Of course Sony lateness to the MP3 party has enabled it to have a good list of what us punter really want in a device and it looks like they have listened well, for a start the Sony NW-HD5 has a 30 hour battery life trouncing the Ipod opposition and it is also replaceable for around £30 meaning its a solid investment too.

Measuring 56 x 89mm this really is a credit card sized player, we know this as Sony have kindly placed it right next to a card in the publicity shots. The 20gb player supports MP3 and Sony's proprietary ATRAC3 formats, as well as WMV and WAV files. Sadly you'll need to use Sony's Sonic stage software to fill up this sexy little device, which is like parking a brand new car in a pig pen, we loathe Sonic stage with a passion an the NW-HD5 ships with version 3.1 as standard. Loading your tracks on is by means of fast USB connection which also provides the method of topping up the battery.

Gone are the round controls of the previous NW series and in comes a more game controller 9 button layout, it difficult to say if this is a good move, but Sony have allows the NW-HD5 to have a rotating screen which changes from portrait to landscape as the user orientates the device.

The 125 gram HD5 also boasts a shock protection system to cradle the 20gb hard disk in case of a sudden jolt like dropping it on a floor!  plus like most USB devices it can be used to store all kinds of files not just music as once connected to a PC it appears as a windows volume.

Expected to go on sale at £199 shortly it will be available in Red, Silver and black and come with the Sonic stage software, USB leads, carrying pouch and headphones.

More Sony Reviews -

Published - 10/04/2005

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