1 The Sound is Incredible but I had to exchange the original
I bought the Sony HD3 in lieu of the IPOD because of all the reviews I read stating that Sony had the best sound. I was not disapointed with the sound--it's amazing. HOWEVER, I had to exchange it after only four days because the flimsy power button bent when my fingernail accidentally slipped under it. The power button on this device is very thin and should anything get caught underneath it, it will easily bend. This is something Sony should consider modifying with the HD5 that is scheduled to be out this year.
Also: The software is not the best but not as bad as some reviews would lead you to believe.
The best reason to buy this MP3 player: The sound--it's awesome. Also the battery life is a plus but don't count on getting 30 hours unless you convert to the Sony format.
2 NW-HD5 IN MAY
IF you are considering this you might want to wait until may when sony releases the NW-HD5, it has an even longer battery life (40 hours ATRAC, 30 hours Mp3) and a user-replaceable battery. Pictures are on engadget.com
3 Spend some TIME with it, and fall in love
If you spend some time with this player it is equal to or better then the ipod. I've used an ipod before and its great. But when researching to choose which player I wanted to invest $300 on, I downloaded the manual from each of the players respected manufacturers (apple, sony, iriver, creative). When directly comparing the HD-3 to the ipod (the "most popular player") they both have the same annoying features. Ipod uses only itunes to transfer music and sony uses sonicstage. Sonicstage version 3 was pretty simple to figure out. I loaded up my library from my pc and then transfered album by album to the hd3. It was the same procedure the ipod manual describes.
The HD3 does have a playlists option in which you bookmark songs. Ipod calls it "on the go something" but both have you hold a button to add the track to a my favorite playlist which is a few menus away from the opening screen. Its no problem.
Shuffling is also easy to figure out. It's about the same explanation you would see with any sony audio device. I mean the manual came from Japan but its written in english. So stop whinning. The HD3 actually gives you more shuffling options than ipod. You can shuffle all the tracks, or all the albums, or all the artists, or choose to shuffle tracks within an artist or album group.
Overall the HD3 has way better sound and a much longer battery life than any other player including ipod. Plus if the battery dies YOU can replace instead of paying someone to do it. The HD3 is also smaller, sleeker, and looks cooler. Plus when do sony products break? I still use a six year old cd player.
So don't let U2 convince you to buy an ipod. Buy a freaking awesome player that is unique and much cooler.
No I don't work for sony, I work at Publix. Its a grocery store.
4 Apple better watch out..but Sony has a few things to fix.
Sony has released a sure threat to the iPod. The HD3 is sleeker and has a better battery life than the iPod. The UI isn't the greatest but still quite good. The Sonic Stage software is what baffles me. Sony had a winner until they decided to throw in the SS software which I must say needs a lot to be desired. Its not the most user friendly and it frustrating at times.
Having said that this product is hands down better than the iPod.
5 Prefer the NW-HD3 over my Ipod Mini
I'm not going to get into tons of detail, as other people already have. I just got my Sony NW-HD3 a few days ago. A brief comparison with the Ipod Mini:
1. Size: The HD3, on it's side is the same height as the Mini and just 1/2 inch wider than the Mini. Impressive give the Sony is 20GB (5x more than Mini) and the Mini is 4 GB.
2. Sound: HD3 had better sound than the Mini. I played Snoop Doggs Drop It Like It's Hot on both players and it has a slight echo on the Mini. Suburb on the HD3.
3. Interface: The Mini's click wheel is the winner. It's just easier to find songs.
4. Software: ITunes wins for sure. This SonicStage software is horrible. Took forever to load and once you get it up, you have to authorize your player if you want to buy music. It crashed 3 times. I finally got all the songs loaded. Wish the HD3 had firewire connection.
