(Gu included in pic to show how small the unit is in comparison)
Before I get started on my review, here's what Sony has to say about the product:
It's the one-piece music player that's ready for the treadmill, trail or gym. Designed to stay put during vigorous activity, the W Series Walkman® music player is made to move. Better yet, its sweat-resistant2 construction is perfect for intense workouts. Add in true-to-life sound and deep bass, and you have a running mate that won't quit.
And here's a quick run-down of all the awesome features: Water-resistant (i.e. if you sweat buckets you're in luck!), quick charge battery, and drag, drop and go music loading. Plays nicely with iTunes, Napster and Rhapsody. Set up time took (Spike) about 15 minutes after which my little bit of tunes barely registered on the up to 11 hours (1.68 GB) of music it holds. Charge times vary but if you can spare 3 minutes you’ll be set for approx 90 minutes of playback. Sweet! Let's test this baby out...
Initial Thoughts: This thing is not going to work for me. I have small ears which almost all ear plugs are too big for so I end up having aching ears canals when I use my iPod and/or talk on my iPhone in the car with the hands free cord. Also, I have a child-sized head so pretty much anything that is supposed to go on my head is too big. At first glance this thing looks all sorts of weird, I was reminded of my best friends husband when he plays online video games with his headset. I thought, there is no way I’m going to like this thing, but I have read so many great reviews on it (of which I hit up some good blog friends who had tried it for their real-offline opinion and they were still giving it the thumbs up). Once Spike had it ready for me to use I put it on and bounced around, it seemed ok but I just felt like there was no way I’d really use this thing… boy was I wrong…
Because of my child sized head and ear canal I can't comfortably wear them the right way but when I switched them around they fit perfect! It just proves how backwards I really am.
Trial: I am a firm believer in testing something multiple times and if possible, in various conditions, before making a final decision. (There have been too many times I have hated something one day and loved it the next and vice versa.) My initial “bounce test” aside I put them in for my 10 mile elliptical endeavor on Saturday and couldn’t believe what great sound they gave. I couldn’t hear a thing outside of my music, not the machine I was using or the people on the treadmills in front of me, and while my machine was bouncing around from my efforts the walkman stayed right in place. An hour and 25 minutes later it was time to take it out for a run. It was a beautiful morning and as soon as I jumped out of the car from the gym I pushed play on my head set and we were off… three short miles later I realized I didn’t spend a second of my run focused on the headset but rather enjoyed the tunes and not having to mess with an ipod cord. I tested out the same combo Monday (elliptical then run and it was sprinkling out) and it was another success story for the walkman. I seriously love this thing and have not been missing my ipod at all! Not having to deal with a cord is probably the single greatest thing about the walkman and that fact that it didn’t bother my ears or bounce around on my little head sealed the deal for me! I big red heart love this thing! Which means...
Giveaway time!!! I will attempt to make this as painless as possible:
To Enter: Leave a Comment; preferably one where you tell me about how you use to use a walkman back in the day, how bad you need one of these puppies, or how many ipods you've destroyed with your sweat...
Bonus Entry: Tweet: “I’ll be in tangles if I don’t win the @Sony Walkman from @RedheadRunning!” (What?!?! I’m having a rough week here, humor my cheese!) and/or link this contest on your social platform of choice. Leave a seperate comment letting me know you did one, the other or both.
The giveaway will be open until noon EST, Thursday, March 24th at which time I will close the post for comments and will choose a winner via Random.org and announce on “3 Things Thursday.”
Don't want to take your chances on the giveaway and want to buy it now?!?!? Sony also gave me this discount link where you can get it for $48.99 (Regularly $59.99) Buy it HERE!!!
Thanks Sony for letting me review this great product!!! And with that me and my Sony are off to the gym to get our xtrain on...
Disclaimer: Per FTC Guidelines: Sony provided these items at no cost to me for my personal review and the review is entirely of my own opinion. Sony also provided two additional units to be given away to my readers at not cost to me or the winner’s of said giveaway.
118 comments:
In college, mind you this was 1999-2003, I would jog with a walk man, because my disc man would skip. It was awesome. And probably contributed to why I jogged so little in college.
I still have that walk man, though, it lives in a drawer with about 40 electronics cords that likely don't go to anything we own anymore.
Ive only destroyed one ipod with sweat... but thankfully best buy replaced it with no questions!!!
