For most fitness-types, managing their music while at the gym or during a jog is a tedious task indeed. If you can manage to avoid the wires from tangling with each other (who can?), then there’s the prospect of clipping the player to your clothing and, for the extremely picky, dealing with those audio-fidelity issues inherent with technologies such as RF and Bluetooth. Now Sony’s never been the sort to shy away from experimenting with its personal audio line, and the latest W-series Sony Walkman NWZ-W202 offers an innovative take on the age-old conundrum.

Quite honestly, the W-series Walkman looks like the offspring of a Bluetooth headset, a couple of earphones and, in some senses, a stethoscope! Don’t mistake me, this decidedly futuristic-looking device is a 2GB flash-based MP3 player with integrated earphones and a practical all-in-one design.

The only wire (of sorts) is the sturdy cord, which connects the two halves and wraps around the back of your head. The in-ear headphones hold the player in place, and three sets of silicon tips are provided to suit a range of ear sizes. They’re comfortable to wear for short periods of time, but lead to some amount of fatigue after extended durations. Just as well — you may look a little odd if you wear these everywhere, not to forget they may make you a prime target for mugging!

All of the player’s controls are situated on the right half, with a jog dial responsible for power, play/pause and track skipping. A volume control is the only other button on the earpiece, which makes sense — the fewer buttons to use, the less you have to hunt around when you’re running on the treadmill.

Sony’s long been a fan of the jog dial and it really is an excellent way of controlling this small screen-less player. One firm press brings the NWZ-W202 to life, and then you just flick the dial to pause and skip between tracks. And much like the iPod Shuffle, there’s a shuffle-mode switch on the back of NWZ-W202, and the device can play AAC files, in addition to MP3s and DRM-protected WMAs.

When not in use, the NWZ-W202’s magnetic headphones connect to each other neatly — no more tangled cords with this player! Build quality is excellent, and the player feels more than capable of standing up to a few knocks.

The neat bit? The magnetic link between the headphones also functions as a power switch — you simply snap the two together to turn the player off. Charging (and song loading) is achieved via a mini-USB port mounted on a stylish dock/display stand.

Now while Sony recommends Windows Media Player 11 for copying songs to the player, it’s just as easy to drag and drop files. Also, like most Sony players, it supports Quick Charge, wherein the player can play for 90 minutes on just a three-minute charge. A full charge gives you around 12 hours playback and takes about an hour and a half.

Now while the device is easy enough to use, and the audio reproduction clearly steals the march over the Shuffle’s tinny little earphones, navigating around 2GB of music isn’t the easiest on this device. In theory, the Zappin navigation system is meant to play back recognisable snippets from each tune to help you quickly find the song that you’re after.

In reality, it just picks out random snatches of music to the accompaniment of a tacky zapping noise and an American voice exclaiming ‘Zappin in’!. Not cool. In contrast, the VoiceOver feature of the Shuffle is miles ahead of the Zappin — not only does it speak out the name of the song, but it also tells you other information like the playlist name, podcast name and lets you quickly navigate between playlists. Reminds me — the W202 does not support playlists.

Add to that the pricing — had Sony shimmied in an additional 2GB into the W-series, I’d have equivocally handed it over to the Sony, despite Zappin’s shortcomings. Net net, better audio quality than the Shuffle, better wearability, but let down by a lack of playlists and an odd-navigation system — the W202 makes a good choice for health fanatics.

Quick Specs:

• Features: 2GB capacity Headphone-style WALKMAN, with ZAPPIN Function and Jog Dial Operation

• Power Source: Built-in Li-ion Rechargeable Battery / USB power (From a computer via the supplied stand)

• Recharge Time: Approx. 1.5 hrs (full charge for 12 hour playback) and Quick Charge - 3 min (charge for up to 90 min Playback)

• File Formats supported: MP3 Audio, WMA audio, AAC Audio

• Supplied Accessories: Ear Buds (S/M/L), Stand (With USB cable 1m), Holder, Operation Guide, “Content Transfer” software in Walkman® MP3 Player

• Weight: Approx 35g

• Rating: 7/10

• Price: Rs 4,990

l• URL: http://www.sony.co.in/product/nwz-w202

Hard to beat

Less sequel, more an extended edition with director’s commentary. The Touch Diamond2 is more about sensible upgrades rather than brand-spanking new features. And why not? The original Diamond was one of the most complete Windows Mobile devices ever launched, and its excellent combination of styling and features earned it some well-deserved popularity.

Its tamely named successor, the Diamond2 is adorned with a larger and higher-res screen, a vastly superior camera and more RAM. The TouchFLO 3D UI has also been improved and now covers the underlying Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS from cover to cover. A sensible move, especially considering the emphasis on usability in the age of the Androids and the Apples — the more of Windows Mobile you can hide, the better.

Unfortunately, the Diamond2 hasn’t quite exorcised all the demons of its past — the resistive touchscreen still means the Diamond 2 will live and die by the stylus, while the competition happily invites you to use your God-given stylus to smudge up those lovely touchscreens. There is a touch-sensitive zoom control running along the bottom of its screen, which mildly solves the problem of having a resistive screen: the lack of multi-touch. Since you can’t zoom with a pinch of the fingers, and zoom menus can be frustrating, a zoom control is handy.

That apart, the HTC Touch Diamond2 is packed with features, including great Web-browsing capability and a gorgeous screen, not to mention an excellent snapper and great out-of-the-box applications, including the all-important ability to edit documents from the word go. If you don’t mind wielding the tiny wand and you’d happily trade the usability of the iPhone for a phone full of features, the Diamond2 could be for you. As Windows Mobile phones go, this is the one to beat.

• Rating: 8/10 lURL : http://www.htc.com/in/product/touchdiamond2/overview.html

• Price: Rs 29,990