Sony Walkman NWZ-X1050

Apple’s music players might be the fashionable ones but Sony's Walkman range has a loyal following, thanks mainly to its audio quality.

The NWZ-X1050 is part of the new Walkman X-Series and is able to play music, movies and photos. Small and compact, it is built around a 3in touch-sensitive display, allowing for iPhone-style swiping motions to browse tracks, flick between photos or navigate through movies.

The display also uses organic LED (OLED) technology, making it brighter and less of a drain on the battery than a standard screen – you can expect up to 33 hours of audio playback.

A key feature of the NWZ-X1050 is its ability to cancel out background noise. Activated by a switch on the right side of the player, it did a good job of eliminating constant, droning noises such as aircraft engines. What it won't do is cut out intermittent noises such as people talking, and it only works when using the included headphones (which have tiny built-in microphones that make the process work). It's a limitation, but the headphones are of a far higher quality than those bundled with most media players.

Sound quality was stunning. With rich but not overbearing bass and defined high tones, we find it hard to believe anyone would be disappointed by the NWZ-X1050's audio capabilities. The display also did a great job playing back movies, although it's unlikely you will want to watch entire feature films on the 3in screen.

A variety of file formats are supported, including MP3, WMA, MPEG4 and WMV. Files can either be copied onto the player using Sony's software or by simply dragging-and-dropping via the Windows desktop. There is 16GB of storage available, which equates to roughly 4,000 audio tracks or 60 hours of video.

It can also connect to your wireless network, allowing you to look up further information on the current artist or even browse websites such as Youtube. However, the small screen struggles with complex pages and it is not suitable for extended browsing.

It's expensive, but with excellent sound quality and a range of features you get a lot for your money.