Sony NWZ-W252

This is the Sony Walkman NWZ-W252 music player. It’s a 2GB player with space for around 500 tracks. Unlike most MP3 players, the player is built into the headphones and the outward facing case is waterproof.

This is good news if you get caught in the rain, although it’s not meant to be used immersed in water and the ear buds aren’t waterproof. It’s not a problem to wash it, though, as long as it’s dried according to the instructions before use.

Controls are well designed and there are several ways that it makes up for not having a display. There are audio cues describing the current mode. More importantly, the buttons are sensibly laid out. For example the volume buttons are different heights so you don’t have to learn which is which. The jog switch not only moves between tracks but between folders, which is handy if you prefer listening to albums.

The other aid to navigate is Zappin, this mode skims through the music on the player, playing a four second clip. What makes Zappin different is that it choose a four second clip that it thinks is recognisable, rather than the beginning of track. It can also play 15 second clips if you want more time to make a decision.

If you are looking for a power switch, there isn’t one. The player turns on automatically when the two halves are separated. A plastic clip is provided to hold them together to stop it from turning on in a bag or pocket. Other accessories include a desk stand. Thankfully connection is with a standard miniUSB cable so you can use a different cable if you want.

As everything is built into one piece, you won’t be able to substitute your own headphones. Thankfully this isn’t a problem as I felt that the headphones are good and faithfully reproduce a variety of music styles from Jimi Hendrix to Bach.

The Sony NWZ-W252 costs £50 (about the cost of an iPod Shuffle) and also comes in black and pink as well as the white we have here.