Tweeted! <3
i won't tell you how many ipod shuffles i have washed. it is sad. also, i had a bright yellow sony walkman and i was THE COOLEST KID EVER!
also i tweeted, once for you and once for US!
When I was 12, I used to make mixed tapes and listen to them on my Walkman when I did chores. Boyz II Men and Alanis Morissette all the way!
I tweeted!
Still have my bright-yellow Sports Walkman that I used for running for many, many years. Sadly, none of the 'killer' mix tapes have survived.
I have gone through many a pair of cheap headphones. Several were ruined by my sweat, and one was eaten by my dog. I could totally use one of these headphones!
I also tweeted!
I lugged my huge Discman to the gym with me until about 2006 and would listen to the same CD for weeks. Before that I had a sweet green and pink Walkman. I would love to win one of these--I'm constantly getting my headphone cord caught on the wrist strap of my Garmin :-(.
I've been lusting after these - I HATE my iPod cord with the white hot fire of a thousand suns.
I have major headphone issues, and hearing about yours makes me think we might be twins separated at birth (ok and in a different decade...). I'd love to win these - you made them sound wonderful!
I'm new to the running world, and am having serious issues finding a pair that works.
This sounds exciting!
Oh gosh this is timely as I just wrecked my third iPod in torrential rain on Sunday.
My original Walkman was a bright yellow sport model that played CDs! ; )
I linked you on my blog
I used to run with my walkman tucked away in the front pocket of my MSU hoodie. I don't even think I had earbuds back then...just the old factory headphones....Lame!
Ok so it looks like you do not have any cords in the front of you yes? Because I CAN'T STAND the feel of the darn cords in my face, tangled etc. I'm like you, nothing fits my face or ears, quite annoying.
I do remember wearing those belts with a cd player straped to my waist! HAHAHA!!! Yes, I'm old.
I can't tweet, I don't have tweeter!!
I still have my first Walkman that has to be at least 15 years old. And it still works perfectly, though it doesn't get much use anymore (still handy for those times when I need a portable radio). I challenge this new Walkman to last as long!
Oh, yeah, I'm old enough that I rocked the original Walkman. Enough said. LOL!
Winks & Smiles,
Wifey
I've killed an ipod nano. I currently have a touch, which I love, but it's kind of bulky for running, which is why I need a walkman!
I only sweat-killed one iPod. Hoping my current one lasts a while...or I win a new mp3 player...
I totally had a walkman back in the day. I used to rock out to my Wilson Philips tape all the time! And my self-recorded mixes from the radio. :)
I could really use this. My MP3 player is a 6-year old Dell Jukebox and is HUGE. It's such a pain to run with and it often leaves me bruised when I do.
I tweeted. :)
you are backwards.
i hope the xt-ing went well
and i hope the legs are feeling better?
i tweeted, but not about your giveaway.
I'd love one. Right now I run with my iphone which is just too heavy, but it's working for the time being.
i'm a follower
and a bff.
I also tweeted (see @eatrunlitigate)
am i disqualifying myself with my multiple comment entries?
(it's ok i've got my own coming in the mail for the same sitch)
so basically i'm just being annoying
but you still love me for giving you comments to tend to in your email.
i liked you on facebook
ps just a reminder don't pick me haha
I didn't have a chance to ruin my ipod since some douche stole both of them out of my car.. klassy. I currently use my iphone which is big/bulky & annoying. I have the most ridiculous time with the headphone cords going everywhere and driving me insane. & I just tweeted for you!
Well, started running just about 18 months ago now and held an I-Pod Nano, IN MY HAND, for the duration of my runs. Needless to say, this was annoying, so I then discreetly *tucked* the Nano into my waistband and was soon running with it in my crotch since it slipped down....I needed a solution STAT! I moved to the Shuffle, which has been ok, but the constant battle with headphone wires makes me feel a bit like I am be lassoed like a cow. SO, pretty please pick me and release from the bondage of headphones forever!!
I've luckily not destroyed an iPod through sweat (since mine is 80gb), but I've killed a number of headphones running along the beach on my long runs.
I'm old enough that my initial walkman only played tapes! I exhausted that thing going to and from school everyday!
(Also tweeted as BaldyBombshell)
I have ruined 2 players so far, one when I was crossing a stream during a race and fell, so dropped it in the water, the other one was during a snowy trail run fell and landed right on top of it ending it life.
I go through headphones constantly. And -- my ipods. ohh their lives are short. So sad! I HATE having the headphone cord bounce around when I run, too. ughh.
I still own a walkman and have cassette tapes as well. That should be worth an extra entry =)
I have wanted wireless headphones for a long time. This would be awesome!!
Only destroyed one player so far, working on the second ;)
I had a mint green walkman back in the day which matched my mint green ear muffs and my mint green fingerless gloves. I wore them all with my pale grey batwing sweater and listened to mix tapes. My older sister had the exact same set up except her walkman, ear muffs and fingerless gloves were pale pink, we were so cool...shut up we totally were.
I would love to win these!
I too have a small head -- I have trouble keeping earbuds in. Frustrates me so much I haven't been able to run with my mp3 player since January! Would love to try something like that -- looks like it would stay on much better! =)
iPod's have never worked well for me. I never know what to do with the wire, the volume controls on the wire suck. It has driven me to run "naked" more than I would like.
my ipod nano is still going strong...six years later! Ive put it through ALOT too... its a miracle its still working without a single problem!
I have battled every cord from the Walkman cd player (which really didn't fit on a treadmill, btw) to my current mp3 player. I hate battling the cord, and the cord is one of two reasons* I don't even attempt to run with music. I would love to try this out!!
* the other is that I live in a city and want to be aware of my surroundings while running outdoors. traffic/people/dogs/etc.
Before I had a walkman I used to dance to Paula Abdul on my best friend's My First Sony. Old School Sony at it's best!
I haven't destroyed my ipod yet, but I often find it dripping at the end of my workouts. Totally disgusting, but I just can't live without my music!
I deal with the "small ear canal issue" too. Hate it.
I currently have a "clip" with some funky headphones that get me by. I'm sure it's just a matter of time until it gets washed.
My problem is not excessive sweat it is that I have washed more ipods and head phones then I would like to admit.
Happy Running,
elena
My problem is not excessive sweat it is that I have washed more ipods and head phones then I would like to admit.
Happy Running,
elena
I'm using an iPod Shuffle right now and the buttons are getting sticky from all of the gym-induced sweat. (Please don't let it die!) I ruined a pair of awesome Sony headphones with sweat already this year. First, the left ear cut out, then the right one did a couple of weeks later. I'm using my husband's cheap knock-off headphones right now and they're unbelievably terrible, but they've somehow survived the sweat sessions.
I'm glad to hear that you like the new Walkman. I love headphones that come with different sized ear pieces, because the standard ones are always too large. Thanks for the thorough and fun review.
I can't resist a good pun, so I tweeted about your giveaway (@runsteelsprings).
Wow! Cool! I would love to try the Sony Walkman! :)
I need this thing, badly. Why?
1. I used to have the old school red/yellow/blue Sony Walkman as a little girl and loved that thing. The CD-player's and MP3's after that were always hard to operate for me. But maybe that's because I'm a nut.
2. I'm going to Ipod headphones like nobody's business. No kidding. Apparently I have devilish ears that destroy these things.
3. I sweat. A lot. Sweat + Ipod = not exactly a match made in heaven.
4. On last Saturday's run I swear I almost strangled myself with my headphone cord when I tried to switch jackets. Enough said.
Oh, and I tweeted about your giveaway (@SillyGirlRunnin) and posted it on Facebook!
i used to have one of the old school heavy duty outdoor walkmans in green and grey/brown which was indestructible if you dropped it. that of course after dropping my first one as a kid and it breaking in two. my husband and i habitually sweat through ipod shuffles and their headphones in months, or even weeks and have to go back to the store to beg them for a replacement...
would love to try this sony out!
I used to have my discman with me all the time. I was frequently listening to U2, but there were many, many hours that I had the headphones on and no music playing, just so people wouldn't talk to me. Yup, I'm super social like that. But, it worked like a charm.
I never used to run with an ipod until last year when I started running on the treadmill in the winter. When I was little I definitely had a sony walkman player for cassette tapes. I loved it and used to take it with me everywhere!
There's this terribly embarrassing picture of me from when I was probably 6 or 7 when I got a walkman for Christmas. It's one of my mom's favorites, so everytime a kid picture is necessary, this sucker gets submitted...
