Walkman S Series

Last updated
Walkman logo (2000).svg
S series rogo.png

The Walkman S Series is a line of portable media players designed and developed by Sony, currently marketed in Japan. The S Series made their debut in the fall of 2006 and later were launched in other regions. Although the first generation of models had generic displays, all next generations of players of the S Series had TFT color displays and supported video playback. They were slightly cheaper than the flagship A Series but had more features than the E Series. [1] [2] The S Series was discontinued outside Japan in 2012 and continues solely in the domestic market.

Contents

History

Two previous models of sports-oriented Network Walkman with the S prefix existed in 2001 and 2003: the NW-S4 [3] and the "S2 Sports" NW-S21/S23. [4]

S200

The Sony Walkman NW-S203f. Released in 2006 Sony Walkman Nw-S203f.jpg
The Sony Walkman NW-S203f. Released in 2006

The NW-S200 S2 Sports Walkman released 2006 were cigar shaped and made of aluminum, also featuring a G-Sensor and a pedometer. [5] It is water resistant and came with an armband and sporty headphones. [6] Models were NW-S205 (2 GB), NW-S203 (1 GB), NW-S202 (512 MB).

S700/S600

The NW-S700 series was a continuation of the same form factor seen in the NW-A600 and NW-E500 Sony Newtwork Walkman S705F cropped.jpg
The NW-S700 series was a continuation of the same form factor seen in the NW-A600 and NW-E500

October 2006 saw the introduction of the NW-S700/600 Series with an "elegant" design, [7] coming in five colors and featuring a 3-line OLED display including album art. [8] It continues the "bottle" style that was previously seen on the A600 and E500/E400 series, but the S700/S600 included numerous proprietary technologies - it was the first with built-in Active noise control technology as well as Clear Audio, Clear Bass, Virtual Phone Technology Acoustic Engine. [9] It blocks surrounding noise with integrating mic in its EX-earphone. This player is one of only a few other DAPs of its time that have a noise cancellation feature at this size. The earphone has a proprietary design specifically made for this player, thus making it impossible to plug into other DAPs, even the ones that come from Sony. [10]

This Walkman has a small OLED screen capable displaying album art and some text information about the song and the player features. [10] Navigation is done with a swiveling switch carried over from some previous small models. The S700 comes in 1 GB (NW-S703), 2 GB (NW-S705), and 4 GB (NW-S706) capacities; some countries sell the 2 GB and 1 GB models only. Selected models with the "F" suffix are also equipped with a Stereo FM Tuner. This was also the first Walkman with the WM-PORT interface connector which would remain a standard for Sony Walkman for years to come. [9]

S710/S610/S510

The 2007 S Series launched alongside the NW-A810 Sony-MP4-Walkman.jpg
The 2007 S Series launched alongside the NW-A810

Future small sized and/or sporty players would only be released under the B Series or W Series. The S Series was changed into a new mid-level video-enabled range starting with the S710/S610/S510 in August 2007. These were released to complement the new A810 series flagship. [11] The S610 has different styling and was marketed $20 cheaper than the A810 released at the same time. [12] These players had a 320 x 240 pixel QVGA LCD display. [13] Just as the A810, the S710/S610 was the joint first to remove ATRAC support and not require SonicStage, apart from domestic Japanese models. [14] [15]

S730/S630

The NWZ-S730 and S630 series was introduced in August 2008 focusing on slimline designs, [11] and for the first time introducing Sony's SensMe technology to a Walkman digital audio player, which analyzes and lets the user play music based on moods. [16] They were noted as the thinnest ever Walkmans at the time, 7.5 mm thick. The main difference between the series are that the S730 adds noise canceling which the S630 lacks. [17] Starting with this generation, all S Series players would have the so-called "Mickey Mouse" look, because of the specific positioning of the main buttons.

