Sony NW-E305 Walkman Bean 512 MB MP3 Player White

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.7 x 1.5 x 0.9 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000AZ00EQ
• Item model number: NWE305WHITE
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

Product Description

Color: White

Amazon.com Product Description

Sony makes it easy to take your favorite tunes with you wherever you go with the Walkman Bean NW-E305 (White) flash memory digital audio player. Its ergonomic, bean-shaped design and screen orientation easily accommodates both left and right handed users for maximum flexibility. You'll be able to pack in 345 tracks (encoded at 48 kbps in ATRAC3plus format) on the integrated 512 MB memory. The Walkman Bean is compatible with MP3, ATRAC3, and ATRAC3plus formats as well as unprotected WMA and WAV files. Sony's ATRAC3 format provides higher sound quality with smaller sizes than other formats, and you can easily create ATRACT3 files using the included Sonic Stage software.

It features a unique built-in, hidden USB plug that pops out when the door is opened, allowing you to plug the Walkman Bean directly into your PC for transferring tunes and charging the integrated battery--no fumbling about looking for cables. It also comes with a USB extension cable for connecting to desktop PCs or hard to reach USB ports. The battery, when fully charged, provides up to 50 hours of continuous playback time, but if charged for just three minutes, you'll get three hours of use out of the Walkman Bean.

The Walkman Bean has a 1-line organic electroluminescence display, which offers a wide viewing angle, high quality display with a unique look, for viewing song titles, battery life, and time/date information. In addition to its digital audio features, the Walkman Bean offers an FM radio tuner and a time and calendar display.

Compatible with the Connect Music Store
Sony's Connect Music Store provides an easy method for downloading personal music to your Walkman Bean. The Connect Music Store offers access to an extensive online music library including many independent titles as well as featured artist and celebrity mixes.

What's in the Box
Sony NW-E305 Walkman Bean (white), headphones, USB extension cable, CD-ROM with SonicStage software

Product Description

With Sony's new Walkman(R) Bean MP3 player, you'll get to start the day off right - by listening to your favorite music! The Bean holds 512 MB of memory, giving you up to 345 of your favorite songs. The FM tuner provides accurate drift-free tuning. Its built-in USB connector provides direct access to your music library, as well as to the Connect Music Store, for expanding it more easily. The 1-line Electroluminescence Display shows off the song title, length, battery indicator and much more. The Super Quick Battery Charge feature delivers 3 hours of playback from a 3-minute charge. Ergonomic design for use in both left and right hands Works with Connect Music Store, for easier downloading of personal music Connections - USB input, Stereo mini jack output (headphones) Battery Life - Approx. 50 hours of playback with embedded lithium ion battery Color - Coconut White System Requirements - Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 or XP; 128MB RAM; CD-ROM drive; Internet Explorer 5.5 or later Dimensions - 2.7 x. 9 x 1.5 Weight - 1.6 oz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, December 28, 2005

By 

Scott T. (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony NW-E305 Walkman Bean 512 MB MP3 Player White (Electronics)

I received this player as a Christmas present from my girlfriend and was immediately impressed by the size and unique design. Despite some of the more negative reviews posted here, I have to say that I think that this is fine player for the size and price. I had no need for an iPod-like device since I really only use an MP3 player at the gym.

Yes, the software that it comes with is a bit bloated and clunky, however there is a simpler program that can be downloaded directly from Sony's website that does not require the use of SonicStage at all. The program allows you to simply drag-and-drop your music files right into a window that in turn quickly converts them for use on this player. I still, however, use SonicStage just because it lets me customize the organization of files on the player itself a little better. Yes, it's not the greatest software but I personally don't think that it's worth rating this player lowly over.

As far as sound quality goes, the headphones that come with the device leave a bit to be desired but do you really buy an MP3 player because of the headphones it comes with? I doubt it. The sound quality on my own set of earphones is spectacular (even when I choose to convert my files to 103kbps ATRAC3 format to squeeze a little extra time out of the 512MB of storage).

