Sony NWZ-A826
In recent years, the inventors of the original Walkman have fallen a bit behind in the personal audio arena but, as games of catch-up go, the 4GB NWZ-A826 is hard to beat.
Design-wise it’s not a million miles from the iPod Touch, its obvious main rival, being an ultra-slim, black beauty with a large full-colour screen for video playback and photo display. Navigation through the menus is simple and intuitive, and audio playback is nothing less than excellent.
The supplied earbuds are fine and come in three sizes; also supplied are a pair of wireless back-loop headphones. These are more comfortable but we did detect a slight loss in sound quality, and how well they’d stay put while running is very much dependent on the shape of your head! The Sony might also be a little fragile for training use.
Contact : Sony 08705 111999 www.sony.co.uk
Matt Baird
Editor of Cycling Plus magazine 