S540

The first and only model with built-in speakers was the S540 series, introduced in August 2009. It had a considerably larger (2.4" LCD) screen with a resolution of 320 X 240 pixels. [18] A slightly bigger chassis allows two endowed speakers to be accommodated at either side of the screen. Below the screen, Sony built its trademark circular control pad which has a standard four-way directional button surrounding a central play/pause key. This is flanked by two additional buttons, back (home) and option (power). The S540 series Walkman is made mostly of plastic but has a shiny metallic topcoat, which gives it a sleek look. [19] The SenseMe and Intelligent Shuffle features were not present in this model. The 8GB S544 went on sale for $110 and the 16GB S545 for $130. [20]

S740 and later models

The NW-S770 NW-S774.png
The NW-S770

The NW-S740/S640 series was released in late 2009 in Japan and some other territories. As with the previous generation, the S740 includes noise cancellation compared to S640. The size of the 5 button layout has been increased, while the SensMe function does not appear, although a dedicated Podcast folder has been added. Unlike the preceding S730, the physical noise cancellation switch has been removed in the S740 replaced by a setting in the software. [21]

S750 Series was proclaimed by Sony as "super-slim" when introduced in September 2010. [22] It features Clear Bass, Clear Stereo, SensMe, Lyrics Sync, Karaoke Mode and other features inherited from the E450 series. [23] In 2011 the S760 series introduced Bluetooth connectivity and a greater battery life. [24] [25]

Since the NW-S770 series, the S Series has been only sold and marketed for the domestic market.

Specifications and comparison

Series
(NW*-)
ImageModelCapacityRelease Date (may differ by region)DisplayRated battery life (hours)Data/power connection (input/output)Physical sizeWeight
S200 Sony Walkman NW-S203F.jpg NW-S202*512 MBSeptember 23, 2006 [26] 1-line OLED

monochrome

Audio: 18Mini-B USB / USB96.5 mm
15 mm
15 mm
30 g
(1.06 oz)
NW-S203F1 GB
NW-S205F2 GB
Includes FM tuner (except non F suffix models) and other sports-targeted features.
S700 / S600 Sony Newtwork Walkman S705F cropped.jpg NW-S6031 GBNovember 18, 2006 [27] 3-line OLED colourAudio: 45-50WM-PORT / USB88.1 mm
27.4 mm
17 mm
47 g
(1.66 oz)
NW-S6052 GB
NW-S703F1 GBOctober 21, 2006 [27]
NW-S705F2 GB
NW-S706F4 GB
Virtual successor of the A600 series. ATRAC Advanced Lossless support added. Clear Audio technology. S700 features noise cancelling and FM radio which are not present in S600.
S710 /

S610 / S510

Sony-NWZ-S616F.jpg NWZ-S5152 GBOctober 20, 2007 [28] 1.8" TFT LCD
240 x 320 (QVGA)
Audio: 33
Video: 8
WM-PORT / USB79.5 mm
42 mm
11.5 mm
50 g
(1.76 oz)
NWZ-S5164 GB
NWZ-S615F2 GB
NWZ-S616F4 GB
NWZ-S618F8 GB
NWZ-S715F2 GB
NWZ-S716F4 GB
NWZ-S718F8 GB
First model in refreshed S Series. ATRAC support dropped outside Japan. S610 lacks noice cancelling. S510 lacks noise cancelling, video-playing capability and FM radio.
S730 /

S630

Sony Walkman NWZ-S636F Lime Green.jpg NWZ-S636F4 GBOctober 11, 2008 [29] 2" TFT LCD
240 x 320 (QVGA)
Audio: 40
Video: 10
WM-PORT / USB89.5 mm
42.9 mm
7.5 mm
46 g
(1.62 oz)
NWZ-S638F8 GB
NWZ-S639F16 GB
NWZ-S736F4 GB
NWZ-S738F8 GB
NWZ-S739F16 GB
SensMe Channels added. S630 lacks noise cancelling capability. [16]
S740 /

