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Sony Walkman Bean NW-E307 (1GB)

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Features
When it comes to features, the Bean ain't much to write home about. Let's start with the pluses. FM reception is very good. The NW-E307's FM auto search function scored every station within the spectrum and some other faint stations we have never heard of.

Similar to the new generation of Sony MP3 players, the Bean has a quick recharge function which gives 3 hours worth of juice after a 3-minute peck from the computer. That's extremely useful for consummate portable music consumers.

Although the Bean supports the major audio codecs MP3, WMA, WAV as well as Sony's own ATRAC format, the Bean makes transfers difficult by insisting that it is mandatory to use the SonicStage software. The funny thing is, despite the years that Sony has to improve the software, SonicStage still manages to maintain a transfer speed that can be described as dawdling at best. (See Performance section).

Unlike similarly configured MP3 players from Taiwan and China, there's no recording option on this Bean. However there are niceties like screen savers and the standard AVLS feature which helps to put a cap on the NW-E307's loudness. For playlists, it has to be set by the user from the SonicStage software. There's no option to do it from the unit.

Performance
We detected a slight hiss during quieter moments in our test tracks, but unless the listener has particularly keen hearing, it is not especially obvious. Other than the hiss, we find the Bean to be plenty loud when we cranked up the volume. The highs and mids are relatively well-rounded and, though we felt the low end to be rather lackluster, turning on the sound mode made the bass a lot more robust.

Transfer speed via the SonicStage software was a turtle-like 0.55MB per second. This reviewer managed to fit in a visit to the loo and the coffee machine before the transfer was completed.

Battery life has traditionally been a trump card for Sony units; the Bean lives up to its predecessor's reputation with a playtime of 46 hours 52 minutes.

 
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