After receiving and trying out the newly released Sony Walkman S Series S544 portable media player for about a week, here’s a quick review of what we thought of it. As always, we welcome all comments and if you recently bought one of your own, your opinion would be even more appreciated by readers here on GadgetLite.
Design
Our first impressions of the new pink (also available in black, violet and red) Sony Walkman S544 were that its extremely lightweight. Completely opposite to that of the X1050 which we were given an opportunity to review, you can tell immediately after holding it in the palm of your hands that its made of a different material. Though I would say the S544 feels less well built as a result of this, it isn’t uncomfortable to hold and is about the same in terms of thickness when compared with the X Series.
While the new S544 doesn’t sport an OLED display, we thought the glossy, 2.4-inch LCD along with the thin layer of protective material that Sony had implemented for scratch resistance worked out very well. In fact, this is one of the first video music players I’ve used which doesn’t have a screen that sucks up all my fingerprints. The display isn’t a touchscreen for those who asked us to clarify, this is why we believe the purpose of this Walkman is to compete with the likes of the compact iPod range such as iPod Nano.
Features
Here are some of the features which Sony highlighted when the S Series was first made official a few weeks ago:
• S540 series: First WALKMAN® video MP3 player with built-in stereo speakers for sharing your music
• Digital Linear Phase Speaker System with Virtual Bass and Linear Phase Correction for rich, satisfying sound*
• High quality listening with Clear Stereo and Clear Bass technologies
• Large, bright, high resolution 2.4-inch LCD for comfortable video viewing
• Extra-long battery life up to 42 hrs** audio / 6.5 hrs*** video (17 hrs** audio / 5 hrs*** video using speakers)
• FM tuner with record facility to enjoy radio broadcasts any time
The user interface on the S540 Series is very similar to that seen on the X Series.
Certainly from all the features available on the S Series, the on board speakers were what interested us the most. The built-in stereo speakers which Sony have specifically designed for the S Series can be found on the front and back of the Walkman.
Like it said on the tin, when we tested them out, they worked brilliantly even when under pressure with songs that had plenty of bass. On the other hand, if you wanted to play classical music, you needn’t worry that this “virtual bass” technology would get in the way, because it didn’t! We were indeed pleasantly surprise with the volume that it could produce. The volume that the built-in stereo speakers could achieve easily matched that of a compact iPod stereo dock, even when taken to noisy environments, such as the beach.
We thought three of the features on the S Series were linked together very well. These included its FM radio, voice recording and music player. The reason is voice recording not only functions to record directly from its built-in microphone but it also works to record whatever it is you may be listening to via FM radio.
Once recorded, either directly or via FM radio, the voice clip can be conveniently found within the music menu.
We had no problems using the music player itself, again very similar to other Sony video music players. Though we are used to how it works, it is very self-explanatory and beginners should not find it difficult to control. An example of a function we’ve always enjoyed on Sony’s Walkman players include its easy to use song sorting system. In terms of music play functions, its equalizer provides the S Series with several presets, additionally, you can create two more custom presets to suit your tunes. Two new functions we’ve discovered are alarm and sleep timer, the latter we believe is a function which many will find useful as it allows you to set duration of play times (ranging from 30 to 120 minutes) before it automatically switches off – excellent for those who like to doze off to sleep listening to your favourite music, unfortunately this function isn’t available for FM radio.
Because the S Series doesn’t sport an accelerometer like the X Series, photos which you have stored and want to show to friends won’t automatically switch to landscape mode unless you press the button in the options. 
A range of major music and video formats are supported including WMA and WMV. Importing music, video and photos is quick and fuss-free, with simple drag-and-drop from your PC’s media folder or via iTunes using Content Transfer. MPEG1 and WMV files can also be played back on the Walkman when converted via Content Transfer, for those who emailed us about AVI formats or DivX, the S Series certainly did not support those on testing. It was useful to find that the included Content Transfer Software is available to install from within the memory of the S544.