S640

NW-S745.png NW-S6448 GBOctober 10, 2009 [30] 2" TFT LCD
240 x 320 (QVGA)
Audio: 42
Video: 10
WM-PORT / USB92 mm
41 mm
7.9 mm
53 g
(1.87 oz)
NW-S64516 GB
NWZ-S7448 GB
NWZ-S74516 GB
S640 lacks noise cancellation.
S540 Sony Walkman S Series.jpg NWZ-S5434 GBOctober 20092.4" TFT LCD
240 x 320 (QVGA)
Audio: 42 (via headphones)

/ 17 (via built-in speakers)
Video:

WM-PORT / USB99.3 mm
49.3 mm
10.2 mm
68 g
(2.4 oz)
NWZ-S5448 GB
NWZ-S54516 GB
Built-in stereo speakers. Does not include SensMe Channels or Intelligent Shuffle. [20] Not released in Japan.
S750 NWZ-S754.jpg NWZ-S7548 GBOctober 9, 2010 [31] 2" TFT LCD
240 x 320 (QVGA)
Audio: 40-50
Video: 9-10
WM-PORT / USB94 mm
42.5 mm
7.2 mm
55 g
(1.94 oz)
NWZ-S75516 GB
S760 NW-S764 Black cropped.jpg NWZ-S7634 GBOctober 8, 2011 [32] 2" TFT LCD
240 x 320 (QVGA)
Audio: 50 / 12 (with Bluetooth)

Video: 10 / 6 (with Bluetooth)

WM-PORT / USB97.5 mm
43.6 mm
7.9 mm
57 g
(2.01 oz)
NWZ-S7648 GB
NWZ-S76516 GB
NW-S76632 GB
Bluetooth functionality added (models with -BT suffix).
S770

(Japan)

NW-S774.png NW-S7748 GBOctober 20, 2012 [33] 2" TFT LCD
240 x 320 (QVGA)
Audio: 36 / 8 (with Bluetooth)

Video: 5-6 / 4 (with Bluetooth)

WM-PORT / USB97.2 mm
42.7 mm
7 mm
51 g
(1.8 oz)
NW-S77516 GB
S780

(Japan)

NW-S784.png NW-S7848 GBOctober 19, 2013 [34] 2" TFT LCD
240 x 320 (QVGA)
Audio: 62-77 / 21 (with Bluetooth)

Video: 13-14 / 10 (with Bluetooth)

WM-PORT / USB92.0 mm
41.7 mm
7.5 mm
50 g
(1.76 oz)
NW-S78516 GB
NW-S78632 GB
FLAC support added.
S10

(Japan)

SONY NW-S14.jpg NW-S134 GBNovember 20142" TFT LCD
240 x 320 (QVGA)
Audio: 62-77 / 21 (with Bluetooth)

Video: 13-14 / 10 (with Bluetooth)

WM-PORT / USB92.0 mm
41.7 mm
7.5 mm
50 g
(1.76 oz)
NW-S148 GB
NW-S1516 GB
S310

(Japan)

NW-S3134 GBSeptember 20171.77" TFT LCD
128 x 160 (QQVGA)
Audio: 40-52 / 23 (with Bluetooth)WM-PORT / USB94.5 mm
43.5 mm
9.1 mm
53 g
(1.87 oz)
NW-S31516 GB

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walkman</span> Series of portable media players by Sony

Walkman is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman started out as a portable cassette player and the brand was later extended to serve most of Sony's portable audio devices; since 2011 it consists exclusively of digital flash memory players. The current flagship product as of 2022 is the WM1ZM2 player.

Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding (ATRAC) is a family of proprietary audio compression algorithms developed by Sony. MiniDisc was the first commercial product to incorporate ATRAC, in 1992. ATRAC allowed a relatively small disc like MiniDisc to have the same running time as CD while storing audio information with minimal perceptible loss in quality. Improvements to the codec in the form of ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus, and ATRAC Advanced Lossless followed in 1999, 2002, and 2006 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acid Pro</span> Digital audio workstation

Acid Pro is a professional digital audio workstation (DAW) software program currently developed by Magix Software. It was originally called Acid pH1 and published by Sonic Foundry, later by Sony Creative Software as Acid Pro, and since spring 2018 by Magix as both Acid Pro and a simplified version, Acid Music Studio. Acid Pro 11 supports 64-bit architectures, and has MIDI, ASIO, VST, VST3, DirectX Audio, and 5.1 surround sound support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SonicStage</span>

