Sony NW-MS11 Network Walkman user reviews

Pros Small and lighweight. Very good sound quality. Can get 2 CD's on 64Mb stick on September 1, 2004  | Read full review

Pros It's smaller than a cd player on September 1, 2004  | Read full review

Pros Great Looks and Sound on July 28, 2004  | Read full review

Pros compact, easy to use design and package, MegaBass option on July 21, 2004  | Read full review

Pros Good quality design and concepts on July 21, 2004  | Read full review

Pros good size, great sound loud volume,nice case,rechargible battery,power saver,comes with usb cable and software. on December 26, 2003  | Read full review

Pros Sounds good [at max res] Looks great on October 1, 2003  | Read full review

Summary I really like this player. The only real complaint I have is that the battery life is short and I have had a hard time getting it to charge properly

Summary When I first got this, I was excited... I love to run with music and thought the lightweight design and large memory would be perfect. Boy was I wrong. Everytime I charge the battery, it never, never, never!!! charges. I would sometimes get up in the morning for a run, having charged the battery overnight just to find that it was part way charged. Very frustating and customer service was NO help. I also did not like their music downloading software.

Summary this was one of the mp3 playuers that i bot. i thnk tHats aGood deAl and not ttttoooooooo bad at money wise. greaat product though bvut does not have PLayback cpability!!!!!!!?!!!!!! SoRRYYY. why do it not plays all of the songs freom like Phil collins and ones from the radios. And so expensive at the least. Well, better then sennheiser. H

Summary All i have heard about this player is that the ATTRAC format it uses and how slow the transfers are. Well, I'll give you the truth. 1st-this player is tiny, slim, and great looking, sound quality is great also 2nd-transfers take about 45 seconds per song. The software is also easy to install and run. Take it from me, im only 15 years old and i have had NO problems with this player. I fit about 4 hours and 15 minutes of music on it. The backlight screen is so easy to read, especially in the dark. It's also very easy to use because of the buttons. If you are trying to figure out what MP3 player to buy, i would say this should be at the top of your list, along with the new RioSport. So please dont pay attention to the bad reviews, they all are out of proportion and untrue. GREAT MP3 PLAYER.

Summary The device sounds great, is very light weight and has a nice backlit display. Downloading songs is cumbersome and time consuming and the battery constantly needs charging. The real problem comes if you try to use the player while performing any athletic activity. I tried to use it while jogging and the device quit working after 3 months. Although still under warranty, Sony refused to fix it and customer service was rude and inconsiderate. They told me that I mis-used the product and that they would not repair it. Now, the unit is still light weight and attractive but it makes no sound at all.

Summary We bought a total of 4 of them. All of them never charged up to the full battery capacity. We followed the directions perfectly, but the last bar on the battery icon never got filled. We promptly returned them (One person kept theirs cause she said she wont use it that often anyway and she liked how it looked.) I'm really torn because i love the way it looks. But if the product doesnt work right from the box, and the people at the official Sony store have no awareness or support for the product, it's really discouraging for me to even try and buy another one. Aesthetically, I want it. Reliability, I'm afraid will fall far short. After reading the rest of these posts, it sounds like the unit is very suseptible to water damage and Sony will not repair it.

Summary I have got this tiny and nice looking MP3 player and I was very happy when I opened its box. Later on, after uploading some songs to it, I have figured out that I spent my $324 on NOTHING! The sound isn't that much and the features aren't enough. Also, There isn't enough storage space in a 128 MB memory slot. I have just liked its look!

Summary Loved it for my workouts, especially at the start. Great sound. Enough room, but was a little disappointed I could not get 128 stick for it. Here are the problems that I have had. Case keeps opening involuntarily. I have already lost one battery and they aren't cheap. My original charger broke, not at my doing. The original battery will not stay charged, IE. no matter how long I charge it, I NEVER get 10 hours of play, not even close. Very frustrating. Money was the last thing on my mind at the initial purchase. I bought it for convenience. However, I would stay away from this one and try something else. I am waiting for the iRiver 256 to come out and it even has an FM tuner.

