Name: Sony Walkman NWZ-E385 16GB MP3 Digital Player, 1.77" QQVGA Screen, FM Radio, iTunes and WMP Drag & Drop, Clear Audio, Black
Brand: Sony
SKU: SONWZE385BK
Price: 93.00 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 2.76 (29 reviews)

Sony Walkman NWZ-E385 16GB MP3 Digital Player, 1.77" QQVGA Screen, FM Radio, iTunes and WMP Drag & Drop, Clear Audio, Black

Sony NWZ-E385

Sony

Sony Walkman NWZ-E385 16GB MP3 Digital Player, Black

Adorama

Home Electronics

iPods & MP3 Players

Sony iPods & MP3 Players

Sony NWZ-E385 

Buy: Sony Walkman NWZ-E385 16GB MP3 Digital Player, 1.77" QQVGA Screen, FM Radio, iTunes and WMP Drag & Drop, Clear Audio, Black Features: Radio Tuner

Endless entertainment awaits with Sony Walkman NWZ-E385 8GB MP3 Digital Player (Black). It boasts easy drag-and-drop content transfer from iTunes (PC) and Windows Media Player plus up to 30 hours of audio playback on a single charge-all in an ultra-slim design. Enjoy amazingly clear music when you're on the move, working out or passing time on your daily commute thanks to Exclusive Sony Clear Audio Technologies. You can also dial in your favorite programming via the built-in FM radio. Includes earbud style headphones and a USB cable.

This was the second Walkman device I've owned and it's a major step-back from the previous (now discontinued model NWZ-E464) that I had.

The battery life is half of what my original model had. The display, and the general look and feel of the device was amazing but Sony changed things around on this model. The display is hazy and not very clear. It's slow to react to the pressing of buttons.

I do not recommend this product, or any Sony product from here-on-out, as I purchased this product (over the phone) and when it arrived it had some scratches on it.

I reached out to Sony and they will not take it back.

Don't Buy!

My third Walkman MP-3 player. S-544 8gig. S-545BLK 16 gig and this one E-385. The software is, can't think of another word, Queer. Meaning, it's very quirky. It's as if the hardware can't handle a lot of input or requests for information while it's connected to a computer. The S-545 stopped working at least 1-1/2 yrs ago. Won't boot, can't access the 16gigs of music I installed on it. The 385 is in it's final stages of this process, as in the computer won't recognize the unit. Something happens to these after about 1 year, well beyond the 90day warranty. I use these and depend on them for learning music professionally. But, I can't afford to buy a new one every year, and especially since I now have 2 units that have all the music I need but can't access, can't transfer to another unit and don't play anymore. The S-544 still works, but it's days are probably just as limited. I've only had the 385 less than a year. Again beyond the 90 day warranty. If Sony really had their stuff together, they would upgrade the software to work better, and provide a micro sd slot, so at least when the unit failed the music could be transferred to another. The software is queer, because there are files/folders on the unit I know are there and work when the unit is disconnected from the computer. However, there are a few out of alphabetical order when disconnected, and combined when connected. If you load files on it, you can't load a lot of stuff at one time, or it will hang up. That's not a deal breaker, but I've spent many hours loading what I needed onto these players, and to have them fail when I need them with no way to access the music, amounts to a waste of money. Sandisk has a few good ones that have SD slots, but they don't have near the features the Sony's do. Apple products are almost as useless and over priced for this as well, but they do last longer. I will be looking for another brand that has the stuff I need. May take awhile, but otherwise, it's just another waste of time and money. A laptop would better suit this purpose, except for the size/weight. Sorry Sony, had enough of these for awhile. Use a little more common sense and improve what you have. Stop trying to be Apple. Apple products are not expandable, just like the Sony players. Sandisk might not have the features, but at least I'm not wasting the time loading and then losing the music I've spent so much time accumulating. Take a tip from Samsung. Again, they don't have a lot of the apps Apple stuff does, but they also are expandable and have the capacity for retrieving files through an SD card. Sony Doesn't, Apple doesn't.

Not the best deal.

