Sony
B-Series NWZ-B162 2GB Walkman MP3 Player - Blue

Sony B Series 2GB MP3 Walkman Player

The player is simple to use. A tiny mono LED screen displays what's playing and a jog wheel lets you move back and forth between tracks. You can also use the jog wheel to navigate menus, but the jog wheel can be inaccurate, sometimes leading us to skip straight past the menu option we wanted and sometimes not responding at all.

There's also a Zap button, which quickly skips through your music, playing a fragment of each track until you find one you want to listen to. Tracks can be played randomly or in order and sorted by artist, album, folder, playlist or a few other common tags. Shuffle mode shuffles in both directions, so there's no way of getting back to a track that you accidentally skipped or would like to hear again.

A bass boost button quickly and easily increases the player's already emphatic bass to levels that most people will find uncomfortable. We were surprised to find that at the player's default EQ settings, mid-tones sounded somewhat weak and easily overwhelmed by bass when compared to our reference Cowon and Apple MP3 players, particularly at lower volume settings. You can apply your own EQ settings, but this is fiddly. The player's output was a little quiet when we listened to it through third-party headphones, but it's an improvement on the supplied earphones, which sound fine but felt hard and uncomfortable and were prone to falling out of our ears.

Features

• BASS boost - Shortcut key gives you thumping low-end sounds and full, natural tones, even at low volumes
• Quick Charge - Plug in your Walkman® for 3 minutes and get 90 minutes playback. A full charge gives you up to 18 hours listening time
• Style up clip - Show off your colourful B Series Walkman® - attach to clothes, a bag or your pocket
• Power illuminator - Colour matched LEDs flash in time with the music
• Drag and drop - Easy, direct transfer of all your MP3 music via Windows Media® Player 11 and 12 or by simple Drag and Drop from any PC
• Direct USB - Simply connect to a PC or audio system to share music content
• USB Rec - Capture voice recordings to store, share and playback
• ZAPPIN™ - Dedicated ZAP button searches your music library for the perfect song
• Built-in Equaliser - Set your desired sound mode according to music genre, with 4 presets and 1 custom setting
• Jog dial - Larger, shiny shuttle design makes controlling your playlist easy when you're out and about
• Compact design - Perfect for even the smallest pocket, weighing a tiny 28 g (1.0 oz) and 90.9 mm (3 5/8 inches) long
• 2GB memory - Stores approximately 500 tracks (35 to 45 albums)