Summary <b>SONY's Manhattan Project</b> To SONY, work on the NW-MS9 and NW-MS11 had the same significance as America's Manhattan Project. The arena of consumer electronics is truly nothing short of war. Companies from all over the world fight to survive and expand their influence. The man who owns the deadliest of weapons is very likely to succeed. SONY has always been considered to be at the forefront of the electronics industry because it outsells competing companies in almost every field. Early on, when MP3 players were seen to be the next generation audio devices of choice, SONY realized that it needed to continue its sales edge in the portable audio industry that it had originally created back in 1979. SONY has unanimously defeated all competition in the portable CD player category every single year since the Walkman's conception. (About 9 out of 10 CD players purchased have the SONY logo). And so, the company's engineers set out to make a device that looked and performed better than the rest. The result was the NW-MS7 which was considered to be the best in the world in 1999. However, complaints arose about the built-in cell, its meager 4-hour life, and purple casing. SONY then released the 64MB Memory Stick NW-MS9 a year later. This sold even better than the first, but the competition noticed that 128MB would attract more consumers. In response, SONY released the metallic NW-MS11 on April 2, 2001, thereby establishing itself as the most poised contender capturing 35% of all MP3 player sales. <b>Introduction to the MagicGate Memory Stick media</b> Many people are unaware of SONY's proprietary media, the Memory Stick. It is similar to compact flash cards used in other devices to store digital images and digital music files, but it is half as large and has a better appearance. Its compatibility with other SONY devices makes the MagicGate Memory Stick a very versatile, but unfortunately costly medium. Note: The MagicGate Memory Stick (white) and regular Memory Stick (purple) are not the same. While the former can be used in SONY audio players and digital cameras, the purple Memory Sticks are restricted for use in cameras only. SONY's new model, the NW-MS11, is identical to last year's NW-MS9. Thankfully, the storage has been upgraded to a 128MB MagicGate Memory Stick capable of storing 4 hours of secure digital music. MagicGate Memory Sticks have pre-installed software on them that protects the copyright of songs; therefore the device conforms to the SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative) specifications. It allows for an accelerated transfer of music as opposed to the Minidisc. Minidisc requires a person to record a song by playing the entire song. It would take 2 hours to record 2 hours of music on a Minidisc (1X). However, with Memory Stick, it would be possible to record 2 hours of music in about 3.75 minutes (32X). <b>NW-MS11: The Player Itself</b> (The NW-MS11 is not an MP3 player; the user must convert MP3 files to ATRAC3 through the use of the supplied OpenMG software). (The NW-MS9's countenance has not been changed. It was so beautiful that SONY decided to recycle the look. This is the most visually appealing portable audio device on the market (due in part to the proven scientific attraction of the SONY logo); sure to catch the eye of anyone walking past). The unit is silver in color due to its magnesium composite shell. This adds a level of sophistication and appearance not found in any other high-end audio player on the market. It is the world's first MP3 player to incorporate ultra-lightweight magnesium metal within a ceramic mantle. Liquefied at 1100 degrees Fahrenheit, the performance alloy is injected into precision engineered molds within a timeframe of less than 30 milliseconds. Sealing the metal in a protective ceramic mantle requires a turbine that rotates at 60,000 rpm in order to disperse ceramic polymer nanoparticles. In other words, the unit will last forever - even in the harshest conditions from blazing heat to abusive handling. Playback on the NW-MS11 is truly skip-free because there are no moving parts. This gives it an edge over CD players and Minidisc players that are equipped with skip prevention. It is impossible for CD players and Minidisc players to be entirely skip-free because they have a spinning disk as media. For more information on the ease of use, durability, portability, and battery life of the NW-MS11, please see the respective sections below. <b>Included Accessories</b> The NW-MS11 comes with a 128MB memory stick, OpenMG version 2.2, USB cable, removable 10-hour NiMH rechargeable battery, charger, and ear-bud stereo headphones. For information on the 128MB MagicGate Memory Stick, please see the above section entitled <b>Introduction to MagicGate Memory Stick media</b>. OpenMG is a software program sponsored by SONY. It allows you to import downloaded music into the program and send it directly to your Memory Stick Walkman. The transfer 32X rate is extremely fast and allows the user to write 2 hours of digital music to the player in 3.75 minutes. Also, OpenMG functions as a digital jukebox, web browser, and CD player. ATRAC3 codec is supported?this allows the user to save CD audio tracks to the computer?s hard drive. The Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable included with the NW-MS11 is the cable used to connect the PC to the player in order for music transfer. It is extremely durable. The removable cell (battery) is a wonderful innovation over the year 2000 model (NW-MS7) because it allows the user to infinitely augment the unit's playback time (10 hours) with the purchase of more. That way, when the cell is out of energy, it can be replaced with another. SONY engineers classify it under gum-stick style because it is the same shape and size as a stick of gum. This adds to the overall appearance and sophistication of the audio player (I regard those two qualities to be very important in a product). Also, rechargeable cells are much more economical than those that are not rechargeable. (The scientifically correct term for an individual battery is a "cell". "Battery" literally means set or series; therefore a battery is a set of two cells NOT one). The charger quickly recharges the cell of the NW-MS11. The estimated charge time is around seven hours. The ear-bud stereo headphones (MDR-E838) included with this MP3 player are state-of-the-art. Separately, they would retail for around $30. Since they contain a 16-millimeter driver rather than the more conventional 30-millimeter, they are more comfortable and produce more accurate treble tones. The only downside of a smaller driver is less bass and low frequency sound output. Still, the sound range of the MDR-E838 is 10-22,000Hz - an all inclusive audible range. Many people prefer ear-bud headphones to conventional headphones because they are lighter, more portable, and less noticeable (in situations in which a person may not be allowed to listen to music). <b>Ease of Use </b> As soon as you pick this unit up, you will notice that the controls and buttons are placed both ergonomically and logically. The NW-MS11 is certainly the easiest MP3 player to use; you will be able to operate it smoothly with your eyes closed. Instead of using conventional buttons, the NW-MS11 has a seesaw button located on the right side of the unit. This button allows the user to begin play, skip to the next track, repeat the current track, or pause play with the touch of a switch. No more feeling around for the right button in the dark or even having to look at the player to operate. This feature is exclusive to SONY's product and gives the NW-MS11 an edge over every player on the market. (In the picture provided above, you will see the switch in the upper left corner of the device). Also the display of the NW-MS11 is backlit by an attractive blue light. This allows you to see the screen, what song is playing, battery life, etc. in total darkness. The OpenMG software interface may seem a little complex for novices to SONY?s software, but there is a tutorial that will guide the user along and accustom them to its use. Personally, I find it to be very easy to operate. <b>Durability</b> The indestructible NM-MS11 will certainly last you a lifetime. It is coated in a very expensive magnesium composite that is scratchproof and as durable as steel. I have dropped the player on several occasions, but there is not a mark on it to tell, and it still works perfectly. <b>Portability</b> The unit was ingeniously designed to fit perfectly in most hands with its ergonomic shape. Its dimensions are 36 x 81.4 x 14.1mm, and it weighs only 2.4 grams even with the battery inserted. Both the size and weight factors give the NW-MS11 a perfect portability score. <b>Battery Life</b> As mentioned previously, the battery life of the NW-MS11 is around 10 hours. The extremely diminutive size of the NW-MS11 is the main reason for this low playback time because a cell's longevity is directly proportional to its size and weight. I would not have given the NW-MS11 a perfect battery life score, but the Epinions criteria for a perfect score is 10 hours or more. Since it meets the specified requirement, I must give it a perfect score. However, there is a problem with the battery life indicators on some models. The notches on the screen deplete quickly and do not really represent how much power remains in the cell. If this occurs, the user should remove the cell then turn the battery so that the upper side is facing down. This is a very minor issue present in only the NW-MS11s shipped in April 2001.

