Japan will get a taste of the reborn Walkman brand when Sony launches a new portable MP3 player there next week.
Featurewise, the Walkman X Series is attractive, with a three-inch screen, Wi-Fi, a Web browser, an FM tuner and noise cancellation. The "hybrid" display uses an OLED touch screen as well as several buttons. Black and red models are available in 16 GB or 32 GB.
For fun, let's compare it to the iPod Touch: Both have audio and video, but no FM tuner on the iPod -- you'd have to buy one seperately. Wi-Fi comes standard with both. Apple has the App Store and games to boot, but there's no word on whether the Walkman X will have any content for sale. However, the Walkman X will have a podcast direct downloader, and I like the idea of a noise cancellation function. Both players come in 16 GB and 32 GB flavors, but the Apple also sells an 8 GB Touch.
And then, there's the price. Touches range from $229 to $399, while the Walkman X models will sell for the equivalent of roughly $400 and $500.
PC World, in its hands-on, says the Walkman X will ship to markets outside of Japan later this year, but it's not clear where, exactly. So that begs the question: Would you buy one?
