Sony NWZ-A826

Launch price £145.00

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Stuff says

An audiophile-friendly MP3 player that also happens to do a neat line in video. At a lower price it'd certainly receive five stars

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• WATCH

After winning considerable plaudits for its first video-playing Walkmans, the A810 series, Sony's decided to go right for Apple's jugular. The A820 series features unique functionality and form factor – it’s a player that attempts to blend the pocketability of the iPod Nano and screen real estate of the Touch, and trumps both with built-in Bluetooth audio streaming.

But taking on both of Apple’s mainstays simultaneously is a dangerous game – the A820 could end up satisfying no one. Another concern is price: the 4GB NWZ-A826 model we’re looking at here is £145, which is £46 more than a Nano with equivalent storage.

Why so pricey?
The relative expense of Sony’s NWZ-A826 is partially justified by the Bluetooth wireless DR-BT21G behind-the-head headphones (worth £70) that complement its standard earbuds. Also, Bluetooth technology doesn’t come for free, and neither does the NWZ-A826’s enlarged 2.4in screen.

The screen tips the scales at 0.4in bigger than the Nano or A810, but 1.1in smaller than that of the Touch. It’s the perfect conduit for the attractive, cretin-friendly mobile phone-style interface that we’re familiar with from the A810 series. This makes navigating menus easier than acing GCSE Media Studies and reacts instantly to any commands you issue.

Aesthetic impressions of our black NWZ-A826 model were positive. One Stuffer proclaimed it better looking than the Nano, though those of us with eyes that focus put it more on a par with a Sony Ericsson Walkman phone. But its low weight and plasticky looks belie its surprisingly tough aluminium construction – it's a player that will happily accept a little abuse.

As with the A810 series, music can be loaded on to the NWZ-A826 using Windows Media Player or can be dragged and dropped on either PC or Mac. Neither experience rivals the iPod/iTunes or Zune combinations, but they’re certainly acceptable.