SonicStage is a discontinued software product from Sony that is used for managing portable devices when they are plugged into a computer running Microsoft Windows. It comprises a music player and library manager, similar to iTunes, Windows Media Player and RealPlayer. It is used to manage the library of ATRAC and MP3 recordings on a PC.

mora is an online music and video store for the Japanese market operated by Sony Music Solutions, a part of Sony Music Entertainment Japan (SMEJ). It is integrated into the Japanese version of Sony's Music Center for PC software, and was also integrated into its predecessors such as SonicStage. It is now the official store for their Walkman devices.

The Walkman A810 series is a portable media player designed by Sony. It was a flagship model in the Walkman digital player family. The model debuted in Asia in 2007, and then became available in North America. This series updates the previous Walkman A800 of the Walkman A Series, with the same hardware but different on-PC music management program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DSEE</span>

DSEE is a sound quality improvement technology for lossy compressed music files developed by Sony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SensMe</span> Music mood detection software

SensMe is a proprietary music mood and tempo detection system created by Sony Corporation and employed in numerous Sony branded products, including in some Walkman digital music players, the Media Go application, the PlayStation Portable, and Sony Ericsson and Sony Xperia handsets. It is named Omakase Channel (おまかせチャンネル) in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walkman X series</span>

The Walkman X series is a portable music player designed and released by Sony in Japan in 2009. It was marketed as a high-end, internet-enabled model in the Walkman digital player family in 2009. The model debuted in Japan in April 2009, and then became available in North America, Europe, China and also other regions. The Walkman X series was the first Walkman device to feature a touch screen and S-Master digital amplifier technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Tablet S</span> 2011 tablet computer by Sony

The Tablet S is a tablet computer released by Sony in September 2011. Featuring a "unique asymmetric design", the Tablet S runs Google's Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system and features a 9.4 in (240 mm) multitouch display, 1 GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core processor, Wi-Fi ability, front- and rear-facing cameras, Bluetooth, and an infrared sensor. It is also configured with access to the Sony Entertainment Network and is PlayStation Certified and DLNA compatible. Tablet S was Sony's first modern tablet computer. It was succeeded by the Xperia Tablet S, which would be created by Sony's new subsidiary Sony Mobile.

Sacra Music is a Japanese record label subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The record label was established on April 1, 2017, specializing in anison music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sakamichi Series</span> Series of Japanese idol groups

Sakamichi Series refers to a Japanese idol group franchise that began with Nogizaka46, an "official" rival group of AKB48. It currently consists of four groups: Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, Hinatazaka46, and Yoshimotozaka46. Despite the name, the groups are not required to have exactly 46 members. Except for Yoshimotozaka46, all the groups were named after real streets in Minato, Tokyo and have all-female memberships.

The year 2020 in Japanese music.

The Walkman A Series is a flagship line of mid-range digital audio players (DAP) by Sony as part of its Walkman range. The A Series has been marketed since 2005, initially as the top spec Walkman players and since 2014 as a mid-range following the introduction of the ZX Series. The "A" originally stood for "All in one, Advanced, and Attractive".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walkman ZX Series</span> Digital audio players sold by Sony

The Walkman ZX Series is a line of premium high-end digital audio players designed and developed by Sony since 2013. It sits above the A Series and below the luxury WM1 Series in the Walkman range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walkman F Series</span>

The Walkman F series is a discontinued portable media player manufactured as a part of Sony's Walkman line of music players, through two generations. They are high-res compatible players and run the Android operating system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walkman E Series</span> Series of portable media players

The Walkman E Series is a line of digital audio (DAP) and portable media (PMP) players, marketed by Sony as part of its Walkman range. E Series devices have been marketed since 2000, although in its current form since 2008 as entry-level, candybar styled players.

The year 2023 in Japanese music.

References

  1. "Sony NWZ-S639F Walkman review: Sony NWZ-S639F Walkman".
  2. "Video: Sony Introduces 12 New Walkman Models". 15 September 2010.
  3. SONY WALKMAN NW-S4 SPECIFICATIONS
  4. "Manuals for NW-S23 | Sony USA". www.sony.com.
  5. "New Network WALKMAN: NW-S203F and NW-S205F Sport Series – Sony Insider". Archived from the original on 2017-08-30. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  6. "CNet Discloses More NW-S Series Information – Sony Insider". Archived from the original on 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  7. "Sony Design". 15 March 2022.
  8. "Engadget | Technology News & Reviews".[ permanent dead link ]
  9. 1 2 "Mobile-review.com История Sony Network Walkman". mobile-review.com.
  10. 1 2 "Sony Walkman NW-S705F review: Sony Walkman NW-S705F".
  11. 1 2 "Sony Walkman NWZ-E436F 4GB Review". 24 October 2008.
  12. "Sony Walkman NWZ-A810, NWZ-S610: No Gimmicks, Just Good Players". Techcrunch.
  13. "AAC-supporting Sony Walkmans: More details". 29 August 2007.
  14. "Sony's NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610 now really, really official and ATRAC free".
  15. Deduleasa, Roxana (12 September 2007). "Sony Gets Wacky...Now, Preparing to Launch NW-S710 Walkman!". Softpedia.
  16. 1 2 "Sony's Thinnest Walkman Player Ever Has Active Noise Cancellation, Song Suggestion Software". 28 August 2008.
  17. "Sony unveils slimmest yet Walkman - PC World Australia".
  18. "Sony S Series Walkman Review". 27 August 2009.
  19. France, Jasmine. "Sony S-Series Walkman second generation review: Sony S-Series Walkman second generation". CNET.
  20. 1 2 "Sony debuts S-Series Walkman with onboard speakers".
  21. "Sony Walkman NWZ-S744 (8GB) Review - Music & Play - CNET Asia". asia.cnet.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  22. "Sony EU - Press Centre".
  23. "Sony's new Walkman S750 goes super-slim". 21 September 2010.
  24. "S Series Specifications".
  25. "Sony Walkman Line to Receive Free Music Unlimited - SonyRumors.net SRN". 2 September 2011.
  26. "スポーツ・アウトドア・日常生活で アクティブに音楽を楽しめる 汗や水しぶきに強い防滴仕様のウォークマン(R)発売". www.sony.jp. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  27. 1 2 "周囲の騒音を低減しクリアな音質を追求高音質技術「クリアオーディオテクノロジー」を採用した"ウォークマン(R)NW-S700F/S600シリーズ"発売". www.sony.jp. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  28. "「ノイズキャンセリング機能」を本体に内蔵し、クリアな音質を追求 高音質技術「クリアオーディオテクノロジー」を採用した"ウォークマンSシリーズ"発売". www.sony.jp. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  29. "カラフルな本体にスピーカーを付属など"ウォークマン"Sシリーズ3機種発売 | プレスリリース | ソニー". www.sony.jp. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  30. "音楽に合わせて歌詞を自動でスクロール表示"ウォークマン"Sシリーズ 9機種 | プレスリリース | ソニー". www.sony.jp. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  31. "「デジタルノイズキャンセリング」全機種搭載Sシリーズなど 新"ウォークマン" | プレスリリース | ソニー". www.sony.jp. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  32. "高音質技術とワイヤレス対応で、音楽の楽しみ方が広がる"ウォークマン"A/Sシリーズ | プレスリリース | ソニー". ソニー製品情報. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  33. Inc, Sony Marketing(Japan). "高音質でワイヤレスリスニングが楽しめる"ウォークマン"Sシリーズ 発売 | プレスリリース | ソニー". ソニー製品情報 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-05-09.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  34. Inc, Sony Marketing(Japan). "最大約77時間のスタミナ音楽再生実現のSシリーズ、機能を拡張したEシリーズ". ソニー製品情報 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-05-09.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)