Product Reviews

MP3 players are getting ever tinier, but while they shrink to fit into the snuggest of pockets their capacity stretches to ever more impressive heights. Sony's NW-A1200 is an updated version of its previous NW-A1000 player, which we reviewed in our February 2006 issue. While its physical size has remained identical its hard disk has expanded from 6 GB to 8GB.

The problem with the NW-A1200 is not what's changed since we saw the previous model - it's what's stayed the same that really troubles us. The first offender is the SonicStage software, which has to be installed if you want to transfer music onto the player. Many MP3 players behave just

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like an external hard disk, allowing you to drag-and-drop files using Windows Explorer - a straightforward approach. Sony's SonicStage is clunky, awkward and generally makes the whole process a pain in the behind.

The other thing that remains unchanged is the Sony's looks. Our review model was delivered in a tasteless pink colour, but aside from its unpleasant hue, the reflective plastic finish makes the screen unreadable in bright sunlight - it also scuffs and scratches very easily. Thankfully, you can purchase the Sony in more sedate colours such as silver or black.

There are, however, some plus points - well one at least. The NW-A1200 now supports the playback of WMA files without requiring the user to resort to a firmware upgrade, albeit with one severe limitation - it'll only play unprotected WMA tracks. If you've bought a clutch of tracks from Napster or any store dealing in protected WMA files, then you're stuck. If you've bought any protected AAC files from iTunes, you'll be in the same boat as it also only plays AAC files of the unprotected variety. When you consider that spending about £20 more will buy you one of the new 8GB iPod Nano's ( reviewed on page 42), the Sony doesn't seem particularly tempting.