Practicality
Overall in our review, we thought the new Sony Walkman S (S540) Series S544 was a very practical and upbeat, compact-sized video music player. For a PMP that’s just 10.2mm thin, it packs plenty of features which makes it a highly competitive Walkman player. The S544 may not have an OLED display, or connectivity features such as WiFi, but the purpose of this Walkman was to display plain simplicity and to deliver exactly what the user needs. If you’re looking for an iPod Touch alternative this may not be your appropriate choice. However if you’re in need of features which an iPod Nano cannot offer such as a larger display or up to 42 hours of audio playback on a single charge, the new S Series Sony Walkman players are definitely much more practical and worth consideration.
Pros:
- Lightweight, thin with good body design and grip
- Durable, scratch resisting screen
- Easy to use, straight forward controls
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Fully equipped, well designed built-in stereo speakers capable of stunning music quality
- 42 hours of audio playback on a single charge
Cons:
- Lacks Sony’s noise canceling technology
- No on board accelerometer
- Due to lack of WiFi connectivity, downloading podcasts directly are also out of the question (though it is possible to achieve this via alternative methods!)
One thing that I notice no one says in these reviews (I recently purchased this product, in black)is that the buttons are too close together.
Specifically, the play/pause button, and the arrow keys.
More than ten times have I meant to press a directional button and find that I’ve selected the wrong EQ setting, or my music starts playing with the volume at 28.
Of course, this is one of those, “Meh,” things that really don’t affect a purchase choice, it is something that should be fixed immediately in future versions.
Also, this is the second review which has stated that the outboard speakers are nice and loud, but I have found that they’re not loud at all.
But that’s me.
Nice review. No matter how much advanced electronics is fitted into a gadget the end user will experience some frustration if the ergonomics is out of sync. Future upgrades will definitely to address the concern of the congested keypad.
Well done review. Finally a Sony MP3 player with speakers. I always had to have an external speaker with batteries when I didn’t want to use ear phones–if you like to travel lite this was a burden.
I also really like the built-in stand feature as well. I travel a lot and this works perfectly for watching videos. I know Sony is releasing a white silicone cover, but does anyone know of a black or smoke silicone being offered…even a 3rd party manufacturer?
I have this MP3 player and I love it so far. For the same price as an 8GB ipod, I got a 16GB sony with the added bonus of not having itunes forced upon me. The sound quality is excellent, the features just what I was looking for plus some great extras (speakers, mic, FM tuner), plus its a really cute lightweight design. Love it ^_^
This product looks great. I like the slim line of it.
I want to purchase this to use mostly for audiobooks. I know it's compatible with the formats I will use, BUT one thing I haven't seen anywhere on any reviews: DOES IT HAVE BOOKMARK CAPABILITY?
Hi Peggy, thanks for your comment and email. In reply to your question, I’m quite certain that it does not have bookmark capability, as I did not see that function when we tested it.
I have to disagree with the “doesnt scratch easly” part, i put mine in the pocket of my soft sleeping pants and the screen scratched -_-
I received this for xmas and I can not get movies to download correctly off of i tunes. They somehow go into the pictures app and I only get the chapter picture like on a dvd scene selection list. What am I doing wrong?
Hi
Did you ever find out what you were doing wrong I was having the same problem and I am so frustrated would love to find out
lol wordd
this mp3s great but scratches pretty easily i got it today and i noticed a scratch already and its reall shiny so u will notice it
i needa find a case for this diff companies needa start makin cases n protectors for this
sonys sellin it for 25 bux and it includes a case and only one screen protector sheet
This is the second MP3 from Sony that i have purchased in two years (for the upgrade) and i have to say i am not really impressed! This newer model has less features than the last one
-no colour -screen changes!
