After years of waiting, this is basically the iPod I have been waiting for in terms of form factor and functionality. The size is somewhere in between the iPod Shuffle and the now dead iPod Mini and they’ve managed to add a color screen to the mix.
Available in 2GB and 4GB sizes and in black and white colors, the iPod nano is more of a shrunken iPod Photo than it is an iPod mini. It sports a 1.5” LCD with an LED backlight (all the rage nowadays) and supports all your favorite iPod compatible audio codecs (MP3, AAC, Audible, etc.). At 1.5 oz., it’s very light and it’s slim size will make it easily fit in any geek’s gearbag.
The one thing I’m down on is the less than stellar battery life of 14 hours especially when my Sony digital audio players get 18-50 hours of battery life. I would have liked to see them up that to 20 hours even at the expense of a few ounces of weight.
One other thing that sucks is that the cradle is extra. I don’t see why they don’t just include it since most people are going to want it in the first place. Also, I’m not too sure about having the headphone jack on the bottom of the unit. It seems like it would be awkward especially when using the armband accessory.
At any rate, this product will go on my droolworthy list since the pricing is decent, the design is excellent, and it’s a testament to Apple’s ability to produce a refined and mature product. I’ll also bet money that an 8GB version will be available later this year or more likely early next year which would be the perfect capacity for this killer device. Prices start at $199 for the 2GB version and $249 for the 4GB version.
More info can be found at http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/
Many of you want to know the final outcome of my NW-E507 service experience. Basically, it sucked and left a very bad taste in my mouth. My previous experiences with Sony Service started off very well; however, it has steadily declined in quality ever since. Most of my experience has been with the service center (in San Diego, CA) that fixes notebooks.
My Sony Service Experience Thus Far
1st experience – My VGN-S170P notebook battery latch breaks. I call Sony Service and the representative overnights a brand new battery and tells me to dump the bad one. Awesome. A+
2nd experience – My VGN-S170P notebook’s hard disk dies a horrible clicking death. I call Sony, they ship me a special box and instructions and I send it in. The repair takes two weeks since it’s around Christmas time. Unfortunately, a service person decides to put in a 4200RPM hard disk instead of the 5400RPM hard disk that I had paid for. I again have to ship it in but the turn around is 4 days. Somewhat annoying. B.
3rd experience – Only a few months after receiving the VGN-S170P back, the HDD dies again. I have to ship it in again with their box. The fix is fast with 4 day turn around. However, they neglect to ship my AC adapter back to me. After numerous calls, they decide to ship me an AC adapter right away. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong one for a completely different model. After more angry calls, they finally ship me a correct brand new AC adapter. I had to wait nearly 2 weeks for this to be resolved. This could have been an A or A-. Instead, they get a C for service negligence and sending me the wrong thing despite me telling them which model to send.
4th experience – Now for the meat of the story…The NW-E507 saga. After having my NW-E507 for a little over a month, it died while I was out exercising. After notifying Sony about this, I was asked to ship it in (on my own expense) and that it would be replaced with another unit. I figured that would be ok although they mentioned that it would likely be refurbished and may have cosmetic damage. I wasn’t too happy about that but I had no other options. So, from before, here’s how it went down…
NW-E507 Recap
07/19 - The NW-E507 dies on me unexpectedly. I am told by service to send it in and I will be sent a replacement unit (not a new one though).
07/20 - Fedex’d to Sony Service in Texas
07/25 - Signed for by a M. LOPEZ at Sony Service
08/03 - Officially entered into the Sony Service System as “Received” (YES, 7 BUSINESS DAYS LATER)
08/04 - I call to ask about how soon the replacement will ship. I am told that it takes 14 business days. That doesn’t sound like a replacement. It sounds like they’re going to fix it.
08/18 - I call again to ask about what’s going on. No known work done on the unit according to service records. I ask how long it will take and they tell me that “they don’t know at this time”. I ask, “Next week? Because otherwise you guys are pushing 1 month since you’ve received it and that’s unacceptable.” They say they will call me within 24 hours to give me an update.
08/22 – I still haven’t received my 24 hour call back. I call again and am assured yet again that I will receive a 24 hour call back.
08/23 – I actually get the call back and am told my unit will ship out the next day and I should receive it on the 25th.
08/25 – I actually receive my NW-E507 back.
One month later…
Ok, so, that’s not the whole story. Upon receiving the package, I open it eagerly to see what’s been done with the unit. Immediately, to my dismay, the contents are simply put in a plastic bag. It’s not a huge deal but I sent them all of the packaging and contents (as if it were a new item) and it returned in a bag.
The unit itself was my original unit so I’m happy about that. I was afraid of getting a refurbished unit that had scratches or other cosmetic defects. The device also works like a charm now and I can use it but having to be apart from it for a month is unacceptable.
I was upset that it took the service department so long to fix the unit. I suspect that they had to order parts for the unit and I’m fine with that. If they told me that in the first place, then I would have been more patient. Instead, all I was told was “I don’t know†or “I don’t know where your unit is†or “we haven’t entered it into our systemâ€. A simple e-mail from them could have said, “Your unit has been received and we are awaiting a part that’s expected to arrive on [this] date.†This would have saved me (and them) a lot of time. The Laredo, TX service department was definitely much less organized than the San Diego, CA service department. I’m hoping Sony is taking steps towards making their service centers better because they’re currently doing a very poor job.
