Sony NW-HD3

Piece of junk. Sorry I did not spend the extra and get an IPOD. The Sony software is terrible, and once you move country or change computer it does not re-install. It also seems impossible to get your songs off the player, so always keep backups, and the random feature just does not work, playing some songs a lot and some just about never. I've had it since 2006, and have almost 3,000 songs, and dread the day that it dies and I have to start from scratch with an IPOD.

I have now owned an NW-HD3 for more than four years. I have since replaced the headphones (to my prefered model) and am about to replace the battery.I have never used the MP3 format, preferring the far superior Atrac system. I have in excess of 3,000 tracks stored. When new the internal battery gave well in excess of the specified 30hrs playback time, but recently has since only delivered about 5hrs. Replacement batteries are readily available for about £10-15. They are fairly easy to fit, but you require a decent jewellers type screwdriver.

Overall the NW-HD3 as performed faultlessly, being used almost daily during the past 4 years. The only problem I have encountered is the battery on/off button has partly broken off, but is still useable.

As said before, good sound and it has lasted (mine still going strong after 4 years now tho battery is fading a little). Over all a very good piece of equipment, great piece of kit, well recommend Sony NW-HD3.

One of the best mp3 players of it's generation. I've owned my HD3 for just around four years and I haven't had a bit of bother yet.

At the time, and even still today when compared to some of the low end brands, the HD3 was small and lightweight considering the huge 20GB capacity it boasted.

The sound quality still outstrips many of the flat and tinny noises produced by a number of other portable audio players. Investing in a good set of headphones is actually a worthwhile venture with the HD3, a fact that cannot really be justified with the iPod players.

The battery life is outstanding and the HD3 can easily last a day or two of thorough use without the need for charging. Only now after four years is the battery beginning to look like it may well be on the way out. I challenge you to find any iPod user that can boast a similar claim.

Even today the HD3 looks stylish and the casing is durable enough to take a fair beating. My battle-scarred HD3 bears testament to the overall ruggedness and reliability of the player.

The only downside to the HD3 is the software used to transfer songs across from your PC. To be honest SonicStage is one of the least reliable pieces of software that I have ever used. And coming from a Software Engineer that's quite an embarassing claim in my opinion. However the quality of the player itself shouldn't be judged harshly just because Sony didn't see fit to allow drag and drop style tranfers like similar players.

After four years of loyal service I'm finally considering putting my HD3 into retirement and replacing it with a new high quality player, perhaps the NWZ-S639F. I just felt that it was time that this sadly overlooked and under-rated player got the recognition that it deserved.

I have owned my Sony NW HD3 for what must be three to four years now, it has been my first and only mp3 player. While the girlfriend has gone through 3 different variants of the ipod in the same time, this little trooper has battled on. Its tough, sturdy, almost unbreakable and more importantly simple enough for anyone to use. Its battery life has always been exceptional and only now, a couple of years down the line has it shown to falter slightly. The main problem is purely sonicstage. Although it was a consistent (albeit a bit clunky) performer, now I have changed PC i cannot find the original discs and the sony download is much more hassle than help. I will use my NW HD3 til he gives up his last little breath...

The size is excellent and fits well in my pocket. It feels sturdy in my hand and is far superior to the iPod. My husband has had 2 iPods and they both lasted about 1 year and died. Even towards the 10month period the battery life of the iPods was of 2h. The Sony still has an excellent battery life even after 2 years.

Do not buy any Sony product that requires the use of Sonicstage. Sony have now removed the need to use the software on newer models so support for this appalling software will now be non-existent. What was wrong with simply clicking and dragging music onto the player?

I can't recommend this little mp3 enough it is a first class piece of kit for what it is intended to do. I have heard numerous mp3 players from all the top makers but nothing comes close on sound quality to match this player. Make sure you spend out on a really good pair of phones either Bose triport or B&O's small earphones, as they really do bring out the sound quality of this player. I hope this help when looking to buy this mp3 player.

I've had this gadget for about a year and a half and have looked after it and enjoyed it. I've used it as it should be used, took a lot of pleasure from it and then, with no prior warning, it decided to stop working and die - great, that's just what I needed! Now all the music that I had obtained over the past year and a half was gone - I had obtained the music from many sources and thus did not have it all backed up at home on a computer - aside from the fact that I will have to fork out on a new one. Are they the most expensive things in the world? No, they're not but that's not the real point here - I expected it to have a long life as I had looked after it but I was let down. Be warned!

I have owned the Sony HD-3 walkman for 11 months now and I have just had to send it back for repair work! This was because when ever you put the headphones in it they would crackle and get quiter.

Another problem was the original headphones had a little black rubber ring around them which fell off. This ended up causing a small electric shock above my lower lip which happened in January 2006 and the headphones had not worked right ever since. I did change the headphones for the player after the electric shock incident but the problem persisted.

Eventually it got so bad that i returned the player to the shop and they immediately sent it to a sony service centre for repairs. I was dissapointed as it was a birthday present off my mum and dad and it was the last one in the shop when they bought it. This meant a replacement was not possible and the next model was launched around a month later.

I also dislike the display as it is very dark and not very clear. It is not something you would expect sony to produce with their knowledge in LCD technology.

It does have some good points as it is very small and fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. The carry case provided with the player is easy to use as the walkman is not an extremely tight fit.

I also prefer the battery life of 30 hours as the iPod only has a battery life of 14 hours and the walkman can be charged via the mains. The iPod must be connected to the computer to charge unless you own an expensive mains powered docking station which can charge the iPod.

The built in HDD is very good but ATRACK songs from sonic stage do not play as well as mp3 tracks. The ATRACK system means you can store up to 13000 songs at 48kbps but it does take a long time to load tracks onto the Walkman as you have to burn them to Sonic Stage 1st.

All in all this is a GOOD mp3 player for a teenager or child who might eventually fill the 13000 song capacity.