Customer Reviews

Sony S-544 8 GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (Violet)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

When searching for a new mp3 player the trail always leads me back to Sony. Its more about overall quality then brand loyalty. Over the years Sony's Walkman line has gone the distance and more. After picking up the Sony S545 16GB for myself, I bought this model for my little one.

The S-544 8gb Walkman brings it on with a crisp, color enhanced 2.4" LCD screen that is easy on the eyes. At 2" x 4" x .4", it comes in a bit larger then its older cousin. A larger body undoubtedly is required to provide support for the external speaker system. The speakers won't get confused with my home system anytime soon but they do provide an excellent source. With headphones on, this mp3 player delivers a cornucopia of sound. Missing but not that noticeable is the noise reduction feature. The on board equalizer can be tweaked to one's own preferences or users can choose one of the six presets.

The Navigation pad located directly under the screen is a breeze to operate. Three controls are located on the right side of the unit. One locks in the controls. The second one allows for easy switching from speaker to headset. Volume is the third control. The standard headphone jack and a USB port can be found on the bottom of the unit. The detachable flip out stand is an okay feature that allows for easy standing on my desk or shelf top. I would have preferred that it was permanently mounted.

The S-544 supports mp3, mp4, AAC, AVC, WMV, WMA, and PCM. PCM is Sony's version of WAV. It pairs well with Napster. Rhapsody is a no go. Downloading my playlists from Windows Media Player was a breeze without the usual hiccups associated with older mp3 players. Photo display is crisp but unlike my older Walkman, wallpaper display is a no go.

The built in FM tuner picked up all ten of my stations. With auto scanner functionality, thirty preset slots are available. The FM radio is crystal clear when using the headset as an antenna. The alarm and timer features are a nice add on. This model also has an impressive on board microphone located on the bottom of the unit. There are three voice settings. Voice playback quality was excellent. Battery life has always been biggie with Sony. On a full charge, I got almost a full thirty five hours of music.

This Sony mp3 player comes packaged with a USB cable, flip stand, ear buds, installed operating manual, and the standard one year warranty. Body finishes for the 8GB model include; black, red, pink and violet. The 16GB unit comes in a black or red body.

Economically priced, this latest edition to the Walkman line is a durable and reliable product that simply delivers. Easy to use and loaded with features, the Sony S-544 is a prime time performer.

My husband just got one of these new Sony Walkman MP3 players (black), and it is so SWEET!!! I didn't know he was going to get one, he just walked into the room and started showing me pictures from our son's wedding--super crisp--and then parts of a movie, and he played some songs. (Earlier this year he had gotten me a teal colored Ipod Nano for my birthday. The Nano is my first MP3 player, and it is cool, and incredibly TINY!) Anyway, here is what I like about the Walkman:

As I mentioned, the screen looks very sharp, and it is about 30% bigger than the one I have. It's easy to look at without straining, and see detail. It allows you to display video or photos horizontally or vertically and select auto zoom or full display.

Secondly, besides the earbuds, it has speakers. What a great idea! You can preview your music without having to plant the earbuds. The speakers' frequency response is pretty flat, so obviously it won't replace your sound system, or have the quality of private listening with the buds, but it's fine for when you want to share the music or movies you are listening to/watching. The speakers are a bit "tinny" because they are small, but the sound is clear, with no buzz--even when turned up all the way. The sound stays clear. It's good for listening to speech like Podcasts, or NPR.

Yes,I said NPR. Or any other FM radio, as a matter of fact. It has a sensitive FM tuner (something that I have always wanted in an MP3); as well as a voice recorder. The headphones also serve as the antenna, but you can use the speakers to listen, just as long as you have the buds plugged in. You can record straight from FM or from the mic and save.

My husband also likes the adjustable, 5-band equalizer with with three pre-set EQ settings, heavy, pop, and jazz, and two custom settings,that you can adjust and save. I like the fact that you can transfer files using a simple drag-and-drop with Windows explorer.

So for around $100, you can get this impressive little Sony Walkman MP3 player. It's about 50% cheaper than my Nano, but with the same memory. I really like the speakers and the screen. Of course that comes with a price, too; and mainly it is the size. This Sony is still a compact, sturdy little thing, but bigger and heavier than my little green guy. The Nano is still gorgeous and TINY, but the Walkman is a great choice if you need features like radio and speakers.

