NW-E107

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• Expert Rating

  4.00 / 5

• User Rating

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• Price

  $ 249.00 (AUD)

Ross Catanzariti Good Gear Guide 28/08/05 Follow @pcworldau

Pros

• Small, compact and lightweight, long battery life, bright and easy to read screen

Cons

• Flimsy battery cover, rear controls hard to access, needs SonicStage software, no support for Mac

Bottom Line

The NW-E107 is a winner in the size and looks categories, and also features outstanding battery life.

Would you buy it?

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With its slim design and stylised looks, the NWE107 is guaranteed to turn heads. Measuring a tiny 56.2 x 56.2 x 19.2mm and weighing only 26 grams, portability will never be an issue with this device. Battery life on the NWE107 is quite simply outstanding, with up to 70 hours of continuous use available on a single, standard AAA.

The NWE107 features a backlit aqua LCD. The screen is compact without being too small, and with the backlight it is clearly visible, even in sunlight. The model we tested was Aquatic Blue, and the metallic surface surrounding the screen on the front of the device complemented the unit well. However, the battery compartment flap is somewhat flimsy and difficult to close.

The NWE107 supports a variety of file formats, including WMA, WAV and MP3 as well as ATRAC3 and ATRAC3plus (Sony's proprietary formats). To upload files to the unit, the NWE107 requires you to install the supplied SonicStage software (which does not provide support for Mac OSX) and connect a supplied USB cable to your PC. Unlike other players on the market, you cannot simply plug in the device and drag and drop files. However, transferring files from your PC to the device is fairly easy and the software allows you to create specific playlists.

The sound quality of the device was above average, and there are two preset sound settings that can be switched from within the menu. You can also adjust bass and treble settings; and, even at the highest volume point, the sound did not crackle or lose quality. The headphones shipped with the unit are standard and provide reasonable quality bass.