Final Thoughts and My Theory
One last thing that I’ve been thinking about is this theory I have about Sony products. My theory is that Sony products still made in Japan are superior to Sony products made elsewhere. Why do I say this? I simply have to look at the numerous Sony devices that I own and it makes a lot of sense.
For instance, all of the problems I’ve had with my Sony devices are ones that were not made in Japan. My VGN-S170P Build-To-Order notebook was made in the USA. My NW-E507 was built in China. Even my latest MZ-RH10 MiniDisc unit, which was made in Malaysia, doesn’t seem to be made as well as my previous MiniDisc units. There are no problems yet but the servo motor is noticeably louder than my previous units.
In contrast, all of my Japanese made Sony products have not had any problems whatsoever. Even the products that I bought in 2000-2001 like my DCR-PC5 MiniDV cam and my Sony MusicClip all still work. All of my digital cameras (DSC-T1, DSC-F707 and DSC-F828) and laptops (PCG-SR7K and VAIO TR) have also been trouble free.
Pure coincidence? Possibly but it certainly makes you wonder.
Sony announced the newest line in their T-series subnotebooks. Dubbed the TX-series, the new line brings a new design and further refinements (and a few firsts for Sony) to the series.
The screen is now 11.1†(half an inch larger than the previous series). The new resolution is a 16:9 1366x768 resolution. The screen now uses a LED backlight system instead of a CCFL (Cold Cathode Flourescent Light) which should allow it to be 30% brighter than current Sony screens while consuming less energy. Additionally, the use of a LED backlight allows the screen to be 50% thinner than previous designs.
The top lid uses “multiple layers of carbon fiber†for less weight but twice the strength. As you can see from the photos, the screen thickness is ridiculously thin! Overall, the size has been trimmed down and the notebook is lighter than ever. The size goes from 21mm (.83 inches) to 28.5mm (1.1 inches) and it only weighs 1.25kg (2.75lbs).
The processor remains the newer Sonoma Pentium M 753 1.2GHz Ultra Low Voltage CPU with an optional Celeron model for budget buyers. It’s coupled with the 915GM chipset which integrates video (Intel’s GMA900 which uses up to 128MB of system memory) and the new High Definition Azalia audio.
The memory now only goes up to 1.5GB maximum since 512MB is built-in onboard and there’s only one expansion slot. The good thing is that Sony is using a standard SO-DIMM DDR2.
60GB is the maximum hard disk size that’s shipping. This leads me to believe that it’s still 1.8†HDD. I suspect 80GB models will be available next year once those are produced in volume by Toshiba.
The new multiformat burner supports the following formats at the corresponding burn speeds. DVD+R DL (2.4x), DVD+R (4x), DVD+RW(2.4x), DVD-R (4x), DVD-RW (2x), DVD-RAM (2x), CD-R (24x), and CD-RW (24x).
Due to the energy enhancements and newer (possibly larger) battery capacities, the standard battery life is now 9 hours with the extended battery lasting up to 14.5 hours!
The keypad pitch is 17mm (no change here) and it uses the familiar trackpad for navigation. Below the screen on the spine there are media buttons. There are now direct volume buttons located on the front of the notebook near the headphone/microphone jacks.
A welcome change for most people and probably a shocker is the inclusion of a SD/MMC memory slot in addition to the usual Memory Stick (DUO/PRO) slot.
In terms of wireless connectivity, the TX offers 802.11a/b/g (likely Intel’s 2915ABG chipset) and Bluetooth. The Bluetooth specification has been upgraded to 2.0 and it seems to offer direct Bluetooth headset support so you can use it with Skype (which is preinstalled) and heavily hyped on their website.
The new AC adapter is super small only weighing 180g with dimensions of 86 x 21.7 x 58.4 (WHD).
Other notable specs not already mentioned:
2 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x iLink (4-pin) Firewire
1 x Ethernet 10/100 RJ45
1 x Modem RJ11 jack
1 x Stereo headphone mini-jack
1 x Microphone input jack
1 x External VGA DB15-pin
Type II x1, Cardbus slot
Port Replicator available
Available in White, Black, or a limited edition Premium Blue, the TX looks to continue the family line since the creation of the venerable TR series.
I have finally returned from Japan and had expected my NW-E507 to be back but that was not the case. I called Sony Service this morning to find out what’s going and as expected, no one knew anything about it. Let’s go over the timetable so far…
07/19 - The NW-E507 dies on me unexpectedly. I am told by service to send it in and I will be sent a replacement unit (not a new one though).
07/20 - Fedex’d to Sony Service in Texas
07/25 - Signed for by a M. LOPEZ at Sony Service
08/03 - Officially entered into the Sony Service System as “Received” (YES, 7 BUSINESS DAYS LATER)
08/04 - I call to ask about how soon the replacement will ship. I am told that it takes 14 business days. That doesn’t sound like a replacement. It sounds like they’re going to fix it.
08/18 - I call again to ask about what’s going on. No known work done on the unit according to service records. I ask how long it will take and they tell me that “they don’t know at this time”. I ask, “Next week? Because otherwise you guys are pushing 1 month since you’ve received it and that’s unacceptable.”
So, I’ve escalated the situation a little higher and now a service person is going to contact me directly in the next 24 hours with a status update. Of course, the clock is ticking and if I don’t get a call I’m escalating it even more. We’ll see what happens…
