As we've mentioned in some of our previous articles, since the IFA 2009 event is approaching fast, we'll be seeing a lot of consumer electronics manufacturers come up with new and exciting products over the next couple of weeks. However, some companies have decided that an early start is better, and that's also the case with Sony, which has just unveiled its Walkman S540 series of portable players, the company's first Video MP3 players (is that another word for PMPs?) to come equipped with built-in stereo speakers.

Available in four contemporary colors (Black, Pink, Violet and Red), the S540 series is just 10.2mm thin and comes equipped with two high-quality stereo speakers guarded by a tough, stylish aluminium speaker grille. Moreover, it features Sony's Digital Linear Phase Speaker System technologies, including here Linear Phase Correction that assures smooth, natural frequency responses and Virtual Bass, which enhances harmonic signals to reinforce the sensation of deep low-end frequencies.

Furthermore, for users who want to keep their music private, listening on supplied headphones is enhanced with Clear Audio technologies from Sony for a dynamic, detail-packed soundstage. Clear Stereo reduces leakage between left and right channels, while Clear Bass delivers powerful, controlled low-end frequencies without distortion.

The new Walkman players sport a 2.4-inch LCD screen, which provides clear video playback at up to 30 frames per second. Listening options are boosted by the on-board FM radio. There’s a handy on-board voice recorder included, and the device can also record one's favorite broadcasts from the FM tuner for later listening.

It's also important to mention that a range of major music and video formats are supported including rights-managed WMA and WMV. Importing music, video and photos is quick and fuss-free, with simple drag-and-drop from one's PC’s media folder or via iTunes 8.1 using Content Transfer. MPEG1 and certain WMV files can also be played back on the Walkman when converted via Content Transfer. The included Content Transfer Software is available to install from the memory of the Walkman.

The device delivers 42 hours of listening time on headphones from a single charge, or 17 hours through the built-in speakers. Battery life with video playback is also impressive, since we're talking about 6.5 hours (5 hours of video playing when using built-in speakers).

Last, but certainly not least, we'll have to point out that the new Sony S-540 series is comprised of three different models, namely the 8GB WZ-S543, 16GB NWZ-S544 and 32GB NWZ-S545, all being set to arrive over the course of September and October on the various European markets for 151 – 253 US dollars, depending on the specific storage capacity.



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