- why do i have to be in "Songs" to have the music continue instead of in "Albums"? A complete album will play then it just stops
- why do albums display as picture and text? on the old one you had a choice of either or both)
I also bought one for my 13 yr old nephew…The one feature i wish they didn't have – Format – " All data including songs will be deleted. Proceed?" NOOOO! —-
—I will sit down and read the manual to see what if anything i have missed…..the speakers are great.
I purchased this for Christmas and I have not been able to download movies onto it at all and would love to know how to do it I am totally lost
But as for downloading song easy and the sound and style are fantastic overall I am so happy with it but would love to figure out the movie as it would be nice to be able to watch a movie while I travel
If you read the manual, it tells you how you can install the "Content Transfer" application that comes with the player, which allows you to drag and drop movies of any format onto the player, and it converts them to the proper format for you.
my screen flickers when the brightness setting is at 1… It always flickers and only rarely it doesn't. I love everything else about it, awesome sound, video, I am satisfied with it as long as it's on a brightness setting over 1. But I always use 1 to conserve battery… I'll have to exchange it for another one soon… I've already exchanged it once because there were smudges underneath the screen. I found others who also found the screen flicker. I have a feeling that this thing will break soon with some undetectable defects.
to download videos you cannot drag and drop it. i had this problem. you need window media player. find the SYNC tab. and drag the video you want into the sync list and sync it. then it'll be in it.
i like this version alot
hello,
i purchased this mp3 player 2 months ago and want to add my review that i am suffering from the battery backup. whenever i suffle from videos or songs. this player not be able to give me 8 hours backup. as the company claims for more than 15 hours battery backup. i bought this from USA. plesae help me for this, all suggesion are highly invited
Are you playing 8 hours of videos / mixed? Anyhow, I would personally take it back to the shops / Sony centre to have it checked out.
I'm sorry to say, but the oldest model 435f was much better and the sound was really loud. With this one, even when sound is to 30, you still can hear all the city noises and everything else (even when the sound is at 320kbps)! I don't enjoy music at all….
sir……….
i hv a sony i pod …………
here it is written that it supports wma and wmv formats………….
i hv converted videos into these formats but itz not working in my i pod………….
can u give me a solution for this????????????
Hi there I' m quite sure it should work, what does it say when you try
to play these files?
it only supports up to a certain resolution on the videos. I had that problem originally. Look up the displays resolution and convert the video to those dimensions and it should work
I agree with most of your S544 review, with one exception, and that's the shuffle feature, which tends to default to older songs that don't require regular license renewal. I'm constantly hitting the “forward” button to get to different music.
B. Dixon
yo tengo uno de esos muy buenos de hecho yo soy de mexico y digo que el modelo s series walkman de mexico esta horrible ESPANTOSO netaa
los quieroo byye
how do i get movies onto my player?
Hi Merv, you can do it via its usb cable using your PC.
this sony walkman suksssssssssssssssssssssssssss it dosent delect anything n it down loaded everything from my computer without me wanting it
This is JUNK.
A white line going straight across screen from the get go.
I bought it new for Christmas was more than 30 days after it was opened-best buy said you have to send it back to Sony-they sent back a re-ferb unit.
Hey-I did not buy a re-ferb unit-what’s up with this action.
Simple-I won’t buy Sony again,that’s for darn sure.
Moral of the story……… Never buy refurbished!
Hi there,
I live in Australia and i need to purchase a USB connection for this product. Can anyone help me out with this..
thanks
Ο ΥΠΟΛΟΓΙΣΤΗΣ ΜΟΥ ΓΙΑΤΙ ΔΕΝ ΔΙΑΒΑΖΕΙ ΑΝΑΓΝΩΡΙΖΕΙ ΤΟ ΜΟΝΤΕΛΟ ΑΥΤΟ ΘΕΛΕΙ ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ;ΚΑΙ ΑΝ ΝΑΙ ΠΟΥ ΜΠΟΡΏ ΝΑ ΤΟ ΒΡΩ ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΩