Sony Announce New NWZ-A820 Series Walkman MP3 Players – Official Press Release

Sony have announced the latest models in their distinguished Walkman range of portable digital audio players in the form of the NWZ-A820 which boasts a 2.4” QVGA screen, 16GB integrated storage capacity and Bluetooth connectivity.

Official Sony NWZ-A820 Walkman Press Release:

Sony expands the innovative WALKMAN® family of digital media players with the easy-to-use NWZ-A820 series of WALKMAN® Video MP3 players. Delivering superb audio and video quality, it’s packed with advanced WALKMAN® features, extra-long battery life, a large 2.4-inch screen and quick connection by Bluetooth® stereo to enhance today’s digital lifestyles.

Slim, light and beautifully styled, the NWZ-A820 series is offered in a choice of four colour variations (black, silver, gold, and pink). Three storage sizes are available. The NWZ-A829 (16GB) can store an incredible 62 hours of video plus sound or 3,800 songs. The NWZ-A828 (8GB) boosts this to 30 hours 40 mins of video/audio or 1,850 songs. The NWZ-A826 (4GB) can store up to 15 hours of video or 925 songs.

The NWZ-A820 series lets you enjoy your personal media collection on the move for longer. Generous battery life allows up to 10 hours of video playback or 36 hours of uninterrupted music playback. Even with Bluetooth® stereo enabled, playback stretches to 7 hours of video or 15 hours of music.

The clear, bright 2.4-inch QVGA screen on all models supports super-smooth video playback at up to 30 frames per second with excellent contrast and colour reproduction. For extra flexibility, videos and photos can be viewed in any screen orientation (left, vertical, right) to suit personal tastes. Photo collections can also be viewed as slideshows accompanied by your chosen music track.

A somewhat obligatory pink version of the

NWZ-A820 Walkman will also be available.

Support for Bluetooth® stereo opens up an exciting world of wireless connectivity options to enhance your enjoyment of digital media on the move. The NWZ-A820 series can stream audio files and track/artist data through a Bluetooth® stereo enabled micro hi-fi such as the Sony CMT-HX70BTR and CMT-HX50BTR.

If you’re out and about, it’s easy to enjoy a high-quality digital music experience via your Bluetooth® headphones such as the Sony DR-BT50 or a Bluetooth® in-car head unit like the Sony MEX-BT5100. A conveniently placed button on the side of the player allows one-touch connection to other Bluetooth® devices.

In common with all WALKMAN® models, the NWZ-A820 series supports a broad range of media formats. These include security-enhanced Windows Media Audio (WMA), copyright-free AAC, MP3 and Linear PCM music formats, plus JPEG files for photos. High quality video codecs support playback of AVC (H.264/AVC) Baseline Profile and MPEG-4 video files.

The NWZ-A820 series is perfect for enjoying your personal media collection as well as podcasts and video content downloaded from sharing sites on the web.

Certified for Windows Vista, the new range also carries Microsoft’s ‘PlaysForSure’ logo, indicating compatibility with a wide range of certified online content providers. It’s easy to transfer files from a connected PC to the NWZ-A820 series via Windows Media Player 11, simple drag-and-drop file management or using supplied Sony Media Manager for WALKMAN® software.

“We are continuing to add products to our WALKMAN® portfolio that offer customers the flexibility and freedom to choose how they download and manage their digital music content, which only open standards can provide”, said Paul Gyles, Strategic Product Manager for Audio Marketing at Sony Europe. “And now with added Bluetooth® compatibility in the NWZ-A820 series, it’s never been easier to enjoy your music on the go, without the hassle of wires.”

Superior sound of WALKMAN® is assured by four ‘Clear Audio’ Technologies. The supplied 13.5mm EX headphones feature extra-large driver units for dynamic playback with extended frequency response and solid, powerful bass. The Sony-developed Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) restores high frequencies that are degraded by audio compression for more natural sound that’s closer to the original source. Clear Stereo prevents audio signals from leaking between left and right channels, resulting in a cleaner, more widely separated stereo soundstage. Furthermore, Clear Bass strengthens low frequency reproduction without adding distortion that conventional equalizers can impose on the signal. Even richer audio is provided by a choice of effect settings including a 5-Band Equalizer, VPT Acoustic Engine and Dynamic Normalizer.

While it’s packed with advanced features, the NWZ-A820 series is easy to use with an intuitive on-screen menu plus improved play and search functions. Super-quick scrolling makes it easy to search for the right track when you’re in a hurry.

Sony’s new NWZ-A820 Walkman range is due to be release in April though no word has been forthcoming from Sony at the time of writing concerning pricing (of course, we’ll ensure that we offer an update the moment pricing details have been released).

Sony