Cheers!

So far, I like it a lot. 4.5 stars out of 5.

The interface is intuitive. The menu system (press "option", navigate with the arrow keys and "back" button) is easy to navigate.

I have no idea how long the battery will last. Using it intermittently through the day I've never gotten below 3/4 charge.

For Windows 7, go to Sony and download the current software. This device can be treated as usb storage (files copied directly), but the software will handle conversion.

For Linux, if Rhythmbox is running it will take control of the device (ie. it will not show up as a drive on the desktop). Getting files to the device is a little funky (hint: right click, "add to playlist". Go to playlist, then edit menu and copy. Go then to Walkman, edit menu, paste.)

Minor nits: the cable is proprietary. It's one more expensive proprietary cable to keep track of. What would be wrong with Sony just using a standard USB cable?

It would be nice if this had a clip.

Files cannot be deleted from the player's menu. They must be deleted when attached to a computer.

Video files, if copied via file manger (e.g. Windows Explorer) do not always show up as playable. Sony's software is able to copy them as playable files. How to do this with Linux? Don't know, don't care. I didn't buy this for video.

Im not an expert on mp3 players or really anything technological, but I found this mp3 player really easy to use. Just plug it in and sync it through windows media player. But when I first plugged it in, it automatically synced everyting on my computer! All my music and pictures! It really holds a lot for 8gb!

my only problems are like people have commented, it does scratch easily. I bought screen protectors off ebay for $3 for a set of 3, I highly recommend. I bought the accessory kit with this and the case for it is way to small!! Its the wrong one. But I figured for the extra $10 it was okay because the home charger and car charger worked.

As far as the battery life, it does not last as long as they say!!! It is pretty good though, I use mine at work and it will last me about 2 work days without charging, but thats with minimal skipping and messing with volume and all that stuff. The battery wears out faster and shows low life by end of night so I usually charge it every night just in case, especially since I do like to skip songs sometimes. DONT be deceived by the battery life. If you need something that lasts the 45 hours it says, dont get this one.

Also it does turn on way to easy that sometimes I wonder if I ever turned it off...

It is perfect. I just got it about a week ago for my birthday. Love the color, the speakers, the shuffle feature, and just about everything else.

The only minuses are the ear buds (but really how many MP3's come with good ear buds) & the fact that it seemed to sync every time I plugged it in to charge-had to turn off the auto sync feature....

The speakers are surprisingly loud-much more than I expected-I listen to it while I'm cooking a lot. It sync's and charges quickly and then it updates after unplugging it in about 10 seconds.

My daughter had us buy her an iPod which iTunes and complexity and a headache in a box. Simple seems so hard for some companies. I know a lot of folks have iPods and manage to make them work, but we have one life. Technology that takes time to figure out will always loose out to technology without a learning curve.

I love flash drives. The whole drag and drop thing where it asks no questions, it just accepts anything, I think is brilliant. So the MP3 players I've used have been the super cheap ones because they're drag and drop. I tried some mid-level MP3 players but its all about propitiatory software and the inevitable learning curve. Not with this Sony. Draggy droppy listen smile.

It does play vids, but the trouble there is conversion. Here's a bit of irony: I have a Sony GC1 "Net-sharing cam" which records on quicktime. Which is not played by this Sony player.

So, how do you put something on this Walkman from, say, Youtube? Well, first xfer it to a flv format (freeware) and then use another application to xfer it to WMV because that's all the Walkman will play. The fact that this unit gave my technology-delayed self at least chance inspired me to figure out how to get vids on it.

All in all, if you like simple, Sony simplified.

I have (and use) other media players for various activities. The features that brought me to this one were (1) the alarm and (2) the external speakers. Waking up is the most difficult thing I do all day (and I do lots of very difficult things, so this is a big deal for me), and I need to be able to program my own sequence of wake-up sounds. For occasional travel, I needed something portable, and the alarm + speakers on this device fits the bill perfectly. The speakers, while not as good as my clock radio/cd player, are great for a portable device and adequate for the alarm/sleep-timer purpose. The earbuds sound fine to my middle-aged ears. The music & video playback also work well in general, the menus are clear and intuitive. The sleep-timer is useful as well. (Wish the alarm & sleep-timer could be used together, though). Getting content into the player is easy - even on my Win2K box, which is technically unsupported, I can copy media to the player as though it were a flash drive; for converting videos, I use one of my XP machines. The little plastic stand is handy, too!

