Sony Walkman NWZ-W252 review

Sony has recently release the NWZ-W252 W-Series Walkman MP3 player, a fully wearable unit tailored for those that like to listen to their power song while sweating it out at the gym or on a run. The device is water resistant and lightweight, so it should obviously do well in situations where you are moving and have the potential to get wet, or rained on. We were able to get our hands on the Sony W-Series NWZ-W252 Walkman, and we put it through its paces as best we could. How does the device stack up? Read on, and we’ll tell you.

First, the specs. The Sony Walkman NWZ-W252 weights just 1.6 ounces, and has 2GB of storage space—that’s it. Of course, since this is really more of a workout device, that is more than enough in this case. It’s got a built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery that’ll last about 11 hours. The cool thing here is that it only takes roughly three minutes to charge it enough to play music for 90 minutes. A full charge takes 90 minutes. In the box you’ve got a USB cable, three sizes of earbuds (a nice touch,) user manual, and the device itself.

The big question with a device like this is the size and wearability. Are you able to comfortably wear the Walkman NWZ-W252 while jogging or working out? We found that the answer was a surprising yes. Now, we’ve done the earbud thing while running, and we’re used to having to constantly adjust due to the earbuds moving around in your ear, so it was a pleasant surprise that the Walkman didn’t exhibit the same issue. Another nicety, of course, is the fact that it’s wireless. Sync your music, put the earpieces on, and go. All of the device controls are located on the device itself, which is really just a pair of headphones. The 2GB flash memory is built-in to the headphones as well, so you don’t have to deal with any wires flailing in front of you while you get your jog on.

Now as for sound quality, these get the job done, but they aren’t high-end cans by any means. That said, we don’t really figure that many are expecting pristine audio quality and clarity while also working out or running, so that really isn’t a big issue. You get your workout music bumping, and it stays on your head and out of the way.

Getting music onto the device is fairly simple—you’ve got the drag and drop method, which is painless, you can use Windows Media PLayer 11 or 12 to sync, or you can use Content Transfer from iTunes. It supports MP3, WMA, AAC, and linear PCM audio. It also has Napster subscription integration built-in as well.

A couple of words of caution - if you are running a Mac, or a 64-bit flavor of Windows, you are out of luck, because the Walkman NWZ-W252 won’t recognize your operating system. You’d think these days, with many PCs shipping with 64-bit Windows 7 installations by default, that a new product would be sure to work around that.

If you’re looking for a device that’s light, with great battery life, and can be charged quickly, this is the one. We like how it plays tunes while not getting in the way of what you are trying to accomplish. It’s not distracting in any way, and the small/medium/large earbud inclusion is a nice touch, guaranteeing a nice fit for virtually anyone.

You can pick up the Sony Walkman NWZ-W252 for $59.95 from Sony Style.