Sony Video Walkman Finally Arrives

It ain’t over till it’s over, and Sony says it’s not over. The video handheld battle is still being fought, and Sony has finally jumped in with both feet. Better late than never comes the video Walkman, a set of three models that can play videos vertically or horizontally on the 2-inch LCD panel at a QVGA resolution of 240×320.

This is Sony, remember, so you’ll have to play those videos on their preferred format, ATRAC compression. They’ll give you software to convert, though.

Average battery life for video is about seven hours, depending on compression. That’s about right for the 2GB version. The 4GB and 8GB versions will give you more storage space, but you won’t be able to watch your entire video catalog without recharging.

The three models are the NW-A805, the NW-A806, and the NW-A808. All are slimmer and trimmer than that other more well-known video player from Cupertino. Pricing is US$237, US$446, and US$582, respectively. All will be available for purchase in April.