Here are the cons:
(1) no bookmarks for audio files (my Insignia Pilot has this feature, which I find useful for listening to audio books, so the pilot will remain my primary audiobook player)
(2) proprietary USB connector cable; would prefer a standard one in case the cable gets lost
(3) multiple-zoom-in for photos (again, my Pilot has this, so it keeps its job as my mobile photo-album)

I am in love with this mp3 player! The violet color is soo pretty!
First off: The package arrived BEFORE the promiesed date. Thats the biggest plus!

I love it! The external speakers are pretty loud...louder than i expected. Of course not as loud as a speaker dock system or whatever but thats not to be expected. You can buy a speaker dock for it if you want louder external speakers.

The color looks just like the picture.

One of the coolest parts, I think, is that you can record from the radio on the player! so cool! ive never seen that before on an mp3 player.
I had a creative zen and it cost more but i dont think i loved it as much as i love this sony walkman!
The creative zen was fine but after about 2 years it just stopped working so i purchased this player to replace it and i am so glad i did!!

I have yet to download anything yet but i have a ton of music already downloaded on my computer on windows media player so synching it will be a cinch.
I love love love love this thing! 5 stars all the way!

I have tried ipods in the past, and each one of them no matter HOW expensive they were...have fizzled out on me for no reason what-so-ever! This wonderful little MP3 player from Sony outplays and outlasts all of the other music players i have used in the past. I highly recommend buying what i call a "product pack" that comes with a wall charger, a case, and a car charger, these things are great to have at home and for road trips :) Wonderful product! I totally recommend this as a product to treat yourself with! It would be amazing as a gift for others too!

Pros:
* big screen
* Nice size, about the same HEIGHT as a SMALL cell phone...VERY THIN! Easy to tote around
* plays music clear and crisp (be sure to test the headphones that come in the package, might want to buy better ones like i did)
* alot of equalizer settings, plus custom settings
* nicely organized menu
* speakers are cool and give off clear sound, but i dont use them much
* sturdy
* wonderful colors! I bought the violet!
* GREAT PRICE-got mine for $80 EVEN!
* Shipping was fast
* software is easy to install and use, drag and drop plus other methods
* AWESOME battery life, using the player on and off it lasts me anywhere from three to four days! And i change songs FREQUENTLY!
* CLEAR pictures!
* Great video too!
* voice recorder is alright, not bad but i dont use it
* had no problems with it!

Cons:
* No wallpaper option
* headphones it comes with dont do this thing justice, i recommend buying a nicer set from Sony for better sound quality ;)
* cant create playlists on the go using the MP3 player, have to make them on the computer

Overall this small MP3 player is AMAZING! This little machine goes everywhere with me!

I bought this for my daughter because the mp3 player she wanted, the ipod nano 5th generation, was no longer being made. This has very similar features and, most importantly, comes in purple :->. It is extremely easy to use. You basically just need to follow the prompts on the screen. Downloads of both audio and video from Amazon are seamless. My daughter uses Windows Media Player to organize and sync her music, and it has been easier to use than iTunes. It is a good size for a young teen - small enough to put in your pocket, but large enough that it won't get easily lost, like an iPod shuffle. Also, the screen is a decent size, which makes it easy to read. Part of the problem with the new nano is that the screen is so small, and you just use a touch screen, so it can be hard to manipulate. The Walkman uses buttons, which are very easy to navigate, instead of a touch screen.

The sound with earbuds is excellent. The speakers are tinny - not something you would use for constant listening. However, this is a great feature for kids who want to share music with their friends on the go. The radio reception is surprisingly excellent - better than any of the radios in my house.

My two caveats are that the battery life is not nearly as long as they advertise, especially if you use video. You could definitely go more than an entire day listening to music without having to charge it, though. The other complaint is that out-of-the-box you can only charge it with the USB cable and a computer. We bought an inexpensive wall charger from Amazon to help with that, but it seems cheap of SONY not to include it.

After using this product for a while, I am perplexed as to why iPod has such a huge market share. I never even would have considered this product if it wasn't for the poor redesign of the iPod Nano, but I am happy I did. This is an excellent quality product that I got at less than 2/3 the price of a Nano with fewer features.