Walkman makers Sony have announced the next incarnation of their MP3 players at the IFA exhibition in Berlin.
Three new series have been unveiled, each with a feature set designed to appeal to different markets.
The B series is the new entry point for the brand and includes an FM radio plus an eye-catching illuminator that pulses in time with the music when the new Bass button is pressed.
Also present is a voice recorder for capturing memos, shopping lists or random thoughts while you’re on the move.
The more feature-rich E series is a video MP3 player with a 2-inch screen that can be ‘flipped’ horizontally or vertically for comfortable viewing of your favourite photos and video clips.
As with the S series (below) all E series models are ‘format friendly’, playing back most of your ripped tracks, music store downloads and rights-managed video clips without fuss and non-DRM files can be transferred by drag & drop from iTunes.
Sony claim the S series (pictured above) offers the best-ever Walkman sound quality and includes compatibility for WMV with DRM, letting you enjoy rights-protected movies and video clips on the move.
To help build your video collection, S series models will come pre-loaded with 8 video tracks from hot Sony BMG artists including Chris Brown, Sandi Thom and The Ting Tings.
The colourful new interface can be personalised with your choice from ten pre-installed wallpaper images or your favourite digital photo and, in a first for Walkman, podcasts are now conveniently grouped together under a single icon on the home menu for quick access.
