From our other sites
The story
Sony’s newly unveiled Walkman, the “NW-WM1ZM3,” is reportedly priced at ¥679,800 for the 256GB model and set to launch in November, sparking a wave of reactions on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board. At 670g — heavier than a bottle of water — it drew repeated questions about who would actually buy such a thing in an era when listening to music on a smartphone is the norm, while others guessed it’s aimed squarely at audiophiles and car-audio enthusiasts. Some pointed out that the Android-equipped models have notoriously poor battery life, with the older non-Android series lasting far longer, and the thread split over exactly who this device is for.
Pre-orders open now 😨
Source: sony.jp / Original article here
What people said
so I guess it'll sell just fine
Smartphones are more capable anyway
And honestly you could just use AI to build your own music player at this point
Who exactly is this even aimed at
That's exactly why they're going the premium-price route
Probably the hardcore car-audio crowd
Most people on Earth would pay ¥300,000 for a TV, but not for this…
Excuse you, it's got a whopping 256GB of storage 😡
Uh… yeah…
Seriously, who is buying this
I remember when it first came out, people were saying 'that's Sony for you, world-class'
It's for rich audiophiles
Make your pants sag
Apparently it's basically a lump of copper inside
probably makes it totally unsuited for
something like running while listening to music
Don't talk trash about the iPhone!
Apparently there are people who drop hundreds of thousands, even millions of yen on those
To anyone not into it, that looks just as insane
That's just how hobbies are
Trading cards at least hold resale value
Does this have any resale value? Even a used one going for ¥200,000, who'd want it
The battery drains like crazy even when you're doing nothing, doesn't even last a day
Meanwhile the non-Android A40 or A50 last 2 days,
and the S series can easily go about 4 days
That battery life is seriously way too weak
Background and Key Points of This Topic
The “NW-WM1ZM3” at the center of this discussion is the successor to Sony’s top-tier Walkman “Signature Series,” and the previous model also cost around ¥400,000 — these have always been known as premium gear aimed at audiophiles, not mass-market devices for the general public. The design prioritizes sound quality, right down to using oxygen-free copper in the chassis, and the 670g weight is said to be a byproduct of that. Now that listening to music on a smartphone is the norm, it’s natural that people would question the point of a standalone player, but as the thread itself pointed out, the target audience isn’t people looking for a “smartphone replacement” — it’s listeners seeking high-quality playback through car audio systems or home setups. Meanwhile, the point that Android-equipped models burn through battery fast, while the non-Android S series and A series last much longer, is a nuance that’s easy to miss for readers unfamiliar with the Walkman lineup — and the thread split in tone between those who saw the price alone as a “rip-off” and those who viewed it as simply “the going rate in that hobby’s world.”
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (“Nandemo Jikkyo G”) thread “[Image] Sony’s New Walkman Priced at a Whopping ¥679,800, Launching in November.”
Leave a Reply