Sony has a hit on its hands with the bright and colorful NW-E005 Walkman MP3 players. These 2GB Flash players are available in black, green and violet, and Sony also offers different colors with 512MB (NW-E002) and 1GB (NW-E003) capacities. We tested the NW-E005BLACK.

The first thing you'll notice is the NW-E005's resemblance to the ubiquitous USB pocket storage drives. One end of the player is a cover that pops off to reveal the USB connector, so no cables are necessary. Just plug the NW-E005 into your computer and transfer music and data, as well as recharge the battery.

The NW-E005's battery has a quick-charge feature that gives you 3 hours of playback in only 3 minutes of charging via USB, which is perfect for a last-minute charge before a workout. When completely charged, the battery is good for up to 28 hours of playback. Unfortunately, the NW-E005 can only be recharged through the USB connection, so if you get stuck with a low battery while away from a computer, you're out of luck.

The NW-E005 has a detailed one-line OEL (organic electroluminescence) display that provides song and other information, such as the battery power level. The display can be flipped to make the text right-side up for both righties and lefties, but this doesn't change the fact that in all but the most ideal lighting conditions, the display is almost impossible to read from anywhere more than a few inches away. All of the standard control buttons are present, although some of the buttons' locations can take some getting used to.

In addition to MP3, the NW-E005 is compatible with ATRAC music files, the format used by Sony's Connect Music Store. Like some of Sony's other players, this player also supports non-protected AAC and WMA files, so your iTunes music can be used too. The NW-E005 comes with Sony's SonicStage music management software, which is both loved and hated by digital music fans.

In addition to playing digital audio files, the NW-E005 has an integrated FM tuner with station presets for an added listening option. You can fine-tune the sound with one of the five preset equalizer curves, or you can set the sound levels yourself with the five-band equalizer.

This is a small, compact player that can go anywhere. Despite several shortcomings, the Sony NW-E005's quick-charge capabilities, multiple colors and sharp design make it a fun and functional MP3 player.

Pros: Stylish and small player with big storage capacity, FM tuner, quick-charge battery option
Cons: Hard-to-read display, questionable control button layout, needs USB-equipped computer for charging

Warranty
90 days labor, 1 year parts