I might be showing my age here, but I remember running a few laps before wrestling practice with my Walkman in tow. NOT a CD Walkman....a cassette Walkman. I devised a system of strapping it to my arm with 2 wristbands! It was awesome...until the jiggling and low battery caused it to eat tapes, but oh well how else was I going to listen to Vanilla Ice?
The new headgear would be awesome though...I can't tell you how many times I've flung my I pod off the treadmill at the gym when my arm gets caught in the headphone wire while doing some intervals...
I used to have a cassette Walkman too...
Anyways, I would love to have this Walkman because I don't own an iPod, so I end up running with my iPhone and between the size of the iPhone (every ounce counts! ;-) and the headphone wires.... BAH!
I also put the giveaway on the sidebar of my blog.
And I also tweeted the giveaway.
The walkman (old school version) worked better to workout. The CD players would always skip even if they were skip-proof.
Oh, Oh, Oh, I could so use/need this. I use an MP3 player that I have lost the thing that I can put it in to wrap around my arm, so needless to say I have to either carry it for however many miles I'm running or bring along my fuel belt so I can put it in there and also my headphones keep shorting out, not sure if it's because of my sweat or what but I so could use this.
I never really had the cassette walkman as much as the CD walkman. I ran cross country in high school but we were not allowed to run with anything, so I didn't start listening to music while running until 3 years ago.
Twitting about it now.
First of all, 10m on the elliptical? That has to be a new form of torture! For reals!
Second of all, I want! Count me in for 2 entries as I just sent you some love on the Twitter.
I have destroyed 2 blackberrys while running (since I dont have an IPOD) Yeah... buying new phones stink!!! I also posted it on my FB Page.
Lazy Runner
Oh I would love to have one of these!!
Walkmans were the coolest thing ever when they came out. and then the CD walkman came out and that was even better! In fact, I still see a few random people at my gym with the CD walkmans!
This little Sony looks awesome. I haven't destroyed an iPod yet, but I'm about to destroy the earphones. I think I may have the same ear problem as you - my ear/ear canals hurt if I wear the iPod earphones for too long. Oh well...
I could really use something that doesn't have a lot of cords or bounce around.
Thanks for hosting a cool giveaway!
Also, tweeted!
I can not tell you how many iPods I have been through. My current purple nano made it about half way through my last marathon. Darn it!! But, let's go old school - my first Walkman was a *gasp* TAPE PLAYER!! ;-)
*tweeted too*
I had a cassette walkman back in the day and used to use it mainly in the car or to listen to stuff my parents couldn't stand. LOL.
My old iPod mini is dying a slow death. The battery lasts about 18 minutes. It fell during a run and has a big dent right at the edge of the "wheel" which makes it hard to use. I can only use it plugged in (on my treadmill). LOL.
Back in the day, I'd take my walkman out with me on our raft in the middle of the lake Up North and listen to Milli Vanilli & NKOTB for hours! No doubt I was singing along, at some points! Which I'm sure the other people on the lake appreciated that! ;)
BTW, totall agree with Stephanie about the CD walkman. It cracks me up though when I still see people using them!
I had the yellow walkman and was so stylish when I wore it back in the day. My favorite tape was A/C D/C... Am I giving away my age. haha
I can't believe I use to run with it.
Have not ruined the i-pod yet with sweat...
Posted on my blog
I lost many a cables to corrosion and I love to run in the rain. Loved the Sony sport walkman I got years ago, still have it, but it doesn't hold enough for the long runs.
I've destroyed one iphone with my sweat. This would be cool to try because I have weird ears too.
I don't tweet.
I never destroyed a Walkman with my sweat but my headphones did get skunky. Flipping the tape over was a good way to keep track of how long that I had been running. I sympathize about your strange head/ear size. I have the same problem with finding headphones that fit and that I can run with.
I tweeted your contest too!
Thanks!
OMIGOSH DISCMAN! I used to run with an old, beat up discman. But then the CD would skip. So you had to hold the discman flat while running (or it had to be placed on the gym machine in such a way that it didn't move). So yes, I was that girl running around holding a discman flat in her hand like I was serving someone drinks. LAME.