This is my first mp3 player, so didn't know what to expect. Looked at many, and decided this was a good choice. Still learning how to use it. Right off the bat, I don't like the option button. When you pause, and restart, you have to hold down the option button for 2-3 seconds then press the play button. Seriously a pain. Doesn't seem to play things in order, or I haven't figured it out yet. Can't seem to advance thru a pod cast either. Only been down loading pod casts so far, no music.

First MP3 Player

A few years back I purchased a Sony 8gb mp3 player and was thoroughly happy with it (still use it today). The screen graphics are amazing and are practically HD quality. Last night I purchased this 16gb player, and I'm just not happy. Upon turning the unit on, the graphics are nothing like what they are on my older player (reminds me of an cheap old RCA mp3 player I had for a few months before buying my first Sony). It also doesn't appear I can use stored pics as wallpaper on this as I could my old Sony 8gb, and upon plugging it in on the computer, it only has 14.4 gb storage. I thought this is a 16gb player...where did the other 1.6 gb go? I am very much leaning towards returning this item and now realize why people are so into iPods now.

Surprisingly disappointed

After 4 years of being one of the best devises I ever owned, my NWZ-S544 died. I purchased this thing as a replacement and I am very disappointed. They got rid of the recording the radio. Why would you do that, Sony? You had a great product before. You ruined it.

Very dissapointed

I had the NWZ-E353 for about 3 years that I liked before the battery stopped keeping a charge. It has a non-replaceable battery so I knew it would eventually need replacing. I bought a 585 and it does not seem as intuitive. It is smaller and the multi-function buttons on the front are confusing; I liked the dedicated buttons on the side of the 353. The 585's screen is smaller. Worst, the 585 does not have a bookmark function which I used a lot in the 353.

Not as good as 353

Trying to use this mp3 player compared to the older Sony models is absolutely frustrating. The number one issue that until Sony changes this I will not buy another one , is the ridiculous hold button feature. It makes me want to throw the this player across the room. For some reason they took away the dedicated hold switch that worked well on the older models and replaced it with an auto hold feature, which means if you pause the player for over I would guess one minute it goes into hold and you have to press the button for 2 or 3 seconds to get the player back on. This is a HORRIBLE feature. The next biggest problem with this player is battery life, if you are lucky you will get maybe 8 hours of solid playback before it needs charging, that is totally unacceptable. Make this player thicker with a bigger battery or make it an option to have one with an extended battery I don't care, just give me at least 25-30+ hours of playback without recharging. The final issue with this player that makes it an poor choice is that I like to put long podcasts on this player, ones that are usually at 64 kbps. To do this from windows media player, means you will be sitting there for hours while the files have to be converted to work on this player. I never had this problem with previous Sony players the files never had to go through the conversion process. They just went straight on to the player fairly fast. I am extremely disappointed in this mp3 player.

Horrible changes

I owned the NWZ-E465 four about 3 years until my toddler decided to soak it on a glass of water. It was an excellent product. I bought the new NWZE385B mp3 player. I was horribly disappointed and had to return the product. Like others have said the option button/ power button is a pain, the on-the-go bookmark option was removed which I used regularly. Sony also cheaped out on the screen size and headphones. The construction seems lighter and cheaper and from what I have been reading the battery quality is lacking. I didn't hang on to long enough to find out. You messed with a good thing Sony. Too Bad.

Cheaped out on the new model

I liked the older version of this MP3 player better, the battery life was much longer than this one, I could manipulate the playlists a lot easier, this MP3 player does not even give me the option to change my playlists. Time and time again I would sync a playlist with 30 songs on there and the MP3 player would only have one or two songs on there. I hate how the power button and the hold button are on the same button, often times I'm having to hold down the button because I somehow put it on hold when all I wanted to do was turn it off, at least with the older MP3 version the hold button was on the side. And the volume control was on the side too instead of on the wheel.

I liked the older version better

Excellent MP3. Had one, lost it after 6 years....bought another one with increase space. Use it while walking, working out, traveling. I love it because. I like radio and lostening to local stations when traveling.

Great for musicc AND radio!

