Review: Sony A810 Walkman

The A810 Walkman is the flagship model of Sony's newest video-enabled digital media players. Available in 2GB (A815), 4GB (A816), and 8GB (A818) versions, the device is slightly larger and more expensive than the S610 Walkman because of its all-metal body, bigger 2.0-inch display, and higher quality earphones. Unlike the S610, however, it doesn't have an FM radio.

Is the A810 worth the extra cost? Read on to find out.

System specifications

Capacities:	2GB, 4GB, 8GB
Supported audio:	MP3, WMA, WMA-DRM10, WAV, AAC-LC
Supported video:	MPEG-4, H.264/AVC (M4V)
Extras:	Photo viewer
Display:	2.0” TFT (320 x 240)
Dimensions:	3.5" x 1.7" x 0.4"
Weight:	1.9 ounces
Colors:	Black, pink, white, silver (Sony Style exclusive)

Check out my A810 unboxing for a look at the player's packaging and box contents. A Bluetooth adapter, docking cradle, and additional accessories can be purchased separately.

Update 11.25.07: Read my full Sony Walkman cradle review.

Design

With its thin all-metal body and silver accents, the A810 is sleeker and more sophisticated than its more rounded S610 sibling.

Unlike the mostly plastic S610, the A810 looks and feels exceptionally well made. There's certainly nothing toy-like about the brushed metal (available in black, white, pink, and silver) or very shiny chrome-looking bands, Walkman and Sony logos, and control borders.

The "chrome" is susceptible to fingerprints, but the rest of the casing seems pretty smudge-proof. Finger oils accumulated over time may show a little, but they can be wiped off cleanly and easily with your shirt or a soft cloth.

Size

Measuring 3.5 x 1.7 x 0.4 inches, the A810 is slightly longer but thinner than the S610, making it about mid-sized for a flash player. Its slim profile makes it an easy fit for most pockets.

Shown above from left to right is the Samsung K3, second-gen iPod nano, A810, S610, Creative Zen V Plus, and iriver S10.

Display

The 2-inch TFT screen is bright and colorful and can be rotated in right- and left-handed landscape modes.

The display is 0.2 inches bigger than the one on the S610, but other than that, all of its features are the same. Please refer to the "Display" section in my S610 Walkman review for more details.

Controls

The A810 has some of the most unbalanced hardware controls I've ever seen on the face of a player.

The round buttons are big and easy to press, so navigation is simple right out of the box. Pressing and holding down Option or Back activates the secondary functions printed in white above and below the buttons. Although having these labels eliminates any guesswork involved in figuring out how to turn off the player or return to the home screen, they're also a tad unsightly.

It hasn't been a problem during the past two weeks, but I think dust collecting between the cracks of the controls may become an issue in time.

On the right side of the A810 are a strap loop, reset pinhole, and volume rocker.

I don't understand why manufacturers put the headphone jack on the bottom of devices, but that's where it is on the A810. Beside it is the WM-PORT jack, Sony's proprietary charging, syncing, and accessory connection.

The player's hold switch is bafflingly placed on the back. Why it couldn't just be on the left side, which is "empty," is beyond me. Same goes for the headphone jack (there's nothing on the top of the A810).

Graphical user interface

The A810 Walkman has the same straightforward user interface as the S610. The only difference is that the former has a clock icon while the latter has an FM radio icon in the top row. Both players have the same clock screensaver functionality; the A810 has a dedicated icon for it because it lacks a built-in FM tuner.

For more details, please refer to the "Graphical user interface" section of my S610 review.

Transferring content

Rather than direct you, yet again, to the corresponding section in my S610 review, here's a shameless copy-and-paste from it instead.

Included with the A810 is a software CD that contains Napster (free 14-day trial subscription), the product manual, Windows Media Player 11, and a utility called MP3 Conversion Tool that will convert ATRAC audio files to MP3s.

The A810 is an MTP-based PlaysForSure device, so it is compatible with Windows computers running any version of XP or Vista (32-bit). Other operating systems are not supported.

Assuming you have a Windows PC with the latest service pack installed, transferring media to the player is as easy as drag-and-drop through Windows Explorer. The device is automatically recognized when plugged into a USB port and will appear in "My Computer" under the "Portable Devices" section.

