Sony Walkman NWZ-A729 (16GB, black)

Manufacturer: Sony Part number: NWZ-A729BLK

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Bottom Line:: The Sony NWZ-A720 is the best-sounding, best-looking Walkman series yet, and the inclusion of premium earphones adds real value.

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CNET editors' review

Sony Walkman NWZ-A729 (16GB, black)

price range: $289.95 - $299.99

Reviewed by: Donald Bell
Reviewed on: 04/07/2008
Released on: 03/28/2008

The good: The Sony NWZ-A720 Walkman MP3 player series offers high-quality music, photo, and video playback, along with EX-style earphones and a phenomenal battery life.

The bad: The Sony NWZ-A720 series doesn't come cheap, and it lacks an FM radio, voice recording, memory expansion, and a standard USB connection.

The bottom line: The Sony NWZ-A720 is the best-sounding, best-looking Walkman series yet, and the inclusion of premium earphones adds real value.

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The Sony NWZ-A720 Walkman series is a subtle evolution of the NWZ-A810 series we enjoyed in 2007. This year, Sony is treating us with a larger screen and a more assertive design, offered in 4GB ($149), 8GB ($199), and 16GB ($299).

Design
Given Sony's track record with curvy, rounded designs, the Sony NWZ-A720 is refreshingly square. Measuring 2 inches by 3.75 inches by 0.4 inch, it has a metallic body and a 2.4-inch screen. The NWZ-A720 is a little larger than its predecessor, but it maintains a slim, pocketable profile. The circular four-way navigation pad found on last year's Sony NWZ-A810 has turned into a more solid-feeling square on the A720, flanked by two small option and menu buttons. All other buttons are confined to the right side of the player, including a rocker switch for volume control and a hold switch. The bottom of the A720 Walkman features a headphone output and proprietary USB connection.

One little design detail that distinguishes the Sony NWZ-A720 from last year's model is the inclusion of a detachable kickstand for hands-free video playback.

Features
The Sony NWZ-A720 is stocked with features, including music, photo, and video playback. On the audio end of things, Sony is continuing its support for MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV, and DRM-protected subscription music files. In typical Sony style, the restrained design of the music playback screen betrays the awe-inspiring music enhancement technology working behind the scenes, such as a 5-band EQ, Clear Bass, Clear Stereo, DSEE high-frequency restoration, and dynamic normalization.

With its 2.4-inch QVGA LCD and excellent video battery life, the Sony NWZ-A720 is the most video-worthy Walkman we've seen. Sony offers limited video format compatibility, however, including MPEG-4 and H.264 sized at a strict 320x240 ratio. Fortunately, the popularity of the iPod and video podcasts has made the QVGA MPEG-4 file format one of the most abundant on the Web.

The Sony NWZ-A720 is a solid player with plenty to brag about, but the exclusion of features such as an FM radio, voice recording, and memory expansion is worth keeping in mind as you compare the Walkman with its competition. You should also know that Sony offers an identical-looking version of this player (the Sony NWZ-A820 series) which includes built-in Bluetooth audio streaming, at an increased price.

The Sony EX earphones included with the NWZ-A720 Walkman series put Apple's white iPod earbuds to shame.

Performance
Year after year, Sony's MP3 players demonstrate some of the highest standards for audio quality. Even at its factory setting, the Sony NWZ-A720 radiates with fidelity that just gets better as each one of its many sound-enhancement features activate. Listening through the excellent pair of included Sony EX in-ear headphones, the rattling saxophones of Moondog's "Dog Trot" were vibrant and easy to pick out in the stereo soundstage. Renowned for its buttery bass performance, the Clear Bass enhancement EQ feature perfectly sweetened the rolling dub synth notes of Squarepusher's "Port Rhombus" with no noticeable distortion.

Videos appeared bright, crisp, and colorful on the Sony NWZ-A720. The Walkman's screen is 0.4 inch larger than the screen found on the third-generation iPod Nano, and it shares a similarly impressive pixel density and sharp picture quality. Videos can be rotated between landscape and portrait view on the Sony NWZ-A720, and audio and video files are automatically bookmarked when the player is stopped or shut down.

Sony rates the NWZ-A720's battery life at an impressive 36 hours of audio playback and 10 hours of video. We'll update this review with our CNET Labs battery results once testing is complete.

Final thoughts
The Sony NWZ-A720 Walkman is an unquestionably great series of MP3 players, however, as a competitor to the iPod Nano it faces steep competition. Creative's Zen MP3 player, for instance, offers a larger screen, an FM radio, voice recording, and memory expansion, while Microsoft's Zune boasts coveted features such as integrated podcast management and built-in Wi-Fi. Sony is clearly king of the hill when it comes to sound quality, but users seeking a more well-rounded MP3 player have plenty to choose from.

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Sony
Part number: NWZ-A729BLK
Description: Run an extra mile to the latest music or watch a funny video to pass the time on a plane. You'll never be far from your multimedia with this sleek 16 GB Walkman Video MP3 player. Enjoy pristine audio quality and watch spectacular full-motion video in portrait or landscape mode. The attractive, slim-line player supports multiple file types and lets you control it all on a high-resolution 2.4" QVGA LCD with intuitive menus and simple operation. Small enough to slip into your pocket, the 16 GB built-in memory can store up to 3,800 songs, up to 62 hours of video or hundreds of photographs, offering the widest variety of multimedia entertainment wherever you go.

General
Width 2 in
Depth 0.4 in
Product type Digital player
Height 3.7 in
PC interface(s) supported Hi-Speed USB
Amplifier total output power 10 mW
Weight 2 oz
Color Black
Flash memory installed 16 GB Integrated
Digital storage None
Dimensions (W x D x H) 2 in x 0.4 in x 3.7 in
Packaged quantity 1
Digital storage media type None
Digital Player / Recorder
Digital player supported digital audio standards WMA, Protected WMA (DRM), PCM, MP3, AAC
Digital player response bandwidth 20 - 20000 Hz
Digital player playback modes Repeat all, One track repeat, Repeat shuffle
Digital player additional features JPEG photo playback
Carrying Case
Case type None
Battery
Rechargeable Battery Rechargeable
Battery Enclosure Type Integrated
Recharge Time 3 hour(s)
Battery Rechargeable Player batteryIntegrated
Mfr estimated battery life 36 hour(s)
Battery Life Details Video playback 9.5 hour(s), MP3 playback 36 hour(s)
Audio System
Sound output mode Stereo
System Requirements
Min Operating system Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later
Connections
Connector type 1 x Headphones Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, 1 x USB

Built-in Display
Audio system built-in display LCD
Diagonal size 2.4 in
Resolution 240 x 320
Power
Power Supply / Device None
Audio Features
Amplifier output channel qty 2
Sound effects Clear Bass
Built-in clock Digital clock
Equalizer
Equalizer factory presets Heavy, Club, Custom, Jazz, Unique, Live, Studio, Arena, Pop
Equalizer band qty 5 bands
Remote Control
Remote control None
Headphones
Headphones type Binaural In-ear ear-bud
Sound output mode Stereo
Connectivity technology Wired
Battery / Power
Power device type None

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Sony Walkman NWZ-A729 (16GB, black)

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Specifications

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Digital Player / Recorder

Carrying Case

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Audio System

System Requirements

Connections

Built-in Display

Power

Audio Features

Equalizer

Remote Control

Headphones

Battery / Power

Product series

Manufacturer info

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