An excellent MP3 player. Easy to set up, easy to download music, and very easy to use. The operating manual is easy to read and follow. For anyone looking for an MP3 player, this would be an excellent choice

Easy To Use

very satisfied. Had trouble getting volume up. Sony makes it very difficult to adjust volume. I had to go on line to get a way to turn off alar to increase volume. Sony needs to put a simple instruction for this procedure in it's users manual

Very satisfied

I received this model from Sony as a replacement for an un-fixable older Walkman MP3 player. All of the features that were positive or useful on the old model (creating playlists on the go, a slide-lock, browsing to other songs on an album from shuffle mode, an OK screen, even just resuming a playlist or album from where it last left off) have disappeared. The sound quality is poor. I have owned only Walkmans over the last 30 years but this is quite likely the last one. A disappointing product and experience.

A big step backwards for Walkman

I can see how you put a MP3 player on the market and its not compatible with MP3 sites.

I have Rhapsody an it did not work - needed to return it

Not compatable with Rhapsody

Bought it mainly to use while on the road, I take trips for work that the drive will be days long and radio stations I may like listening to be far and few between. I've got a CD player in my truck but I tire of hearing the same group and knew I would like the shuttle play. The thing sounds fairly well with the buds and I like the equalizer to tailor it but the audio is extremely weak playing it through the truck radio using a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm cable. I've got to turn the volume all the way up on my Sony and way up on the radio just to hear it so something isn't right since I can keep the volume on the Sony way down just using the buds.

Likin' It

IN GENERAL
============

Nice player and very easy to use (I never bothered to read the user manual). I got it one week ago and yesterday got another for my wife. However the software needs to be improved!!

MY COMPLAINS
=============

- Please fix unlock time - 2 seconds max - currently I have to hold the "HOLD" button for like 3 seconds to unlock the unit! Way too long!

- I want to make playlists on the device, not to import! I don't know currently how to create a playlist :(

- FIX FILE COPY!!! - when I copy files to existing folder sometimes it does not detect the folder is existing and creates new folder with the same name and puts file there. So I end up with 2-3 folders of the same name - nonsense! And please make a program to detect all the folders with same names and to join their files and to put it in one folder as it should! I don't want to do it myself.

WHAT I LIKE
=============

- Very loud sound (but I use big Sony headphones, so with the provided ones I don't know how it will be)
- Very easy to use
- FM radio with digital tuner
- Can automatically scan radiostations and save to presets
- No special software needed to copy files to the device - you just plug it to the computer and use it like a memory card
- Real buttons!!! For a music player I hate if it is touch-screen only - I want buttons!

WHAT I DONT LIKE
=================

- No RDS (however I can live without it)
- Cannot make playlists on the device (import only)
- Time to unlock the unit is long
- Bad screen (but I can live with it - when I listen to music I don't need a nice screen)
- Can play pictures and videos but because of the bad screen this is pretty much useless
- It does have 16GB memory but in reality you use only 14GB - the rest is reserved for system software and buffering I guess, however for both you don't need so much memory

IN THE BOX
=============

- The player
- USB cable for charging or transfering files
- Headphones (never tried them - I have big Sony phones
- User manual or something like it (never read it)

CONCLUSION
===========

Sony player was the only one in this price segment and 16GB memory to have real buttons and to be able to copy files directly without special software, so for me was no brainer.

Good player, but needs software improvements!

It works ok but I can't get the volume out of it I need for my motorcycle , really wish it had more power

Walkman

I am very happy with this item. It is easy to use, is what I need for walking and exercising, and even more. I certainly didn't want to pay for an iPod, and it is way more than I need even if I could afford it. The sound is good, the size is very portable, and it is a great value for the price.

Excellent value

I purchased this to replace the E464 model thinking that at the very least the software was the same. It wasn't. It is fine if you use the shuffle feature constantly but I use it to listen to multiple albums of one artist at a time. It won't even do that. What it does is stop at the end of the album and you have to start it back up to go to the next. Very inconvenient. Unless you have your songs tagged properly it will play out of song order on the album. AVOID THIS PLAYER!!! I'am figuring out how to return it.

Do not buy this MP3 player

No battery life, runs down even while not in use
big down grade from last model
Will not shut off , having tone reset all the time.

Not worth it...

