Sony has confirmed the 8 and 16GB S540 series (Black, Pink, Violet and Red) Walkman, confirming our initial leaked pictures and discovery of its listing on a French retailer. Sony is billing it as the perfect choice for anyone who loves sharing their music, as it’s the first ever Walkman video MP3 player that includes two high-quality integrated stereo speakers. The player’s front panel is dominated by a big, bright 2.4” LCD screen (30fps QVGA). The usual codec support is there, including MP3, WMA, AAC, and WAV. Video codec support includes WMV, AVC, and MPEG-4. There’s also a FM tuner with 30 presets that you can record from.
At just 10.2mm thin, the compact new Walkman S-Series still manages to find room for two high-quality stereo speakers guarded by a tough, stylish aluminum speaker grille. Whatever your listening preference, the slimline Digital Linear Phase Speaker System delivers satisfying, sound with solid bass and crystal clear highs. Listening on speakers is enhanced by Digital Linear Phase Speaker System technologies unique to Sony.
If you want to keep your music private, listening on supplied mediocre headphones is enhanced with unique Clear Audio technologies from Sony for a dynamic, detail-packed soundstage. Clear Stereo reduces leakage between left and right channels, while Clear Bass delivers powerful, controlled low-end frequencies without distortion. There’s a 5-band equalizer to color your audio to your preference. In addition, a Dynamic Normalizer balances volume levels between songs.
The updated Walkman S-Series lets you keep listening for longer, with up to an incredible 42 hours listening time on headphones from a single charge. You can even listen for up to 17 hours through the built-in speakers. Battery life with video playback is a similarly impressive 6.5 hours: plenty to keep you entertained on that holiday flight or the daily commute to work (5 hours video when using built-in speakers).
The new S-Series Walkman will be priced very competitively, most likely found cheaper than its main rival, the iPod Nano.
