Sony NW-A3000

The player is a neat item and produces good sound but it not very easy to use and the Connect software is appalling and very user unfriendly. Also it saves files in some wierd Sony format which can't be played through a car radio / mp3 file player for instance.

Der Player ist gut zu bedienen und klingt bei ATRAC3plus @256 und @352 durchweg sehr gut. Auch die Unterst tzung von MP3 VBR ist in Ordnung. SonicStage l uft heutzutage nicht mehr instabil und jetzt auch ohne Kopierschutz. SonicStage 4.3 CP ist vollkommen in Ordnung. Das Problem besteht vielmehr in der un bersichtlichen Dateiverwaltung und in der Beschr nkung auf wenige Formate (AAC-LC, HE-AAC v1, MP3 und ATRAC)

absolute waste of time trying to figure out the software for the Sony NW-A3000. loading the connect software also turns the sound level to zero for all applications on the pc.

it has put me off sony products for life

Very complicated to load music on and setup playlists on the Sony NW. You have to set up playlists on your computer only then you can transfer them to the mp3 player. display and menu are too slow and basic.

The battery power does not last long. charging is very slow and very fiddly.

i just say you should never buy the Sony NW-A3000.! That ipod is just stupid i've buy one... it makes people study to find how to put music in it and the program gives much errors...

I put up with the poor software but it stopped working after 18 months. Both the shop and Sony refuse to help. I don't think spending £200 every 18 months for an MP3 player is acceptable, do you? I'm onto my third letter to Sony but they've washed their hands. I'm hoping to have more luck with the shop I bought it from. If I knew now how poor it was, I certainly wouldn't have bought it. If you do decide to buy one, make sure you take out the longest extended warranty available, regardless of who you buy it from.

The MP3 player itself is actually pretty good. Its strong, looks cool, has a few little tricks up it's sleeve and most importantly, it does its job. Unfortunately the same can not be said for the PC/Mac software that came with it. Firstly let me just make the point that you HAVE to use this software, there are no alternatives. The software is messy, unprofessional and worst, it is unbelievably slow (I mean snail tied to a boulder slow). Even on a very fast computer once you have managed to load one song onto the software; which would involve opening the software (30mins), finding and opening the song (10-20mins), if you click on the song to select it (to do anything with it, move it, play it, copy it etc) it can take over 8 mins just to highlight it and recognise that it has been clicked. The software is simply unusable and therefore so is the MP3. Through a lot of patients i managed to get about 1GB onto my MP3 and that works fine, but i can not be bothered to go through that again for the other 13Gb I have waiting.

Long story short, DO NOT BUY ONE!!!

The Sony NW-A3000 MP3 player is a bit slow to react to control buttons, and the menu system is not the easiest to use. The display is a joke! It needs to be LCD, not LED, but once you're in, the sound is superb! People have complained about the software, but the truth is, if you're loading CD's in it's easy. Any other source, such as tape, Mini Disc or Vinyl etc is a real pain.

I am very pleased with it, but it was expensive.

First off, this is my first mp3 player so I have nothing to compare it to other than my experience of friends' players. On the whole i am extremely pleased with the Sony NW-A3000 player and I would recommend it to others. First impression are important and this is a great looking piece of gadgetry. The colour is deep and doesnt scratch easily (still no visible marks except finger prints, even after over a year). The screen looks excellent and the information on the display is clear and bright (when indoors). The headphones fit snuggly into the ear and are inkeeping with the sleek design of the body. The fact that it is a sony product should, quite rightly, draw you towards this reasonably priced mp3 player and this brings with it a host of benefits such as good customer services and a range of appliances compatable with the product. However, the software which comes with this is terrible and even got to the point with me where it wouldn't even load on the computer. BUT don't let this deter you. Sony have realised this problem and supply a link on their website for the download of SonicStage which is a reliable, trustworthy replacement, and works well with the NW-A3000.

On first purchasing the player I noticed that the sound was quite quiet, in comparison to the Creative range, for example. However, you can get instructions on the internet which guides you into the internal workings of this mp3 player enabling you to turn off the volume limiter. Simple search google for "sony volume hack" and follow the instructions on the necessary site.

There are two main disadvantages for me with this mp3 player. The first is that it turns on extremely easily if you're carrying it in your pocket (by the push of any of the buttons) and this often causes the battery life to mysteriously deplete. Sony could do with addressing this problem in future models, allowing users to "hold" the buttons even when the product is turned off. The second problem is that when the sun shines on the product it is impossible to read the display, which is slightly frustrating. You can look rather undignified scrolling through your music with the player up your jumper, shading from the sun. haha.

Anyway, I think this is an excellent mp3 player, has its plus points, and it's negative ones, but has never let me down and is a vital companion for me particularly when on the train.

This Sony NW-A3000 was a Christmas present I received in 2005 after I earlier dropped and lost my Creative Zen Touch on a tram. Having seen the adverts for the 'Walkman' on TV and knowing the quality in Sony products that I had used in the past, it seemed an ideal replacement...hmmm.

The unit itself is very pretty and sleek, like the new pebble-style mobile phones in appearance and lighter than the Creative Zen that it replaced. With a good battery life from a small recharge time. However, the old adage of "style over substance" is particularly apt when describing this product (hello, iPod Nano owners!).

The unit only has three main buttons on the front that must be used in conjunction with each other for operation and this can take a long time to get used to. To access your music you are required to go back and forward through the library without the option of programming tracks or even albums to listen to in a particular order, everything must be organised through the bookmark function which acts like a play-list but cannot be played whilst it is being programmed and the music is briefly interrupted by a short pause every time a track is added to the bookmark (very irritating!).

As an alternative to this, Sony, in their infinite wisdom, have added some features to the player that I have used only once in four months of owning the unit. 'Time Machine Shuffle' randomly plays tracks from the same year, which is good if you have a couple of albums from one year but if it's just a couple of singles then you can quickly find yourself reaching into your pocket to start again. The 'My Favorite' (sic) function allows you to play your favourite 100 songs from the library. Now, when they say 100 favourite, they mean the 100 songs that you have played most recently, even if you have only played it for a few seconds before skipping to another. This is an example of the inflexible design and lack of control that you feel when using the NW-A3000.

Software was initially poor but this is improved with a download from the internet although track management and organising tracks into Bookmarks is still difficult and frustratingly slow.

The sound is on the tinny side and the pre-programmed sound settings (jazz, pop etc.) are virtually indistinguishable from each other and I have resorted to customising my own sound setting that is a slight improvement.

Overall, frustrating and disappointing.

To coin a phrase:

Never.Buy.Another