Summary Removable memory stick, classy design, good looks, SONY sound quality and small size. All great features. CONSUMER BEWARE! The SONY NW-MS11 is not an mp3 player. It plays ATRAC3 format, which consequently is the same format as Sony's MD players. If you are willing to spend $299.00 on a sony product, do yourself a favor and just purchase a Sony NET MD MZ-N1 for $45.00 more. The battery lasts 100 hours longer and you can store up to 5 hours of music. DO YOUR RESEARCH! If you want an mp3 player, then look elsewhere and DO NOT BUY A SONY. If you want an MD player, then Sony is the ticket. Take it from me, the proud owner of an obsolete, yet aesthetic, fake mp3, wannabe MD player.

Summary Having been a proponent of Sony, I thought it would be worth it to spend $300 on the network walkman. Boy, was I wrong! While software, the user interface, and battery life were concerns, they were all soon forgotton when the unit quit working. Even though the unit was under warranty, the Sony repair center reported that they would not fix the walkman because of moisture found in the unit. If there was moisture in the unit, it was caused by regular use and not by neglect. Was it the hot summer, air conditioning, or using the walkman while working out? I don't know. I do know that further attempts to correct the problem with the Sony customer service department only frustrated me further and still have me angry. So, to sum up. Value: $100 per month of use. I can't imagine a worse value in the MP-3 market.

Summary If you think this is a "must to have" then you must not like yor money in your pocket! There are more suitable units prices the same or cheaper. Come guy speak the trust not trash!