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“When I purchase something as expensive as the Sony...”

written by BLUEORB on 20/09/2005

Good Points
The fact that it's solid state memory is a handy feature for anyone who wants to bring an MP3 player running, etc since there are no moving parts. You don't have to worry about damaging hard drive plates, unlike the iPod for instance. Also being able to group music into folders that you can move around at whim is a plus.

Bad Points
The bad points outweigh the good. I found that even the slightest amount of moisture, whether from the dampness of your hand on the player or the humidity (and don't even THINK about bringing this baby out in the rain, even if you cup it in your hand), will corrode the player and immediately wreck the buttons and potentially the display screen too which is ridiculously tiny. This MP3 player will ONLY work in Windows and the drives can become corrupt if you try opening them on a Mac as I found out when I opened it on my G5. Even my PC had issues opening the files sometimes. This is not a reliable player! Also you are forced to use Sony's proprietary software to transfer music onto the player, which converts the files into a file type that can only be read by the MP3 player.

General Comments
When I purchase something as expensive as the Sony NW-E99 I rate it based on whether or not I would consider purchasing something similar from the company again. In this case, I would never, ever purchase another MP3 player from Sony. I have already put in an order for an iPod since I can get a waterproof cover for it, the screen is much better, sound quality is crisper and the bass is richer. Their menu system is far better organized too. It's just a shame that I spent so much money for something as flimsy and poorly designed as this. What a disappointment! I have owned the Sony NW-E99 player for approximately 9 months now and in that time I have had to send it to the factory for repairs twice and had to reinstall the software it uses to install music because the drive mysteriously became corrupt.