Two new media play offerings with high-end audio capabilities and Google Play access
While most of us have moved on to using our phones for media playback, Sony is still pushing along with its Walkman-branded Android media players. The Walkman ZX1 and Walkman F880 Series are powered by 1GHZ dual-core processors, have 4-inch 480x854 displays, NFC, Bluetooth and run Android 4.1 that is not unlike Sony's flagship phones.
In terms of audio quality, Sony is touting 192kHz/24bit high-res audio playback with a special "S-Master HX" digital amp — supporting AIFF, ALAC, FLAC and WAV formats. But of course when you're not listening to high-quality music you can do anything else a modern Android device can do with full Google Play access.
The Walkman ZX1 is certainly the flagship device, with 128GB of storage and a 75,000 yen (~$760) price. The F Series come in at more reasonable storage and price points of 16, 32 and 64GB for 27,000, 30,000 and 40,000 yen ($273, $304 and $405) — also coming in pink, black, white and blue color options.
The ZX1 will hit Japan on December 7th, and the F Series on October 19th. No word at this moment when these players will make it to other countries.
