No, you did not misread that title. Sony has today announced the Australian availability of the Walkman WH series – which aims to combine the MP3 player, headphones, and portable speakers into one design.
And while they technically fit the definition of wireless headphones – that is, there are no wires – that only applies when you play music from the device. There is a headphones cable included with the WH series that lets you connect any device – like an iPod or PC – so you can listen to more sources of music if necessary.
The WH series comes in two flavours – the NWZ-WH303 and the NWZ-WH505. Sony promises both will deliver in sound quality thanks to the powerful drivers used – the WH303 has a 30mm driver with a sensitivity of 30-20,000Hz, while the WH505 has a 40mm driver with a sensitivity of 5-25,000Hz. These can also be used as portable “surround sound” speakers, with Sony saying you need to just wrap them around your neck and press a button to activate the feature.
The WH303 comes with a storage capacity of 4GB, comes in white or red, and a price tag of $199. The WH505, on the other hand, has 16GB of memory, comes in black or grey, and is priced at $299.
The headphones are available now.