The Sony E Series Walkman, named the NWZ-E443, is a 4GB flash based MP3 and video player. Several versions of the E series Walkman are available which include the 4GB model mentioned above, an 8GB model and a 16GB model. Size wise it measures 44 x 9.3 x 86.8 mm and it weighs just 54g. The Walkman has a 2 inch screen that can display 240 x 320 pixels and is used to display photos, track details and video.
Other features include an FM radio as well as a mic allowing voice recording. Battery power allows 30 hours of audio playback and while there are a few MP3 players that can squeeze more out of their battery, 30 hours is still a very acceptable amount.
Sony E Series Walkman Controls
Both the top and the left side of the Walkman house no controls. On the right side of the Walkman the up and down volume buttons can be found as well as a hold switch to prevent buttons from being knocked when in your pocket. The underside of the device is home to the 3.5mm headphone connector as well as the USB port and microphone. By using a standard 3.5mm headphone connector it allows for any headphones to be connected which is handy. Most devices I have used also have the volume buttons on the left of the device, so for me it took a bit to adjust to but that’s certainly not a big problem. The addition of the manual hold button is also handy to prevent track skipping while the MP3 player is in your pocket.
The front of the Walkman has 7 buttons which include Home/Back, Power/Option, up, down, left, right and play/pause.
E Series Menu
The menu system on the E series is very simple. When powered up you are presented with a selection of 9 icons to select what function you want to use. By using the directional control you can jump between the options to shuffle all tracks, switching on the FM radio, activate voice recording, view photos, playback music, playback video, change settings, look through playlists and a “now playing” option to jump back to the track that is currently playing. Images of each menu can be found in the gallery below.
E Series Sound
On the whole, sound quality was good. I did notice a few spots in the sample song I listened to which in my opinion were more of a bad quality MP3 rather than a fault of the MP3 player. Other tracks I listened to were just fine throughout several songs.
E Series Walkman Review – Final Thoughts
Although the unit has a small screen of just 2 inches, it actually works well. Text is clear to read, menu’s are easy to navigate and it’s just the right size for the type of device it is. Considering it will spend most of it’s time in your pocket then it’s very ample. As a small walkman it does it’s job well. I’m not too bothered about video myself on such a small screen and I am not sure if a 2 hour movie would be good to watch. But as a music player and FM receiver it certainly is a good option.
The E Series Walkman is available now at Amazon in the UK costing £63.80.
I am disappointed with the shuffle function, which is the only way I wish to use it.
It keeps returning to the same several songs, and ignores the vast library of tunes on there!