- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 14 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
5.0 stars
"Much better than a 7.3/10"
Pros: Sound quality is crisp and full; EXCELLENT navigation and UI; dedicated volume control on the side; player instantly turns on, no wait time at all; great battery life; nice to look at and hold.
Cons: there are no on-the-go playlists which is the most significant con, also, any button turns on the player so the hold switch must be set to "lock" after it is turned off but no big deal
Summary: CNET should have given this player better than a 7.3. I come to this site whenever I want to research electronics, but I find it irritating that CNET places so much importance on fancy features and style, while focusing less on practicality and quality. Electronics manufacturers respond by putting out shiny, snazzy gadgets with cool features that are poorly designed and not fun to use.
I've owned 2 iPods, a Creative Zen Micro-Photo and a Sandisk Sansa e280. I gave this a ten because it is the best mp3 player I have ever used. However, Sony should have included on-the-go playlists.
Navigation with this player is superb. Forget scroll-wheels or touch-pads or fancy-pants impractical touch-screens. The right and left arrows move through the artist list alphabetically. The up and down arrows are then used to select your choice. So simple. The "Now Playing" screen can be returned to from anywhere. Also there are 2 custom equalizer settings and playing around with them is a treat when the sound quality is so good. Also there is a loop in the side for a lanyard. Get the hard clear case from Sony. It makes the player much easier to hold and use. Get the player as well.
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