As some of you might remember, back when we reviewed Sony's NWZ-S739F Walkman player, we considered it one of the best media players we had ever come across. And while that statement remains true, we can honestly say that the subject of this particular review, namely the OLED touchscreen-equipped Sony Walkman NWZ-X1050 portable multimedia player, really manages to up the ante, providing a host of advanced features including superior noise canceling, Internet browsing capabilities via the built-in Wi-Fi module, more entertainment-related options, but also, unfortunately, a lower battery life.

Launched back in May 2009, the X series was designed by Sony as more or less a direct competitor for the iPod touch, currently the flagship player provided by Apple (which also happens to occupy the top spot on the PMP's market). However, while the X1050 does offer a lot more than most other Walkman players out there (in fact, it's by far the most advanced PMP from Sony), we'll have to admit that there are a couple of areas where it comes short, at least when compared to the iPod touch. On the other hand, some of its features (notably, the absolutely superb noise canceling system) are superior to those delivered by the competing Apple product, which makes a definitive choice between the two even tougher.

Now, since we tested the X1050 immediately after the NWZ-S739F, the evolution from one range of products to the next became quite visible. Of course, some of the features provided by this player remain more or less the same (mostly related to photo viewing, music playback, menu navigation, etc.), and for this reason, we decided not to insist too much on them, but rather show you what's new, exciting and innovative about the X1050. And you can trust us, even so, you'll have quite a lot of stuff to go through.