,PCM
• Video formats supported : MPEG4,M4V
• Image formats supported: JPEG
• 33 hours playback time on Li-ion battery

The Sony NWZ-A818 is a encased in a metallic body which is of high quality and you get to choose between 4 colors of your choice viz. black,white,silver or pink.The chrome finishing gives it a royal look.The display is an eye-catcher and its clarity will leave you craving for more.The 2″ inch screen has a resolution of 240 x 320 which displays excellent well lit photos having apt saturation level. The navigation on the player is controlled by a set of three buttons provided below the display.The four way-circular key , power/options button and the back/home provide you with all the navigations tools that you need with the player.You can control the volume through a dedicated button provided on the right panel.You will though find it difficult to access the hold button which has been placed at the back by Sony which is rather odd. The menu system has been well designed with many options provided on the main screen itself.You can also view the screen in landscape mode for viewing photos.The playback screen displays album art and other details related to the song.You can also set screen saver on it. Coming to the features aspect , the player is capable to playing the major formats like AAC,MP3 and WMV which are enough for most of the users.Support for MPEG4 movies and JPEG movies is good but Sony could have included a couple more here to make it more compatible.Also the player does not have a FM tuner which might not go down well with some users.Including it would have given Sony an upper hand over iPod in this department.The bundling of MDR-EX082 earphones with this player is one of the best reasons of buy this player apart from its performance which we will see next.So you won’t need to buy a set of good earphones as they are great even for audiophiles hence saving some cool bucks in the process. The performance is the forte of the player.The amazing sound quality will set your pulse racing leaving you asking for more.The bass is exceptional and the volume is not a concern at all for those who like to crank up it up to the highest.The bundled earphones double the joy of listening.The battery life at 33 hours for audio and 8 hours for video is great making sure you don’t need to find that socket every now and then.The video quality is butter smooth and images as said earlier appear good. Pros:

• Excellent sound quality
• Great display
• Fast processor
• Great bundled earphones
• Amazing battery life

Cons:

• No FM tuner
• Limited video/image formats supported
• Hold key inconvenient
• No expandable memory

Final Thoughts The performance is exceptional on this player which is at par or better than its iPod counterparts.The bundling of great earphones adds to the yum.You will hardly find such huge battery life on other MP3 players.No FM tuner or inexpandable memory are minor negatives of this player which get buried by its positives.The player costs less than 200$ which makes it excellent buy at this price.The Sony NWZ-A818 receives a big thumbs up from me!