Sony serves a slew of new A- and S-series Walkmans

Kelvin Low | Oct 13, 2009

Update: The new Walkman NWZ-S740 will come in 8GB and 16GB capacities and will be available in Asia Pacific from October 2009. Still, we are waiting for news of the A-840 series Walkman.

The new A-840 series Walkman (Credit: AV Watch)

Not long after Apple announced the third-generation 64GB iPod touch, Sony has been quick to reveal its latest Walkman A-series lineup, and frankly, it bears some resemblance to the S-540 Walkman that we reviewed, but it looks more stunning.

The new A-series is only 7.2mm thin but packs a 2.8-inch OLED screen, noise cancellation, and capacities up to 64GB's. That's even more than the flagship X-series Walkman that maxes out at 32GB. According to Sony Insider, here are some specifications of the new Walkman:

(Credit: AV Watch)

Capacity: 16, 32, and 64GB
Display: 2.8-inch OLED (320 x 240)
Audio: MP3, WMA, AAC, and ATRAC (for Japan only)
Video: H.264, WMV, and MPEG-4
TV-output (up to 720 × 480)
FM tuner
Digital Noise cancellation
S-Master digital amplifier
Battery Life: 29 hours for audio, 9 hours for video

The resemblance with the S-540 series Walkman ends at the "Mickey Mouse" control layout. This player loses the little speakers and instead gets TV-output and noise cancellation. The prices are said to range from 24,000 yen (US$263) to 40,000 yen (US$439).

Behind the A-series shockwave, Sony also announced the new S-740/640 series Walkmans. Like the preceding models, the S-740 series gets the same digital noise-cancellation feature, and the ability to output video just like the new A-series. To keep prices low, Sony has endowed the S-740/640 series with a standard 2.0-inch LCD. It also maxes out at 32GB capacity. Battery life looks great at a rated 42 hours of audio and 10 hours of video playback on a single charge.

The new Sony S-640 (left) and S-740 (right) Walkmans (Credit: SonyInsider)

A step lower in the hierarchy, the S-640 drops the noise-cancellation features and comes in 8GB and 16GB flavors.

The A-series and the new S-740/640 series Walkmans will come bundled with Sony's MDR-EX300SL in-ear headphones, which is a nice step up from the typical in-the-box earphones. The S740 and S640 begin shipping in Japan from mid to late October, but with no word yet on Asia availability for the models mentioned here. We'll keep you updated.

Via dapreview

Kelvin Low is CNET Asia's very own go-to intern for Music & Play. When he's not fiddling with gadgets or setting up new PC rigs, he can be found hitting the dirt tracks on his mountain bike. Kelvin is currently studying mass communications at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore. Email Kelvin.

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