Clicking on the Walkman icon opens its directory, which allows you to drag and drop various files into the appropriate folders. Each media folder has its own set of (inconsistent) rules:

• Eight levels of folders and loose files can be added to the MUSIC folder. Folders and files are displayed on the player in alphabetical order.
• One level of folders and two levels of loose files can be added to the VIDEO folder. Videos are displayed in the order that they were transferred to the player (most recent on top).
• One level of folders and two levels of loose files can be added to the PICTURE folder. Pictures can also be transferred to the DCIM folder, but it will only recognize a folder on the first level and files on the second level. Folders are displayed on the player in alphabetical order.

The six folders shown in the screenshot above cannot be renamed or deleted.

Content can also be managed using Windows Media Player and other music software such as Media Monkey or Winamp.

Media content

The A810 handles the same audio, video, and photo formats in exactly the same way as the S610, so I'm going to have to point you back to each feature's respective section in my S610 review (last time, I promise) for more information.

The only upgrade, aside from the benefit of the larger display for watching videos, is that the A810 sounds better out of the box because of the included headphones. As shown in my A810 unboxing, the player is bundled with a pair of MDR-EX082 noise-isolating in-ear headphones, which are superior to the stock buds provided with the S610.

This won't matter to people who never use a player's included headphones, anyway, but for new users and/or folks who don't mind the compromised sound quality of stock buds, the A810's sound quality will likely exceed expectations.

Battery life

One of the most impressive features about the new Walkman series is battery life. Like the S610, the A810 has an estimated runtime of up to 33 hours for audio and 8 hours for video. The battery receives a full charge via USB in about 3 hours and an 80 percent charge in about 1.5 hours. An AC adapter is available separately.

Conclusion

Available now for $109.95 (2GB), $129.95 (4GB), and $179.95 (8GB), the Sony A810 Walkman is priced at just $20 above the S610. The extra cost buys you a bigger display, sleeker design, and higher-end earphones, but there are no gains in functionality, performance, or battery life, and you lose the FM radio. The A810 is also longer and heavier than the S610.

That aside, the A810 series is a solid (albeit belated) entrant into the MTP-based digital media player market. It may not bring anything new or unique to the table, but getting rid of SonicStage and adding video support are still monumental steps forward for Sony. And that's gotta count for something.

The Sony A810 Walkman series can be purchased at Sony Style, Amazon, and other retailers.

Comments

[Peter]

Nice review. I need a new mp3 player and was deciding between one of the Sony video walkmans or the iriver clix 2. What is the battery life for the clix? I like how long the walkman lasts, especially for videos. Does the clix last as long? How big is the clix screen?

[Jenn]

The clix 2 has a 2.2-inch AMOLED display and a rated battery life of 24 hours for music and 5 hours for video. I mentioned in my clix 2 review that I actually got 5.5 hours of video playback, but it's probably better to just stick with iriver's official estimates.

[Sandro]

I think they put the headphone jack at the bottom of mp3 players in order to let you change tracks (or do any other "track management") without taking the whole player out of your pocket. And in my opinion, this is a good approach to this problem. The thing is that with A810, you have to put the whole player out of your pocket to turn the music up or down, right?

[Josh]

I fooled around with one of these in a circuit city but how would you rate the sony a810 on a rank of 1 to 5 (compared to other players?)

[omega007]

reviewer or any other please:

Can i play music while i charge a NWZ-A810 Sony Walkman Video Mp3 player?

I want to know if i can play music using this 4 ways (answer only if you have tested personally please):

1) While connected to the pc via the supplied cable.

2) while connected to a wall plug using the supplied cable and a generic usb to ac converter.

3) while connected to a wall plug using the sony AC Walkman charger.

4) while connected to a wall plug using the Sony Walkman cradle

[Jenn]

@ Sandro: Good point. You're right about having to take the player out of your pocket to access the volume controls (though this wouldn't be difficult to do blindly), which is counter-intuitive to the logic of the current location of the headphone jack.

@ Josh: There are too many factors to consider when comparing one player with another, but if I had to rank the A810 against its competitors in purely general terms, I'd give it a solid 4.