I still remember vividly during Christmas of 3rd grade, receiving a Sony Walkman and the Michael Jackson "Bad" tape. It was the best Christmas ever! I spent many an hour dancing around in my pajamas to Michael and Madonna - those were the days! :)
The first Sony Walkman I ever had was a tape player, haha It was filled with songs that I recorded onto cassette from the radio, before the internet existed, ghetto haha
I really would love to win this! I do not own a mp3 player & never have. I'm not even really sure how they work. It would be great to have one & I'm always thinking about buying one, but have never actually followed through. Those long runs would probably be much easier to get through if I had one!
My walkman was a staple as mowed my parents lawn. I grew up on 20+ acres so driving the riding lawn mower and the tractor was always better with a little NKOTB and Vanilla Ice.
I tweeted! (@allie0622)
I loved the first generation water/shock-proof walkman! Sign me up!
Not sweat - but death to iPod by washing machine!! I can't even tell you how many iPods I have put through the washer AND dryer. Believe it or not, sometimes they come out of it alive. But usually not. :(
Aaaand tweeted! (LOL!)
I have never used a walkman back in the day. But I have dropped many iPods on the ground, cracked them and had to buy a new one--just to repeat that again. I do not like holding things in my hands while running, since I always tend to open my hands and drop stuff.
I tweeted :) @jessywuv
I used a walkman way back in the day - and embarrassingly enough I remember being devastated when it ate my Achy Breaky Heart single (don't judge... ok, it's impossible not to judge that).
I tweeted https://twitter.com/#!/carlyrachael/status/50621109443362816
ahh I miss real Walkmans! Even the Discmans were the best. (But how did we ever workout with them?!) I would use this daily. I'm all about hands-free now and would love having this product!
My Sony Walkman was red and black, and I brought it with me everywhere. Today, I broke my headphones on the dreadmill, so wireless might be the way to go.
Within the last 10 years, I'd occasionally run with a Walkman...until it flew off my shorts mid-run, breaking into big pieces and spewing its batteries and cassette tape into the middle of an intersection. Nothing like drawing attention to my outdated technology by picking up remnants of the '80s in traffic! I'm so glad that music players (minus the Discman) have gotten smaller and less likely to throw themselves into traffic.
I need to try one of these because:
a) I bought an ipod for my husband for Christmas 2 years ago and he hasn't used it once because I always have it for running!
b) Everytime I use said ipod or refer to it as "mine", the kids say "Hey... I thought that was dad's ipod!??!"
c) I am always twisted up in the cords, loosing the ear buds, looking for the arm band so I can wear the ipod, etc...
d) I want to be another cool red head running... just like you!
Great review. If I didn't love my ipod shuffle so much I would get one of these. Keep up the great posts!
I need the walkman....my hubby says I go through more mp3 players than I go through running shoes!
I posted the give away on my FB
I remember trying to run with Sony Discman in college. It was a little cumbersome and discs skipped all the time.
I'm always messing with the cord on my iPod many times I'll hit the cord while running and knock the earbuds out of my ear. This mp3 player looks great!
I've kind of been old-school and not running with any music, but the long runs are getting harder and harder and as I don't have any kind of music player winning one of these would be awesome.
Great pics Morgan! That actually sounds like a really cool product as I have killed more than my share of Ipods. I know it is TMI, but I can sweat with the best of 'em.
Take care and I will see you at the Martian in a little over a week.:)
I used to pack my old walkman in my lightweight back pack on runs back in the day.
I don't sweat as much as Navy Steve, but I am an engineer and sweat an awful lot; I'm on my third ipod. Now that I don't have the BRA to run with I do all my longish runs (over an hour) with it.
I did have the first walkman back in the 80's. I was too little to go running with it though. I had a denim vest with speakers in it for biking around town.
In high school, I remember running with a walkman tape player. It certainly got the job done, but I much prefer my smaller ipod these days. However, I would love to give this modern Sony product a try!
I tweeted (@carrotrunr)!
I used to rock the walkman in the back seat of the caravan to drown out my sister's horrible music that my parents would let her play while we went on trips to places like FLORIDA from NY.
Also, last year alone I killed six pairs of headphones, an iPod, and a Sony mp3 player all while running.
tweeted
Tweeted :)
My ipod is on its last legs. This would be the awesomest thing ever to win!
Right now I run with Blackberry doing live streaming. I am afraid to carry my iPod touch on a run. I would definitely use these headphones.
i'll never forget my pink sony walkman, listening to Tiffany, squished in the middle of the back seat between my sisters on our way to and from our mountain house where we went every wknd. that walkman saved my life.
now pick me!!
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