5. Arm strap. There is none for the HD3. The Mini's strap rocks. I love it for running. Hope Sony gets one for the HD3.
6. Battery: The Sony wins for sure. Even when I don't use my Mini, the battery runs dead fast.
7. Overall: I'd chose the HD3, simply because it's 'prettier' and had better sound. I'm all about the sound. Once you get your songs loaded, the Sony rocks! However, Sony can still learn from Apple. They need better software.
6 Almost great player with terrible software
Got this great little hard drive mp3 player couple weeks ago and overall it's pretty nice. Some things to keep in mind if you're considering getting one:
1. Battery life
Touted as 30 hrs, but that is only if you play 48kbps mp3s which are extremely low quality. For 128kbps quality (close to CD quality), it officially lists 22 hrs. Of course, these estimates assume you never use the backlight and don't raise the bass. Many of my mp3s are 192kbps, and playing those with liberal use of the backlight and bass boosting and the battery only will last about 4 hrs or so. No "removable battery," but there are instructions on how to remove the internal battery for disposal. Don't know if you can order new batteries and replace them yourself or if you have to send it in to do that (like the iPod).
2. Sound quality
Hey, it's a Sony, and yeah it sounds good! No "base boost" bottom, per se, but you can adjust bass and treble in two presets, but bass cannot be increased very much, unfortunately. You can also adjust equalizer settings.
3. Size/Design
Awesome, so small and stylish and light, perfect for holding in your hand while jogging. However, note that the hunk of glass that covers the display is not that sturdy. I dropped my player from about 2 ft high on the bottom surface (opposite the side with glass) and the glass got cracked. Don't think that hunk of glass was a very good idea.
4. Skip protection
Great, never skipped while held in my hand and jogging for 30+ min. Never could happen with CD or MD players.
5. Accessories
No remote control, but I'm told that many Sony MD remotes will work for basic functions (obviously, not the menus), but in practice, I've found that I don't miss it or need it since it's always in my hand so that I can flip through the menus. The USB/AC adaptor attachment is flimsy and looks like it could easily snap. Unfortunately the nice cradle, that was included with the NW-HD1, is not provided. Still, it's functional so I don't really care too much. Nice that Sony AC adaptors are compatible with 100-240V power supplies, so that you can use it other countries with no problems with a cheap plug adaptor (not included). The carry case is weak and there is no supplied hand strap (but an attachment is present). Headphones are of the standard ear plug variety.
6. Functionality
There are some functionality problems/deficiencies with this simple mp3 player. First, the backlight brightness cannot be adjusted at all, leading me to leave it off since it drains power so much. Also, the light will turn on when you change volume, giving another reason to leave it turned off. Second, the "direction pad" that is used to navigate menus is fine but slow when you have a lot of stuff in your player. The iPod's wheel is more useful perhaps. The player can also function as a, well, hard drive to carry around non-music files. It will show up as a drive on "my computer" and you can drag and drop files into it like any other windows folder (mp3 files will not play when transferred like this).
7. Software
This is the worst part of this player. You MUST use this terrible software to manage all your files and transfer them, etc. If you've ever used this before, you'll know how annoying and aggravating it is to use. On the other hand, it's not as bad as before because the NW-HD3 fully supports mp3s and therefore it's not necessary to convert all your files to Sony's proprietary Atrac format. Still, it is a cumbersome and slow program with a very sucky interface that makes transfering files onto your player a hassle. Most annoyingly, you can not drag and drop files to your library. Also, files must also be entered into your library before they can be transferred from your PC to your player, which is a hassle and waste of time. The functionality of the software also sucks, as there is no ability to create playlists, and so if you want to make mixes, you need all the mp3s in a certain folder. And if you have a song in more than one mix, that means the song will have to be duplicated on your player, which is obviously dumb and wastes hard drive space. And forget about the software arranging folders in alphabetical order for you, that's up to you!
Anyway, in summary, I am rather pleased with this nice player and much prefer it to the iPod.
Player grade: 4.5 stars
Software grade: 2.0 stars
Overall grade: 3.75 (heck let's round it up to 4) stars
7 Very Very Good - Just Misses the 5 Star Mark
People who keep saying there are no drag and drop MP3 players are not fully informed. I have an Archos AV420 & Archos GMini XS200 MP3 player. It blows away any IPOD or Sony NW with sound quality, it has giant killing performance and you can drag and drop with NO restrictions. The AV420 can even serve as a Tivo with NO service fees, simply follow the instructions, use yahoo calendar and bingo, you can watch your favorite programs on the go, when you get home, or any where you please. The AV420 also allows for you to load pictures so it can serve as a photo album. All-in-All the Archos is the ultimate Multimedia device combining Video, Ripping DVD's, Storing Music WMA or MP3 with drag and Drop features, and photo capabilities. Archos devices simply blow IPOD away and are a more solid contender than the SONY NW series. The Archos GMini XS200 is as simple as you can get but WOW! talk about performance, drag and drop music and its really small and light as a feather! You can just drop this puppy in your pocket and hook up at a moments notice and then you get blown away buy great sound. It's like putting on your home headsets. How'd they do that?
Before I bought my Archos players, I had the Sony NW-HD1 and raved about it in a previous review. I have now sent my NW-HD1 to the factory to upgrade the firmware so it will also play native mp3 and supposedly get better sound quality, we will see. (All this for $20 bucks, Ouch! Why couldn't Sony just do a Firmware upgrade via online?) But I figure, what the hey.
This player is just an slightly updated version of the NW-HD1; the only differences I can see are the Native MP3 playability and Coloring.
Make no mistake, I love this unit, it is stylish, beautifully designed, but it just didn't have the sound quality I wanted, which the Archos AV420, AV300 or GMini SX200 does. (I know, I sound like a broken record but its so true).
To be fair, Sony has created a real jewel here with the NW-HD1/3, they just need to address some sound quality issues and add a mega bass feature. As for battery life? Not even the Archos can touch the NW-HD3 in this area. My NW-HD1 lasts on average about 26 hours.
It really depends on what you are looking for; I would say if the Archos did not exist, this device would be at the top of any list hands down. If you're only looking for an MP3 Player this device certainly will do an excellent job, but the ARCHOS clearly wins with blow away sound quality. To be honest though, I am torn because I love Sony products and they clearly put lots of effort into this.
The only true negative is the software and downloads restrictions this thing has. While the new version of Sony's software is MUCH better, it still has problems, and finally BUYER BEWARE! This part is very important! If you do a system restore on your computer, make sure you de-authorize the Sony BEFORE you do this, otherwise it won't be able to see your computer any more and you'll have a lovely paperweight.
UPDATE: 03/15/05
Got my Sony NW-HD1 back from the factory. The only thing to report truly is on the sound quality since the whole purpose of this exercise was to update sound and MP3 function. I'm happy to say that sony improved on the sound quality greatly, with two new Custom Preset features which gives this little device added Umph! But, sadly to say, it STILL can't beat the ARCHOS with sound quailty. Overall though, very very pleased with this update, highs and lows are much crisper and cleaner with no distortion!
8 OVERPRICED!!!!
pros... a rebel to the ipod nation.
cons... longer battery life is a fraud! you can only use it upto 30hrs ONLY when you are using ATRAC
OVERPRICED!iPOD is 50bucks cheaper plus with a lot of accesories are tempting
no color screens
9 My Creative Muvo TX FM allows me to drag-and-drop MP3/WMA.
The previous poster is incorrect -- my Creative Muvo TX FM allows me to drag-and-drop MP3/WMA files directly to the device from the Windows Explorer.
I'm not sure where that poster is getting their information.
--Kevin
10 Excellent piece of hardware
I found the NWHD3 an excellent piece of kit and many of the claims of problems with the unit are just because users have not got used to the player.
1) No Mp3 Hard drive can drag and drop MP3 files in windows explorer and expect to play them. Hard drives as CDs have to have a set archiving and data storage method, allowing the hard drive to see where the files are and whether they are playable files or not. Therefore software such as Sonicstage is always necessary.
2) Although the player bitches (brings up a message) if you do not have the power cable connected while connecting to the computer it is perfectly possible to transfer files without the power cable so you do not have to carry it everywhere with you.
3) You do not have to authorise the player with connect unless you want to download songs from the connect site, I have not sone so and I can use the player fine.
4)The ability to create playlists (groups) I admit is fairly limited but as many as you like can be created on the computer and they can be named which is not available on many units.
5) Shuffle and random play are exceedingly easy to set up and can be done while playing a song, press menu, press down to reach repeat and/or random and select which you want on. Also the random plays in a logical order, select an album to play and the tracks in an album will be shuffled, If all tracks are selected to play all tracks are shuffled, couldn't be easier.
6) Nearly all MP3 Hardware and software combinations incorporate copy protection and do not allow you to upload copy protected music from the player, Sony's is not any more complicated or overbearing than most of the other systems out there. Sure Atrac is a proprietary format but since most players don't let you upload the music from the player anyway what difference does that make. It sounds a lot better and takes up less space.
7) 13,000 songs can fit on the player, as stated in the manual this is if the file is encdoded in ATRAC3 PLUS in 48 Kbps. This sounds pretty reasonable but obviously not the best. Sonicstage even allows you to download the files specifically in this comressed format rather than at normal compression so you can fit the most on the player.
Overall much smaller, much better battery life, much better sounding and overall much better build quality than any of the other hard drive walkmans I have seen. I mean come on not a single component of the IPOD is made by apple, it is not a quality product. Great advertising and product placement do not a great product make. The only thing that lets this player down is the slightly flimsy connection point to the power and USB, apart from that quality all the way.
11 Finally, MP3-friendly, but still kinks in interface
In NW-HD3, Sony finally added native MP3 support to its tiny hard disk-based digital music player, so no conversion to its proprietary ATRAC3 format is necessary. This makes the player much more attractive to users already with a large collection of MP3 files. Styling-wise, this new player comes in five color choices: red, pink (looks purplish to me), blue, black, and silver. Backlighting color is also different depending on the exterior color. Plenty of eye candy, for sure. (FYI, mine is red.)
Internally, other than the added support for MP3, the HD3 is exactly the same as the HD1. In fact, even the dimensions and weight (4.5 oz.) are the same. It's also the same 1.8" 20GB hard drive inside. It has the same SUPERB sound quality as the HD1. (Seriously, before listening to ATRAC3 on the HD1, I hadn't known compressed music could sound so good.) Both models claim up to 30 hours of battery life when playing back ATRAC3Plus files. (On my HD1, I routinely got over 25 hours of playback on a single charge.) For MP3, Sony claims "up to 20 hours." As I write this, I've been playing a mixture of 128kbps and 192kbps MP3 files for about eight hours on my last recharge and the battery is at the half mark. Of course, if
you turn on the equalizer, choose shuffle (random) play, or press the buttons a lot, the battery will run down faster. (Hard drive spinning and backlighting consume the most power.)
BTW, the LiIon battery in the HD3 *can* be user-replaced in theory; see p.39 of the manual. The only question is where can you and I get a spare battery. I wouldn't buy a generic battery on ebay because 1) there are reports that these "fake" batteries don't work, and 2) if improperly charged, they can explode, just like with the exploding cell phones. Like the HD1, the HD3 has just a few buttons. The menu and mode buttons on the top seem easier to press than the HD1, which is a welcome improvement. The play/stop button is still a bit too small for my big thumbs. The four-way arrow buttons are responsive and I personally prefer a simple linear control scheme like this over other "weird" interfaces such as scroll wheel or touch-sensitive strip. I also like the hold button on this thing; it's very easy to slide. Backlighting on the HD3 works well and the monochrome LCD is small but sharp.
Some nice touches of the HD3 include the ability to choose "line out" instead of "headphones" when you want to run the output through an amplifier. ("Headphones" output is pre-amped and will sound distorted and harsh if it goes into an external amplifier.) There're also a six-band equalizer and virtual surround sound settings.
Overall, the HD3 feels very solid physically and the player itself is pretty easy to figure out. Most audiophiles will like the superb sound quality they'll get if they rip into the ATRAC3Plus format. I've used this player in the gym, and it never skips a beat.
Now, the not-so-pleasant side of this little wonder...
Even though HD3 is a HUGE improvement over its predecessor HD1 due to the native MP3 playback capability alone (well, a lower introductory price is also a big plus), its user interface and music transfer interface haven't been improved at all. The updated SonicStage software (now at version 2.3) is fine some of the time, but a nightmare other times. There are a number of nagging issues:
1) You cannot simply copy your MP3 files to the HD3 and expect to play them later. The HD3 does appear on Windows desktop as an external drive, and you can copy any files (including MP3 files) to its hard drive. Basically this allows you to use the HD3 as an external disk drive. But, in order for the MP3 files to play back as audio, they must be transferred using the included SonicStage music management software. (Internally, SonicStage places all transferred music tracks, MP3 or ATRAC, in a proprietary database on the HD3. You cannot access these tracks directly from Windows Explorer.)
2) While you can charge the HD3 using the USB cable via the small USB adapter (it doesn't have a docking cradle a la the HD1), which is a cool thing, you cannot transfer music without plugging in the AC adapter. This is just plain stupid and it means if you want to transfer music on other PCs, you must carry the AC adapter with you. The AC adapter is small and one-piece, but it's still a pain to have to remember carrying it with you.
3) You still must "authorize" the HD3 with the Sony Connect music service. This is pretty straightforward -- when it works. The whole music rights control system Sony forces upon us is so freaking convoluted and stupid and irksome. To the dumbheads at Sony marketing: we users want a simpler way to manage and transfer music! Even Windows Media Player 10 is way better at these than SonicStage 2.3.
4) You cannot rate music like you can in Windows Media Player. Creating playlists (called "groups" by Sony in the HD3 manual but known as "albums" in SonicStage -- go figure!) in SonicStage is a bit of a pain. You cannot create playlists on the HD3 itself. It only has a feature called Bookmark which basically combines ratings and a rudimentary playlist into one function. You can bookmark up to 100 songs.
5) Shuffle (random) and repeat plays are ridiculously complicated and require lots of button presses; and you cannot activate them when a song is playing! Take a look at pp.25-28 of the manual and be prepared for an anxiety attack. Once again, Sony introduces some totally stupefying concept to make their American users' playback experience miserable: this time it's something calld "play unit" which involves where you start playback. Anyway, it just makes no sense whatsoever. In a nutshell, it's almost impossible to get consistent shuffle plays on the HD3. Sometimes it shuffles the entire collection of your music, other times it does just a folder or artist. Totally bewildering.
6) Native WMA playback is still not supported. You can convert non-copy-protected WMA files into ATRAC using SonicStage, a time-consuming process. If you have WMA tracks bought from an online store (MSN Music, Walmart, Musicmatch, etc.), you cannot convert them.
7) Sony just has to come up with a better name than "Network Walkman NW-HD3." And you call that POS a case???
In short, like the earlier HD1, the HD3 is an amazing piece of hardware with terrific sound quality, amazing battery life and a solid feel (but not heavy in weight) not found on any other MP3 player. If only Sony would improve the player's interface as well as the scary SonicStage software (esp. in the copy protection department), this would simply be the best MP3 player, period.
"But," you ask, "is the NW-HD3 right for me?"
The answer depends on what you want. If you want great sound quality *and* the best hardware form factor, the HD3 is your top choice. If you can, rip to ATRAC3Plus for top-notch sound quality and prolonged battery life. If you want a tiny yet solid MP3 jukebox and don't mind studying the electronic manual (in PDF), the HD3 is also a good choice, and you get long battery life as a bonus. If you prefer linear scrolling (like I do) to alternative methods, you'll like the HD3's simply four-way controls. If, however, your cup of tea is simplicity (esp. on the desktop software side) over sound quality, you'll be better off with an iPod; if you want something with lots of bells and whistles (FM, recording, calendar, etc.), you'll be happier with something from Creative Labs.
Here are a few tips that I hope will help smooth your HD3 experience:
1) You must use the version of SonicStage on the HD3's CD-ROM (v2.3, but somehow more "special" than the updater you can download on Sony's website). If you have any older version installed, be sure to uninstall it first. Reboot, then install the new version.
2) If you run into any problems with transferring music -- and many users do sooner or later -- call the Sony Connect/SonicStage's toll-free support number. They are much, much better and more competent than the hardware support people, who are clueless and useless on anything other than which button you should press to play music. E-mail me if you want that phone number. (It's on Connect's website but a bit hard to find.)
3) Don't bother with getting a remote control. The two that are Japan-only but can be special-ordered are just way over-priced for the simple functions they have. There's been consistent talk in user forums that Sony will probably introduce one of the remotes here, in which case it'll certainly be much cheaper than what you'll pay right now. But if you really *need* a remote, e-mail me and I can tell you which one you should get (and which one to avoid) and which legit source to get it from.
12 My experience...
Well, because I live in the UK, contrary to the release date on Amazon, I got mine from a computer shop Monday 24th January for £249.99 as an early birthday present.
Plus points:-
1.It has a slimline, very sexy sleek solid build. Mine is silver and if fits into your pocket.
2.It's SONY. No questions needed.
3.The battery life is 30 hours and only needs 2-3 hours charging time. Plus It charges up whilst connected to your computer
4.It's got a 7 line very easy to read display with a backlight in the choice of positive or negative
5.The navigation button has a simple design that's easy to use. Only if you have long nails you might snap off the `On/Off' and `Hold' buttons
6.Sonicstage is pretty easy to use. Just insert a CD or import some files and it converts in into Atrac depending on your settings
Minus Points:-
1.The biggest fault is that it claims to have G-Shock protection that protects the hard-drive when it is dropped. However, on Monday 1st Feb morning I was listening to it, and accidentally dropped it onto the carpet. It stopped playing but when I turned it off and back on again it carried on playing. When I got back home from school, on the other hand, it was an entirely different matter. I turned it on and the usual `walkman' displayed on the screen but then nothing else came up!! It completely froze and wouldn't work, so I had to take it back and got a new one Tuesday 2nd so that was a complete waste of time I spent converting those 400 songs :@!! I had to do them all over again! But maybe I got a faulty one
2.The bass isn't very good even if I set the bass option to highest, as isn't the headphones, so I bought my own Sony In-Ear Headphones MDRED228LP with bass boost. No worries. I'd recommend these headphones because they are BRILLIANT value for money. When the bass option is at maximum and you have these headphones in, the sound quality is EXCELLENT.
3.Sonicstage, while being easy to use makes you type in your own data (song title, artist, album etc) which takes FOREVER and if you make a little error typing, you have to connect your SONY NW-HD3 up to your computer all over again just to change it. They also make up their own genres for a song sometimes, which I don't want
4.I'm not sure what they mean by having 13,000-song capacity if you compress the file, but this isn't the case for me. I compressed it as much as I can and I only got 400 songs in 2 gigabytes, which means I'll only have 4000 songs altogether. But when you think about it, 4,000 songs in plenty. I'm only saying this for the people who's music collection exceeds 10,000 songs :)
Overall, I really like my SONY NW-HD3, despite the very stupid faults. I give it 4 stars because I have no problem with using the player and maybe typing in everything in Sonicstage is a good idea. You can see what you're doing then *shrugs* Basically if you have a lot of songs then I'd choose this because maybe I'm doing something wrong and maybe it really can hold 13,000. even so, 4,000 is still a lot. In addtion a SONY NWHD3 is more gorgeous than a disgusting white clunky I-Pod, and of course looks are the most important, right? So if you want to show up a friend with an I-Pod, buy this ;) *wink wink* you'll also stand out from the crowd. Be different! 30 hours battery life is a plus, seeing as I play is non-stop. I am very happy with baby (my SONY NW-HD3, not a real baby!) and you feel a sense of satisfaction owning it. So buy it - but don't drop it!
