Sony NWE394/B 8GB Walkman MP3 Player (Black)

***Review Update***Well, Ordered on October 8, 2022Was very happy as you can read below.Not even a year later, and pffffft. It's toast.It only plays one song, and restarts.I reset the unit back to factory. Nope. I erased all the songs, restarted. Put only a couple of tunes on there. Nope. I would have thought that for $62.50, the unit would have lasted 4, or 5 years? Nope.Buy another one? Nope. -Heavy sigh- the search for a replacement begins again.Recently, my old music player (an older Galaxy S4) finally gave out.Whenever I am in my workshop I always have music playing, makes projects get done faster.I looked around to find an MP3 player that I could leave plugged in, without relying on the batteries. This unit fit the bill perfectly!The unit arrived today, and I loaded it up with my favorite MP3 files.At first I was surprised at how small the unit is, but don't let that fool you. It packs a big sound wallop!The interface is simple and efficient in design.When plugged into a computer via usb (windows 10) the screen on the player defaults to the computer, and doesn't let you control the player. This is for file transfer, and a good thing.When plugged into a usb wall charger the unit runs the same as on battery power.I do have an older set of (thumper) computer speakers that I use for in the workshop. they run on a standard 3mm input jack, the same size as the headphone jack that came with the unit.So, what's my take away? Excellent! Very happy, and impressed with the purchase.I want to give an extra special THANK YOU to those who answered my questions:LTC LDD · chris cochran · Michael Blair · Old Kid ·You're answers were spot on! Thank you again.

A few things are absolutely essential to me when it comes to an MP3 player:1) simple file transfer, for example via drag and drop, without requiring any software installation2) buttons that are easy to find by feel, so that I don't have to pick up the device and look at it every time I want to skip to next track or adjust the volume. (Since I'm usually walking or running while using the device.)3) respects the folder names and track sequence from the original album (or the names/sequences that I programmed into the ID3 tags). Other off-brand MP3 players I've tried, as well as Kindle Fire, screw up the order for some albums, for reasons that I've never been able to understand.If a device doesn't have these capabilities, then for me it's not an MP3 player, it's a joke, and the joke is on the consumer.But this device, fortunately, has all those things. I was worried, as a former owner of older model MP3 Walkmans, whether this would hold up in comparison to the old ones, and it does. (The older models all had good longevity but they were accidentally destroyed in the washing machine over the years.)The sound quality holds up favorably to any other MP3 player I've ever used. (Note: I haven't ever used HiFi MP3. Also note: in assessing the sound quality, I'm referring only to the MP3 device itself, NOT to the headphones provided, which I haven't tried.)Navigation of the software is very easy. My only complaint about the software is that I wish the track names and folder names could be smaller so that more characters could fit on the screen. (It only displays about 15 characters at a time ... if you highlight a track name, it will slowly scroll to let you read the whole thing, but this is slow and annoying.)As for the buttons on the device, the only flaw is that the "hold" switch doesn't prevent you from accidentally powering on the device, which is happening a lot while it's in my pocket and not in use.Overall this is, it seems to me, the only acceptable MP3 choice out there right now. And it's great, it meets all my needs very well. (I'd like to give HiFi a try, but they all seem to be touchscreen which, for me, is totally unacceptable, especially for a portable media player.)

I already have one MP3 player, one of those SanDisk Clipjams. I love that little thing! I mostly use it at night when I need to listen to specific things to help me sleep.Listening to podcasts is motivating for me when I walk. I wanted to keep my podcasts separate from the bedtime stuff.I haven't had a Walkman since the first caseet walkmans came out! I think I spent $270 for that thing, and it was a fine piece of metal and machinery. It felt so good in the hand.This mp3 player is nothing whatsoever like that. It doesn't give you the feeling that you're holding a quality piece of Sony gadgetry, one that gives you the feeling of listening adventure ahead! Instead, this Walkman is a cheap piece of light Chinese plastic. The photo screen is exactly the same quality as my 1990's Creative Zen (which passed away long ago). I think this Walkman is a poor piece of equipment for $50. Even for $25; you expect the Sony name to be quality. This is not.With that said, this player is very light. I bought it because I cannot use Bluetooth - the wireless stuff hurts my ears with extended use, which is why I can't use my phone for podcasts outside the house with a headset, even wired it just hurts. People that complain about " this player has no Bluetooth!" need to pick a Bluetooth option - there are so many. The wired headsets are for people like me, with sensitivities to the signals against their heads. I specifically only wanted that feature.One this I really needed is an ability for the equipment to keep it's place on a podcast. I have this 3 hour podcast I'm trying to get through. My walks are about a half hour. The player keeps the place if I turn it off and back on. But if I'm even the slightest bit clumsy, fat fingered or slip to one of the other areas of the arrow circle instead of hitting Play directly, my place will be lost. I have fast forwarded to my place only to have it reset to 0 about five times. You have to FF and then only touch play. Touch anything else and it's back to 0 again. Pretty darn annoying. I absolutely have to pay attention to how far I am in to the podcast before I shut the player off. This may cause me some issues in usage that make me reconsider this player. But, I'm not sure how this will work on another player without me trying things and sending back.I still may shop for a nicer player before my time is up to send this one back. If I could get one that felt better in my hands and didn't look like it came out of the Dollar Tree, I still might upgrade.Hope this helped if you are considering this. I don't mean to be negative about this. It is a good basic player and the sound is good. The radio works just great (my SanDisk Clip picks up zero stations). Don't buy this if you like to look at photos. But if you want a basic player with simple wired headphones, with good capability to drag and drop at the computer, fast charging, very light, and the Sony name, consider this. If you're looking something that feels good in the hand with a bit more refined look and features, maybe look elsewhere.