By Shane McGlaun

I still think of those giant yellow cassette players from the 1980′s when I hear the Walkman name. It also reminds me of those huge headphones with the built-in FM radio sporting the giant antenna that I used to see people wearing when they ran. I’m surprised most joggers didn’t end up with neck injuries from the massive things.

Sony has added a new product to the Walkman line that is slick and sounds a lot like the iPod touch. The new gadget is the Walkman X-series and it is available in 16GB for $299 and 32GB for $399. Other than the amount of storage, the two models are the same. Both sport a 3-inch OLED screen for video in WMV or MPEG-4 formats.

Noise reduction technology and special EX headphones work together to eliminate 98% of external sounds from the environment they are worn in. Sony says these are its first products with integrated Wi-Fi in the Walkman range. The player can access Slacker Radio and YouTube over Wi-Fi. The players are set to ship in mid-June.

[ Sony ]