Have older Sony mp3 players,and love them all. When I got the new one it took a little time to get used to the new controls but now it's second nature to me now. Great product!

just what I asked for

Good sound out and good room on CPU.
Wish the batty would last longer.

I had 4 other Brand MP3 players. My first Sony was 4 years ago. It was so much easier to use in every way. The new NWZ-E385, is just a tad smaller. It has all the features I had on my old one.
Compact in size. A must right now. I spend Hours on a lawn mower here at home. I have a sleeve I put it in, and no need to worry about a button being pressed. Yes, I do use the "HOLD" button.
The button features are like you see on many other players, very easy/simple to use.
I don't look at the screen for any visuals that the player may use. I look to see what playlist or artist I am looking for, so I cannot offer any video feed back on that. Though, the screen is crystal clear. At my age, I that!
One issue I have. It may not have any thing to do with Sony. The jack plug in. I seem like any ear bug I plug into the unit, never seems to be a "tight" fit. The connection seems lose on the three styles I have here. That is, I lose sound or it becomes spotty/crackly in one or both, ear pieces. I wonder if I need to find a set of ear buds with a larger diameter jack plug. ( the end that goes in to the Sony)
Other than that, as long as I keep it in the sleeve, and my belt holder, it seems to give me the sound I enjoy.
All in all, Sony has made me a happy man with my music on a device that is simple, and always comes through for me.

My Only MP3 Player

I am a longtime Sony customer and this will be my third Sony walkman MP3 player and its ok for the most part. upon receiving the player I was a bit surprised, the clunky outer casing and pixel heavy display would have led me to believe that it was a knockoff had it not come strait from Sony. I haven't watched any video on it but I don't think it would be too good judging by the regular menu screens.
I have the previous model and prefer it to this one, the only reason I got the new one was because I wanted more storage.
The previous model looked sleeker and seems sturdier and the hold button was better located on the side by the volume the new process with holding down power to lock/unlock is a pain and usually is triggered when its in my pocket.
Ive only had it a few months and the battery life seems to be diminishing and I am very good about properly charging it.
recently I have been having to reset it because the whole thing freezes and wont do anything, I don't recall resetting my older one more than once or twice in 2 years.
All and all its a good unit.

I was expecting a little more

None of Sony's Walkman MP3 players include variable playback speed or DPC.
Why on earth not?

DOESN'T INCLUDE VARIABLE PLAYBACK SPEED

This product peaked years ago, and then it seemed that Sony tried to find ways to manufacture it more cheaply. They eliminated dedicated volume buttons and the 'Hold' button. The lack of a hold button is really irritating because you are now required to press down the Option button for several seconds every single time you want to turn the player on or off, or even if you've just paused it. It gets old very quickly.

Frustrating to use

I have had the NWZ-S764 and then went to the NWZ-E475 (got dammaged in a shipwreck :( ) Then I got this one, the NWZ-E385. The biggest disappointments are only 3 things but 2 of them make my life stressed. The first which I can live with is the volume up and down went from having dedicated buttons on the side to being integrated with the D-pad, okay so I can live with it. But the hold went from a dedicated switch on the side to holding down the option button. Every time I want to get in my car and go, I try to play my music but after some time the stupid thing automatically goes on hold and you have to hold the stupid options button. Every time I want to use my player this happens, in prior models it would only go into standby and you could just push the play button and be on your way, but now I just wish I had my old one still working :'( the last thing that is bad is they took off the bookmark, I have so many songs that I have never heard all of them but when I hear a good one I liked the option before that you can add it to your bookmark. Also you could create different play lists so you could listen to music that you like for the car or the boat or when your happy or sad. but now you have to take all the songs and put them in a folder on your computer and have multiple copies of each song which take up room.

Good BUT in comparison to the last model, horrible

this is a great walkman with its sound quality but it doesn't include VPT surround or dpc speed control as previous walkman. these features are main reason I would buy a sony walkman. walkmans with vpt and dpc are available in other sony stores worldwide but not in the USA for some unknown reason.

great walkman but with missing features

Appreciate that the book I am listening to doesn't lose it's location when I am adding another book.

Also, Thank you for delivery of MP3 so quickly.