Hope this helped :D
13 Finally, MP3-friendly, but there are still kinks
In NW-HD3, Sony finally added native MP3 support to its tiny hard disk-based digital music player, so no conversion to its proprietary ATRAC3 format is necessary. This makes the player much more attractive to users already with a large collection of MP3 files. Styling-wise, this new player comes in five color choices: red, pink (looks purplish to me), blue, black, and silver. Backlighting color is also different depending on the exterior color. Plenty of eye candy, for sure. (FYI, mine is red.)
Internally, other than the added support for MP3, the HD3 is exactly the same as the HD1. In fact, even the dimensions and weight (4.5 oz.) are the same. It's also the same 1.8" 20GB hard drive inside. It has the same SUPERB sound quality as the HD1. (Seriously, before listening to ATRAC3 on the HD1, I hadn't known compressed music could sound so good.) Both models claim up to 30 hours of battery life when playing back ATRAC3Plus files. (On my HD1, I routinely got over 25 hours of playback on a single charge.) For MP3, Sony claims "up to 20 hours." As I write this, I've been playing a mixture of 128kbps and 192kbps MP3 files for about eight hours on my last recharge and the battery is at the half mark. Of course, if
you turn on the equalizer, choose shuffle (random) play, or press the buttons a lot, the battery will run down faster. (Hard drive spinning and backlighting consume the most power.)
BTW, the LiIon battery in the HD3 *can* be user-replaced in theory; see p.39 of the manual. The only question is where can you and I get a spare battery. I wouldn't buy a generic battery on ebay because 1) there are reports that these "fake" batteries don't work, and 2) if improperly charged, they can explode, just like with the exploding cell phones. Like the HD1, the HD3 has just a few buttons. The menu and mode buttons on the top seem easier to press than the HD1, which is a welcome improvement. The play/stop button is still a bit too small for my big thumbs. The four-way arrow buttons are responsive and I personally prefer a simple linear control scheme like this over other "weird" interfaces such as scroll wheel or touch-sensitive strip. I also like the hold button on this thing; it's very easy to slide. Backlighting on the HD3 works well and the monochrome LCD is small but sharp.
Some nice touches of the HD3 include the ability to choose "line out" instead of "headphones" when you want to run the output through an amplifier. ("Headphones" output is pre-amped and will sound distorted and harsh if it goes into an external amplifier.) There're also a six-band equalizer and virtual surround sound settings.
Overall, the HD3 feels very solid physically and the player itself is pretty easy to figure out. Most audiophiles will like the superb sound quality they'll get if they rip into the ATRAC3Plus format. I've used this player in the gym, and it never skips a beat.
Now, the not-so-pleasant side of this little wonder...
Even though HD3 is a HUGE improvement over its predecessor HD1 due to the native MP3 playback capability alone (well, a lower introductory price is also a big plus), its user interface and music transfer interface haven't been improved at all. The updated SonicStage software (now at version 2.3) is fine some of the time, but a nightmare other times. There are a number of nagging issues:
1) You cannot simply copy your MP3 files to the HD3 and expect to play them later. The HD3 does appear on Windows desktop as an external drive, and you can copy any files (including MP3 files) to its hard drive. Basically this allows you to use the HD3 as an external disk drive. But, in order for the MP3 files to play back as audio, they must be transferred using the included SonicStage music management software. (Internally, SonicStage places all transferred music tracks, MP3 or ATRAC, in a proprietary database on the HD3. You cannot access these tracks directly from Windows Explorer.)
