Search for the term ‘‘Do they still make Walkmans?’ on Google. The answer leads to a simple ‘yes’. Strange as it may sound, Sony has launched a Walkman in 2019, where the cell phones have been a dominating factor as a source for listening to music. This year, the Japanese giant is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Sony Walkman, & it seemed like a perfect milestone for the company to launch a new one.
The brand new Walkman NW-ZX507 looks far more premium from its cassette player ancestor. Set to become a premium device from Sony, it is intended for audiophiles who like to listen to their music with the ultimate sound quality.
The new Walkman comes with a S-Master HX built-in digital amplifier to reduce distortion and deliver a richer sound. Sony promises that the NW-ZX507 digital audio player can upscale music to hi-res quality, offline or online, thanks to DSEE HX support. It’s claimed to be built with advanced audio technology and supports Android v9.0 operating system. The Japanese giant vows to satisfy even the most demanding ears thanks to support for 384 kHz/32 bit PCM files and online streaming services such as Tidal or Apple Music, with Sony NW-ZX507.
Design-wise, the NW-ZX507 features an aluminium frame chassis and a milled copper block. The player looks elegant with the 3.6-inch HD touchscreen display, USB Type-C port and a microSD card slot. Android-powered and Wi-Fi compatible, it also comes with Bluetooth v5.0 and NFC support which completes almost all connectivity options. The internal memory is 64 GB, but in case you fall short of space, a microSD card slot has been provided. The Japanese manufacturer claims that the battery can last up to 20 hours and can be charged via a USB-C input.
The Sony Walkman NW-ZX507 is approx. priced at around Rs. 65,000 & will be available to order in November 2019. However, it is highly unlikely that it will be launched in India.