The shape and size is perfectly ergonomic and fits in my hand quite comfortably. The layout of the jog switch and the design of the hold/unlock switch (which also serves as a cover to an internal, spring-loaded USB dongle) makes it easy to adjust volume and track position while running.

I don't use iTunes so it's not an issue for me. Personally, I am not a fan of the iPod or iTunes or anything produced by Apple. Not because I'm a PC vs. Mac guy, but that I'm very disgusted with Apple's marketing tactics and lack of customer appreciation (namely their having the gall to continue selling an overpriced MP3 player with known defects [i.e. the power interruption/sync interruption fatal flaw]), but I digress.

The main drawbacks I find with this unit (and that prevent me from giving it 5 stars) are the following:

1. No belt-clip style carrying cases currently available. The only carrying case for this device is an armband case sold directly through SonyStyle.com exclusively. I personally am not a fan of armband cases. I have chosen to use a generic micro-pager RipOffs case to clip on my shorts while at the gym.

2. SonicStage software is clunky but once you get the hang of it it's certainly not worth glossing over this sweet player.

Actually, that's all I can think of for now. Hope this helps.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Believe The Bad Reviews On This!, July 10, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sony NW-E305 Walkman Bean 512 MB MP3 Player White (Electronics)

Many people just straight bomb on this thing without a second thought. I just bought this from Sears for $80.00 a week ago after reading some of the bad reviews on this site. I figured that as my CD collection grew( Yeah, I still buy those things), I could just buy a player with a larger amount of space. Besides, the space, the bean comes with an FM radio, a pop-out USB connector, and 50 hours of battery life. But before I just go and tell you why you shouldn't listen to some of the negative reviews on this, I'm gonna clear up a few things:
1)The USB cover on this thing is NOT flimsy. You have to push the cover all the way back and then the USB connector will pop out. When you're done using the Bean at the computer, you disconnect it, and push the USB back into the Bean and push the cover on it. I can't believe I almost didn't buy this because of the amount of people saying the USB was flimsy.
2)The Beans construction isn't as bad as people make it out to be. The 5-way D-Pad does not feel like it's flimsy. In fact it's built extremely close to the bean itself, so the D-Pad feels like a button, not a joystick.
3)The Bean can take a fall. I'm 5'11 and I dropped the thing on my carpet in my room and the thing works just fine.When people say that things are flimsy, they usually mean that didn't use the thing like it's meant to be used.

With those out of the way, I'll tell you about the software. Sonicstage is just as easy to use as Creative Mediasource or the Windows Media Player software. The people who say that Sonicstage is hard to use are the people who say things like "My camera is defective. I dropped it on the ground and it's lens is messed up." The only thing wrong with the software is that you can't change screens when ripping music and it's a little slow. However, you could just not run any applications while you use Sonicstage. You shouldn't really be on the computer putting music on a player for more than 10-15 minutes anyway.
This thing does what it's supposed to very well. I can liten to my music in smaller formats without compromising (that much) sound quality.I listen to alot of old school hip hop like Ready To Die, Reasonable Doubt,Illmatic, and some new stuff to even things out. (Just copped the new Busta Rhymes CD. If you plan on buying it,go ahead. It's right up there with ELE, The Coming,When Disaster Strikes,and Anarchy.) I've charged the battery last week and the battery meter still reads full. The Bean might not win any trend setting awards, but it's still worth having if you only have 345 songs.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Bean works great for more casual users., December 17, 2005

By 

Chi Girl (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony NW-E305 Walkman Bean 512 MB MP3 Player White (Electronics)

I wanted an MP3 player mostly for the gym. I got a Bean because it was half the price of an ipod, and was super small and light and could be held naturally while running. I mostly just transfer CDs to it, and it takes less than a minute to tranfer the whole CD. I've had no problems downloading single songs from Sony Connect, either. The sound quality is fine, and the battery lasts a really long time. One of the most convenient features is that you can plug the Bean directly into your computer, with no cords to worry about. Overall, it's met my needs perfectly.

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