2) While you can charge the HD3 using the USB cable via the small USB adapter (it doesn't have a docking cradle a la the HD1), which is a cool thing, you cannot transfer music without plugging in the AC adapter. This is just plain stupid and it means if you want to transfer music on other PCs, you must carry the AC adapter with you. The AC adapter is small and one-piece, but it's still a pain to have to remember carrying it with you.
3) You still must "authorize" the HD3 with the Sony Connect music service. This is pretty straightforward -- when it works. The whole music rights control system Sony forces upon us is so freaking convoluted and stupid and irksome. To the dumbheads at Sony marketing: we users want a simpler way to manage and transfer music! Even Windows Media Player 10 is way better at these than SonicStage 2.3.
4) You cannot rate music like you can in Windows Media Player. Creating playlists (called "groups" by Sony in the HD3 manual but known as "albums" in SonicStage -- go figure!) in SonicStage is a bit of a pain. You cannot create playlists on the HD3 itself. It only has a feature called Bookmark which basically combines ratings and a rudimentary playlist into one function. You can bookmark up to 100 songs.
5) Shuffle (random) and repeat plays are ridiculously complicated and require lots of button presses; and you cannot activate them when a song is playing! Take a look at pp.25-28 of the manual and be prepared for an anxiety attack. Once again, Sony introduces some totally stupefying concept to make their American users' playback experience miserable: this time it's something calld "play unit" which involves where you start playback. Anyway, it just makes no sense whatsoever. In a nutshell, it's almost impossible to get consistent shuffle plays on the HD3. Sometimes it shuffles the entire collection of your music, other times it does just a folder or artist. Totally bewildering.
6) Native WMA playback is still not supported. You can convert non-copy-protected WMA files into ATRAC using SonicStage, a time-consuming process. If you have WMA tracks bought from an online store (MSN Music, Walmart, Musicmatch, etc.), you cannot convert them.
7) Sony just has to come up with a better name than "Network Walkman NW-HD3." And you call that POS a case???
In short, like the earlier HD1, the HD3 is an amazing piece of hardware with terrific sound quality, amazing battery life and a solid feel (but not heavy in weight) not found on any other MP3 player. If only Sony would improve the player's interface as well as the scary SonicStage software (esp. in the copy protection department), this would simply be the best MP3 player, period.
"But," you ask, "is the NW-HD3 right for me?"
The answer depends on what you want. If you want great sound quality *and* the best hardware form factor, the HD3 is your top choice. If you can, rip to ATRAC3Plus for top-notch sound quality and prolonged battery life. If you want a tiny yet solid MP3 jukebox and don't mind studying the electronic manual (in PDF), the HD3 is also a good choice, and you get long battery life as a bonus. If you prefer linear scrolling (like I do) to alternative methods, you'll like the HD3's simply four-way controls. If, however, your cup of tea is simplicity (esp. on the desktop software side) over sound quality, you'll be better off with an iPod; if you want something with lots of bells and whistles (FM, recording, calendar, etc.), you'll be happier with something from Creative Labs.
Here are a few tips that I hope will help smooth your HD3 experience:
1) You must use the version of SonicStage on the HD3's CD-ROM (v2.3, but somehow more "special" than the updater you can download on Sony's website). If you have any older version installed, be sure to uninstall it first. Reboot, then install the new version.
2) If you run into any problems with transferring music -- and many users do sooner or later -- call the Sony Connect/SonicStage's toll-free support number. They are much, much better and more competent than the hardware support people, who are clueless and useless on anything other than which button you should press to play music. E-mail me if you want that phone number. (It's on Connect's website but a bit hard to find.)
3) Don't bother with getting a remote control. The two that are Japan-only but can be special-ordered are just way over-priced for the simple functions they have. There's been consistent talk in user forums that Sony will probably introduce one of the remotes here, in which case it'll certainly be much cheaper than what you'll pay right now. But if you really *need* a remote, e-mail me and I can tell you which one you should get (and which one to avoid) and which legit source to get it from.
