Sony Walkman MP3 Player Review And Dual Giveaway!!!

Yes, you read the title right.  I will be giving away 2 Sony Walkman (NWZ-W263) MP3 Players.  Merry Christmas from me to you!  See details toward the bottom of this post, but first I've got to tell you all about them (from a runner's perspective).

I'm a pretty basic guy, IMHO.  Aren't all guys the same ladies?  Eat, drink, sleep, (fart).  Repeat the next day.  Actually, what I mean by being basic is that I just want my mp3 player to work and do what it says it will do.  Let me preface those remarks.  I have been through a lot of mp3 players and headphones in my running non-career.  Expensive or cheap ones all seem to break in one way or another.  Every pair of corded headphones I can remember have developed a short where sound in one ear cuts in and out, and eventually out altogether.  Another problem I have with corded headphones is that I have to manage the cord both while running and while packing and unpacking them from my gym bag.  Cords tend to flap from side to side while running, and if you don't take care to pack them away after the workout in an orderly fashion, they become a hot tangled mess.  Annoying!!

My cord issues led me to research and try wireless headphones that use Bluetooth technology to communicate with a separate mp3 player or phone.  I preferred this system on the surface to dealing with a cord, but new problems arose.  First, batteries on both the mp3 player and the headphones needed to be charged after almost every workout since transmitting wireless signals take lots of juice.  I could live with that inconvenience, but where Bluetooth headphones really failed me was they broke fairly quickly.  I went through at least 3 different sets of Bluetooth headphones and none lasted more than 5 months.  That can get expensive at $50 - $80 a pop.  Not that I took bad care of them, but I sweat a lot and for an extended time on some of my workouts and that moisture would make it inside of the ear pieces where all the circuitry is and fry it over time.  I even bought headsets marketed as "Sport" and "moisture resistant".  The other half of this equation is needing a mp3 player with Bluetooth.  Not a big deal, but any mp3 player with this feature tends to be close to $200, and I went through a couple of those too for various reasons.

By necessity, I was on the lookout for a music solution that would work for my workouts.  One day a saw an ad with Meb Keflezighi and he was wearing these Sony Walkman headphones.  I had never heard of them before, but I could tell just by looking at them they had a lot of potential for me.  And they were only $50.  Back to the theme of being basic.  All these headphones do is sit in your ear and play MP3s. They do have basic controls like pause, next track, previous track, and volume.  Two things this amounts to is there is less to break, and less weight to carry around.

Go Meb!  If you can hear me.

To date, I have had my Sony mp3 player for 8 months.  All of the features still work great except for a LED light which is supposed to light when it's charging.  The main point I would like to make is that it is still playing tunes long after my other devices have failed thanks to its ability to handle sweat.

The neck band hugs the head so it is barely noticeable when
stretching or lifting weight while on your back. 

I have the previous model which is a
little different look (size).

So, I was pretty wordy in telling you how I was driven to the Sony Walkman because I think it's relevant in how it separates itself from the competition.  Now, I'll cut to the chase and shoot some bullets your way on my experience:

PROS:

• Like Timex, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking (sweat resistant).
• No cord to get in way, or break, or tangle.
• The over the ears, behind the head headband stays in place and hugs the back of your head so you can workout on your back without it getting in the way.
• No display allows for longer battery life.
• Light weight.  When I'm in the zone, I don't notice them.
• Easy to use.
• Decent price tag.

CONS:

• No fancy features like a touchscreen. (This could be considered a pro)
• The rubber ear piece makes a good seal within the ear which is good for hearing the music, but not optimal for hearing background noise or having a conversation when music is paused. (Minor complaint)
• No radio, no recorder, and no Bluetooth.  (Even less minor of a complaint)

Read or watch another detailed review at CNET.

Now for the details on the giveaway.  I took a long shot, kinda like all these soldiers asking celebrities to the Marine Corps Ball on youtube, and contacted Sony about providing me with a couple mp3 players to send out in conjunction with my review.  After several emails back and forth, they generously agreed to provide them to me with very few strings attached.  What I mean is that you don't have to go through a lot of trouble in order to put your name in the hat. You don't have to 'Like' a bunch of stuff on Facebook, and/or send out tweets (assuming you even have a twitter account).  What I would like everyone to do however is visit Sony's new running community.  There are lots of useful links there, and you have the option to create a profile along with Meb as a way to connect with more runners.

Once you've explored Sony's "Run" community, I offer you up to 3 chances to win Sony's newest W Series Walkman.  These are an upgrade to the pair I own.  They're smaller, have twice the memory (4 GB) and currently sell for $70 - $80 dollars.

Sony Walkman #1 :

• Be a follower on my blog.
• Leave me a comment and you will automatically be entered in the random drawing.
• Optional - Do me a favor and mention this giveaway and link to it from your blog, and get a bonus entry.  (Let me know if you've done this)

Sony Walkman #2 :

• I would like to give one of the mp3 players to a reader who could use it the most.
• Be a follower on my blog.
• Leave a comment telling me about your music misfortunes, or why a new mp3 player would complete you.  Please try to make it a work of nonfiction. :-)
• I will pick a winner based on merit.
• All non winners are automatically in the random drawing for the other Sony.

In summary, by telling me why you need a mp3 player and linking to my giveaway from your blog, you have 3 chances to win 1 of 2 Walkmans.  After consulting with my magic 8 ball and my astrologist, I am told the winners will be chosen on Tuesday December 6th, 2011, so hope to hear from you until then.   Happy Holidays!!