Customer Reviews

Sony NW-E305 Walkman Bean 512 MB MP3 Player White

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I bought this radio and returned i tthe very next day, why? because they force you to buy all the music from their Connect.com website. I had 50 songs on my windows media player and some songs I bought off walmart.com for .88 NONE were compatible with the MP3. they were in either wma or wav format which it "says" it can convert but it never did, it always stayed on 0% when converting, I ended up calling their customer support the next morning and they told me no song that was copywrite protected could be downloaded (even if I paid for it legally on walmart.com) I would have to re-buy all my songs through their site for them to be compatible. I returned it and bought a RCA that is compatible with my windows media player.

I recently was given this mp3 player this christmas and so far it has worked beyond my expectations. The player is small and lightweight so it fits in my pocket and I dont eaven feel that it is there. The music playback is great and the radio is clear. When I first charged the battery I was amazed at how fast it took to charge(less than an hour). The earbuds are ok but who buys a mp3 player for the ear buds. The built in USB connector is a great thing to have because you dont need to mess with usb cables when you want to place music on it. The display is a bright Organic Electroluminescence display and is great for viewing in low light. The sonic stage softwhere takes a little while to get used to but is workable. Overall this player is perfect for anyone in need of a compact, lightweight mp3 player.

This is my first MP3 player, I got it for Christmas. This thing is so cool! I put stock away after the store where I work closes a couple nights a week so it's great to just stick it in my pocket and put it on shuffle and I don't have to touch it the rest of the night!

Comes with a coupon for 5 free downloads at connect music store, at least mine did. (Remember to register your device with the store or else you can't put the songs you've downloaded onto your player!).

I'm online everynight so while I'm chatting with friends I'm always going through my CD's putting songs on it! Songs don't skip, the battery lasts really long and then if it's plugged into the computer while you're loading songs onto it, it's charging anyways!

I love it!!

the only one thing I don't like, and it's just cuz I'm weird like this, is that I can't seem to find a way to alphabetize the songs on the player itself...I just do it myself when I'm putting songs on it...although there is probably a way to do it I just can't figure it out! :P

I got this player as a gift. Sony requires me to install the Sonic Forge software in order to use the music player. My mp3 files were transferred OK, but some of them do not play on the music player. No explainations were issued, except a "no play" message.

No mp4 files support either, which means music downloaded from Apple music store are not playable.

I bought one of these. Absolutely loved it. And then I dropped it and knocked it against the side of my hand. And the electronics went bonkers. And I couldn't turn it on/off, change the tuner, adjust the volume, etc. But I loved my little bean. The sound is crystal clear and the radio reception is superb. It's easy to handle and easy to recharge and who could ask for more? So I bought another one. Loved it too. And it's worked well for several months until yesterday. I dropped it. The electronics went bonkers. I can't turn it on/off, change the tuner, adjust the volume ... get the picture? It's just too fragile. I won't buy another one. Too bad.

Buying this product was a huge mistake. I urge you to refrain from buying any type of Sony product that uses Sony Connect. It is the worst software when it comes to adding music to the player.
The player itself was okay, great battery life, so-so screen, great idea with the USB connect. All of this is washed out because of Sony Connect. It makes adding music to the player because of share rights. Basically CD's that you own and burn to your computer are useless. Customer service is terrible. That's right Sony, I am calling you out of your hole. I will never buy another Sony product (which I consider their other proucts great) because of my distaste for Sony Connect.
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. I HATE YOU SONY!

I decided to update this review after only having used my player 2x, and having for only three days. First off, I see why all the complaints of the software. The software used to transfer your music is a program that puts the music in a format only recognized by Sony players and gives them a extension that is unable to be converted by any media player that I researched. So if you spent hours upon hours of ripping your CD's to the player, you think, great, the music is put in a seperate folder so if I decide to upgrade my player to something besides the Sony, I can drag and drop them for easy transfer. WRONG! Once they are converted over to Sony's proprietry Garbage software, they become use-less unless you want another Sony player, and for the price there are many other brands I researched that are better and cheaper EX. Samsung, Sandisk...I thought this would be a good starter player, it only cost me thirty five bucks with shipping, but I should have taken my money are threw it in the garbage, just like I did the Sony Bean MP3 player when all the buttons froze, and I couldnt get anything up on the screen but the word Selection. What a piece of Junk. Never again Sony. They might make some good products, but MP3 Players isnt one of them. I didnt even feel like returning it since it would have cost me more money to ship it back,and then wait for another to arrive, what to have that one break again. DONT BUY THIS PLAYER. Even if you are just going to put a few songs on it, go with something 10bucks more such as Samsung or Sandisk. At least you wont have a expensive paperweight.