@ omega007: I don't know about the Sony charger or cradle, but music cannot be played while the player is connected to a PC or an outlet using a generic converter. I assume that the same would be true for the Sony charger and cradle, but I haven't tested either personally.

[Emily Taylor]

I was wondering if you knew of an armband or case for this product? I haven't been able to find one anywhere.

[OMEGA007]

Emily Taylor this is a silicone case with an armband, but i personally bought the sony cristal clear plastic case on sonystyle

Amazon link

[OMEGA007]

Get this player today only (maybe) on amazon for just $163.97

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VAKI60

i bought it for $185.85 and they refunded me $21.88 since it hasnt passed 30 days since my purchase.

is a good deal i dont think it will last days.

[Jenn]

Sony Style sells a variety of Walkman cases and accessories. Noreve has a selection as well (don't forget the coupon code).

[Emily]

Thanks OMEGA2007 and Jenn!!

[wei]

is the sonicstage user friendly? does it have alot of problems?

[john]

which is better the s610 series or the A810 series? (in terms of technology and design)

[OMEGA007]

i almost got the s610 because its smaller but since the a810 its all metal unlike the s610 that is all plastic, has bigger screen, better earphones, and has a better navigation system for me.

also the a810 has the auto cap that protects the wm-port. its maybe not much but its nice to have.

[Jenn]

@ wei: As stated in the review, SonicStage is no longer used to manage any content on Sony's new Walkman players.

@ john: You can read my S610 review for a better idea of my thoughts on the player, but the conclusion of this review pretty much sums it up for me:
"The extra cost [of the A810] buys you a bigger display, sleeker design, and higher-end earphones, but there are no gains in functionality, performance, or battery life, and you lose the FM radio. The A810 is also longer and heavier than the S610."

[sk]

to put songs into the player is it drag and drop? and does it automatically convert the songs into mp3 format or have to manually convert using some programs?

[brane]

im probably gonna buy this one. Im hooked-what can i say-love at first sight, has all i need, i just wish it had radio! I was considering the iriver clix 2 but the whole clicking and a toy like look dont do it for me, but was tempted, i admit. And Jenn, what happened with that black player from some unknown company(HACHA i think), its review never came????

[Jenn]

Hi brane. I like the look of the A810 too. I don't know why, but more people seem interested in the S610, which I think is much less attractive. Maybe the appeal is in the FM radio.

Ah yes, the Hacha R280S. When I bought it back in August, I had every intention to review it. After the unboxing, though, I changed my mind (you may have noticed that unlike other unboxings, I didn't add a "check back later for my full review" line at the end). I don't want to sound too harsh and I'm sure there are many people who are happy with the R280S, but I just thought the player was crap. Reviews take a fair amount of work and I didn't want to waste my time on it. Believe me, you're not missing out on anything!

[brane]

Thanks for clearing that up. I must admit i laughed when you said its CRAP!lol!!!!So we can be sure that all the players you reviewed are worth buying. You said that you consider the A810 series a solid 4, so who are your number 5.(I can sense a word iriver coming up:)...)

[Jenn]

LOL! You know me too well :-) Even though I'm hoping a clix 3 will be unveiled at CES next month, I still give the clix 2 top honors. I'm working on my Samsung P2 review right now and have an unopened Creative Zen sitting on my desk, though, so there's a possibility that the clix 2 could be dethroned. I have high hopes for the Zen, as I still use and love my Zen Vision:M.

Yes, part of the reason I buy most of the devices I review (at full cost with my own money) is so that readers know, at the very least, that something is worth buying. Products I review that I only have on short-term loan are those that I think readers would likely be interested in but that I don't actually want myself.

Have you decided which A810 color and capacity you might get? I was going to get the silver version, but it's exclusive to Sony Style and I like to shop at Amazon.

Im getting the black one, and 4 gb is plenty enough for me, and the 8 gb is more expensive and im not donald trump, so...Once again thank for your excellent reviews, they helped alot, and cant wait to see what you have to say about samsung and iriver. Il be back!!!

[Jenn]

Thanks, brane. I hope the A810 lives up to all your expectations. Feel free to share your thoughts when it arrives. :-)

One more thing, i somehow sensed in your reviews that you prefere the Toshiba over this sony. Am i wrong...??? And which player do you use the most at the moment(which is your favorite "at the moment"), since you are just getting to know the Zen and Samsung??? (christmas is near!:), presents, presents, and more presents!!!)

