Enter Sony’s latest Walkman, the NWZ-W202. Sony took the bright yellow radiophones of yesteryear and slimmed them down to an ultralight 1.3 ounces, replaced the FM receiver with a 2GB mp3 player, and added a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 12 hours. The best feature (you almost sold me, Sony) is easily the quick charge, which yields 90 minutes of playback from a 3-minute charge. Now I don’t have to postpone my workouts while I wait on my iPod to charge. So why won’t I be buying a pair?

With such thoughtful features, it seems fitting for Sony to overlook something, and something I consider fairly important. The mp3 player DOES NOT SUPPORT PLAYLISTS! Really?!? This may not be a problem if I’m heading out for a quick run or doing intervals on the bike, but I prefer a fairly structured workout and I arrange my playlists accordingly. Music isn’t just extra noise during my workout. I use it to set my pace, keep myself motivated and, in the end, cool down.

In lieu of playlist support, Sony has pioneered a feature called Zappin, which allows users to listen to the first 4 or 10 seconds (depending on your preference) of the chorus of a song and skip ahead if you don’t hear what you’re after. I can think of few things more irritating than fiddling with tiny buttons while I’m dripping sweat and rowing my ass off. Workout devices should be set and forget, playing in the background without breaking my routine.

At $69 I would almost buy a pair, but I’m not paying to rename my files just to hear them in my preferred order. For the first time in years, Sony almost got me. Almost.

Source: Crave

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