(click here for higher resolution picture)
We’ve known about the NW-S series for a while, but due to obvious reasons we’ve had to keep our lips zipped to avoid any trouble. As information regarding the upcoming device spreads around the usual suspects, we feel inclined to share what we know.
There will be three models; the NW-S706 at 4GB, NW-S705 at 2GB, and the NW-S703 at 1GB. The NW-S703 and -S705 will come in black, pink or violet. We’re getting some conflicting information regarding the color schemes for the NW-S706; it will either come in the aforementioned colors, or just black and gold. The updated NW-S series will debut in mid-October, and be fully available at worldwide retail channels in November.
Featuring a high-quality metal finish, the NW-S series is a stunning device that contains many features found across many past units in Sony’s previous offerings. With a full color OLED display for album art, it is easier than ever to navigate through albums and choose your favorite song accordingly. Unfortunately, you will not be able to view standalone JPEG’s and Sonicstage will facilitate the album art process (some of you MZ-DH10P and VAIO Pocket users are already familiar with this). The NW-S series also has a FM tuner for general radio reception that will surely come in handy when you’ve exhausted the playlist.
Surprisingly, Sony is feeling quite generous with this model and is including the MDR-EX85-type earphones with this unit. An integrated noise cancelling circuit and channel seperation across all supported codecs (MP3, WMA, AAC, ATRAC) will allow a closer relationship with the music for the listener, similiar to NC offerings found elsewhere in Sony’s product offerings. Battery life has been quoted at 50 hours, but that is most likely for low-bitrate ATRAC audio. Pricing information is difficult to ascertain for the North American market, but apparently the NW-S706 should be £179ish, NW-S705 at £129, and the NW-S703 at £99 in the UK. It should be just as attractive as the pricing for the recently announced NW-S20* series in the US market (max price of $200ish for the 4GB).
There will also be an exclusive model for this series with no FM or noise cancelling options and it will have a brushed metal finish. We will divulge more information when we have more definitive specifications about this exclusive variation.
More pictures after the jump.
