Sony earlier announced it will be supporting more formats such as iTunes' AAC in its new range of Walkman audio-video players. So here's a bit more detail on the new additions to the Walkman family, the A-Series and the S-Series, launched here in Berlin at IFA 2007.
The new Sony Walkman NWZ-A810 and Sony Walkman NWZ-S610/S510 support Windows Media technology and will be compatible with any music download store. The players can be used to download movie trailers, music videos, podcasts and clips from video sharing websites such as YouTube.
Both Walkman players come with Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 preinstalled, and boast a 320 x 240 pixel QVGA LCD screen that can display video at 30fps.
They're also the first players to be Windows Vista-certified, meaning they have passed a series of tests including 'PlaysForSure' verification.
Battery life
Battery life is a decent eight hours of video playback for the Sony Walkman NWZ-A810, and nine-and-a-half hours for the Sony Walkman NWZ-S610. Both offer up to 33 hours of music playback.
"By introducing an open standard Sony is increasing the consumer's choice of content and enhancing the versatility of its products," said Jeffry van Ede, vice president at Sony Audio Marketing Europe, at this morning's launch.
"Ultimately, consumers can now decide how they want to purchase and manage content and benefit from the superior sound and video technology on offer in their Walkman devices."
The new Sony Walkman players are available in three memory sizes: 2GB, 4GB and 8GB. They come in a variety colour options including red, silver, violet, black, white and pink. They'll be available from October, but are available for pre-order as of tomorrow.