[Jenn]

Hmm. If I really had to choose between the Toshiba and Sony, I'd choose the Sony. I didn't intentionally imply that I preferred the gigabeat T400 over the Walkman series, but the review may seem more positive because I was really pleasantly surprised by the player. I kind of knew going into the A810 review what to expect because 1) it's a Sony and 2) I had just reviewed the S610, but I had no previous Toshiba experience to refer to with the T400.

As for what I'm using most, right now it's the Samsung P2 because I'm working on the review. So far, I still prefer the clix 2 to the P2, so if I had to leave the house with just one flash player in hand, it would be the clix 2 (my HDD player of choice is still the ZVM). I'll be cracking open the Zen box this weekend.

good to know! Thanks jenn for everything, and you realy do write the best reviews on portable gadgets on the web, and i do mean it. When i get my sony, be sure ill share my thoughts.

[Jenn]

Thanks, brane. Your comments and feedback mean a lot to me. Have fun with your player! :-)

[Carlos]

Hi.the review is exelent, Im in love whit this thing. .... but one question .. in my country (Chile).. the A818 cost a lots of dolars (about 40) LESS than the S618 (no kidding) ... dont know why .. but is it worth the price you paid by this porduct? i mean is the s618 better than the a818 or what?, I dont understand anything now :S.

[Ian]

hey first off great review, thanks.

Second In your review you said that the a810 was mtp only but many people have been reporting that the 810/610 can be forced into an msc mode if plugged into a none supported OS, have you experienced this?

http://www.dapreview.net/p/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?70329.30

[Josh]

Just got my a818 today and it really is amazing! Thanks for your review because without it I wouldn't have this awesome sounding mp3 player.

[Jenn]

That's great, Josh. What color and capacity did you get? Have fun!

[Josh]

I got the 8gb in black and it looks great. However I'm having a few issues with putting videos on it. Is there any recommended software I could download? Other than that I'm very pleased with it's overall quality.

[Jenn]

What kind of problems are you running into? For ripping your own DVDs into a compatible format, I like CloneDVD Mobile by Slysoft. For transcoding other formats, I've heard very good things about SUPER but have never used it personally. The Walkman plays the same video files as the iPod (ones without DRM protection, of course), so any iPod video converter should also do the trick.

[Josh]

Sounds great, thanks Jenn.

[brane]

I was about to buy this yesterday but i red on cnet that the walkmans actually dont come in 2, 4 or 8 Gb but actually in 1840, 3840, and 7840 MB!!! Thats 160MB less!!! Isnt that ceating, and this isnt the case with other players???Im confused!Help! i really want to buy this one...

[Jenn]

That's pretty much the case with all players (and computers). A true gig is really 1024MB, but companies equate it with only 1000MB. Pair that with whatever has been allocated for the player's UI and system stuff (160MB in Sony's case, apparently), and you can see where you lose all the space. There really isn't any device out there (not even a flash drive, I think) that gives users access to all of the listed capacity.

My 4GB Creative ZEN, for example, only has 3786MB available. And the 4GB Samsung P2 has just 3764MB. So it's just par for the course.

[brane]

Thanks, jenn, i'm buying one! Its realy strange how you know all the answers we ask.. You sure you aren't a robot or something? Before you know it we'll be buying "JENN" mobile phones and mp3 players, who knows!!! Oh, And happy New Year!!!!!!!;)

[Jenn]

Hmm. JENN devices, eh? If you can come up with what the letters stand for, then I'll have my programmers and robot makers get to work right away. I definitely don't know all the answers to anything, but the JENN players will for sure. ;-)

Happy New Year to you!

[Max Power]

I've heard a lot of reviewers comment on the locations of the headphone jack on the bottom of many recent players. No one seems to understand the decision, but if you give it some thought, it makes a lot of sense ergonomically.

When you're holding the player in your hand, the cord simply hangs out of the way, without the potential to obscure the screen or controls, and if you put the player in your pocket upside down, screen inwards (so the headphone jack is oriented upwards), it's a much more natural motion for your hand to grab on to. When you pull the player out of your pocket, you don't have to adjust your grip to use the controls or view the screen - it's brilliant! People just decide they don't like the new position because it's different.

