Sony announces its latest MP3 players for athletes

Sony recently introduced its new waterproof NWZ-W250 Walkman MP3 player designed for runners, swimmers and endurance athletes looking for a wire-free, water-resistant device.

The MP3 player is Sony's first attempt to develop a wire-free MP3 player for athletes, and is said to offer good sound quality despite being wire-free.

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Another appealing feature of the newest Walkman is that the unit is water resistant, so it can be washed after each workout.  It can even be worn during a quick shower, Sony said in a press release, though it isn't designed for swimming.

In case owners forget to re-charge it, just three minutes will provide enough juice for 90 minutes of activity.  A full-charge provides up to 11 hours of continuous music playback.  I've forgotten to re-charge my GPS or MP3 player before a run, and the Sony MP3 player's fast recharge time sounds very appealing.

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Sony has had trouble trying to modernize its Walkman series, but I applaud the Japanese company for attempting to avoid direct competition with Apple's iPod lineup.  It would seem more logical since it's a larger market, but the iPod has had a longheld grip on the casual player market.

Manufacturers looking to cater to the endurance community, a small group of people that have the money to spend on gadgets, has become increasingly difficult as more athletes now use mobile phones as music players and GPS units.

Even though the Apple iPod has numerous accessories from Griffin and other third-party manufacturers, it's good to see products catering to athletes.  Finis launched the XtreaMP3.1G MP3 player back in December -- the latest model after the SwiMP3v2, which MyCE reviewed -- as interest in this market continues.

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Philips also recently showed off a 4GB MP3 player for people with active lifestyles, including an accelerometer capable of tracking activities in real-time.

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