[Rod]

I just bought the black 8gigs, and the look and functionality is awsome.
I do have to be honest that took me like 2 full nights to get into " how to play a video " because none of the formats i converted it to it worked, until i finally got image converter 2 for psp and it plays, but still cant put the thumbnails to be seen in each video and the menu.
Well my question is HOW DIFICULT IS TO PUT A COVER ART FOR AN ALBUM??? i riped an album to mp3 and put the jpeg. cover in the same folder of the songs but at the time i turned the player on and went to menu and saw my albums , the only thing in image of the album is the Walkman logo.

Ill appreciate any help on that !!!

Thanks !

[Jenn]

Hi Rod. How did you transfer the songs to the player? Drag-and-drop or using software?

The folder.jpg method you used (i.e., naming the cover art image "folder.jpg" and including it in the album folder) doesn't always work with all players. The most foolproof way to make sure album art transfers is to embed it in each track's ID3 tag. I use Media Monkey to do this (tutorial), but it can also be done with iTunes (tutorial) and other programs.

[Garrett]

Hey i just bought the silver 8 gb i was wondering which fm transmitter would be the best to buy so i could play my mp3s through my car.

I edit my tags with a program called AudioShell 1.3.5, and it works fine but the size of my song increases by the size of the picture i use as a cover art. I tried copying the same picture in WMP11 to set it as cover art and i noticed that the song increased in only 6kb no matter how big it is. And when i remove the cover art from the song(when using Audioshell), it is gone, but the size of the song doesn't decrease to what it was. Is it like that with other ID3 tag editors???

[Angela]

Do I understand correctly that this cannot be used with Windows 2000 Professional OS? I have XP at home but was hoping to at least get it charged on my work PC and preferably download some podcasts for my evening commute. Will plugging it in to a PC with Windows 2000 ruin the walkman?

[Ali]

whud u recomend the a series or the s series

[Anterio]

I recently purchased this walkman. I think that it is wonderful with one exception, there is not an arm strap made for anyone who wants to use this while running. Are there any aftermarket accessories that you may know of for this Sony device? If not I may have to return the product for another. If that is the case, what would you recommend that will compare to the A818 sound and quality?

[Stef]

Hiya

first of all thanks for the review. I just received the player as a present and am still testing it. Sony didn't mention in the manual that it is absolutely necessary to install Windows Media Player 11 in order for it to show in Windows Explorer...grrr...it took me some time to figure that one out.

Another really annoying thing about the player is, that you cannot play files directly from the player. I tried with real player and windows media player and they both won't play mp3s directly from the device, which is really bad. What I usually do is, I would take the player with me to work, connect it to my computer and play songs in real player directly from the device (yep, my apple ipod can do it, why not the sony one?).

All in all the sony player looks nice and the sound is good, but I am still not convinced....

If somebody knows how to play files directly from the sony player (without copying them back to the computer), please let me know.

Thanks.

Cheers

Stef

[DavidB]

Stef....I'm playing files from the 818 through WMP 11 as I type this. Follow this procedure for WinXP:

In WMP 11, select the Now Playing tab at the top.
Select File, then Open.

Select My Computer in the Left pane, and choose Other, then Walkman, then Storage Media.

Goto Music, then the appropriate artist.

Chances are good that you won't see any files in the default Media files pull...if this is the case, click the dropdown arrow and select All files. There's your songs.

Because this method of playback is confusing to Windows and or WMP 11, if you go back to select other songs or artists, you may find yourself deep in an IE5 temp folder. Just navigate back to the Walkman and select another artist or song (s).

Hope this helps...

David.

does sonicstage work with it?

I have all my songs in sonic stage and I have used hi-md and other sony portable players with SS and want to continue since I ripped all my stuff into it. Does this current model work with sonic stage and ATRAC? Anyone tried x-fering songs from SS into it and play them?

[Jenn]

I don't know about Sonic Stage, but ATRAC is definitely not supported (see "System specifications" chart in the review for supported audio formats). Sony even provides a utility with the player called MP3 Conversion Tool (see "Transferring content" section above) to transcode ATRAC into MP3.