Info: Sony's claim on MP3 player battery life. True or false?

Hey guys! This is my first FAQ! I hope it is up to the standards of this forum...

So I got a Sony MP3 player, model NW-E507. It's one of the silver editions that uses a relatively new technology (OLED) as the screen. Quick refresh on OLED TechnologyWhen I got it, I read some of the claims on the box:

"Quick Charge: 3 Min Charge = 3 Hr Playback" "Up to 50 hrs battery life." " 1GB 695 songs"

My first impressions were: "yeah right. The iPod shuffle lasts only 16 hours, and it has no screen! This has to be a crazy claim...695 songs? Only if the songs are short and under max compression at 64KB Atrac3plus..."

So now to the point...does the battery life of this Sony really last 50 hours? Cnet tested the NW-E407 (1GB) and it lasted 44.4 hours in the test lab. However, there is no review on the battery life of the NW-E500 series (only apparent difference were the colors and FM tuner) So I just had to test it for myself...

Some key words/terms for settings:
AVLS (Automatic Volume Limiting System) max volume: 16/31
Sound Type: More bass/treble etc.
Power Save: Normal, Ultra, Off
MP3/Radio: Used one, or both.

Test 1: Standard settings

The standard settings I put for the player were: AVLS maximum volume; Sound type: Normal; Power Save Normal; MP3 only

Charge time is ~60 minutes. Must charge through USB

I left the player on, playing music put the player on "shuffle" and sent it on its way. I kept it in my pocket and checked on it around the 50 hour mark.

Results: Playtime = 58 Hours 49 Minutes

Test 2-7: "Charge in minutes, play for hours"

Same settings as the standard settings; charged by the minute.

Results:



Test 8: Screen Always On

I don't know who would ever leave their screen on, but it's pointless with this MP3 player, besides to know that the player is on. It bothered me a little at night because the screen is bright, so putting it in a drawer solved that problem. The Power Save mode just makes the OLED give off graphical sound waves which don't do anything except to tell you that the player is on. Ultra power save mode just turns the screen off after a few seconds.

MP3 only, same as standard settings.

Results: 23 hours 08 minutes Kinda dissapointing . I might redo that test, but probably not.

Test 9: 1/2 MP3, 1/2 Radio
Again, standard settings. I played half MP3 and half radio. It only played MP3's until the 25 hour mark, where I changed it to a local radio station.

Results: 57 hours 39 minutes Not bad, but I expected more.

I'm not done yet, I still have a few more tests to go through...I'll update when I finish the tests.

Test 10: AVLS; MP3; Sound I; Normal Power Save Mode

Results: 55 hours 38 minutes

Test 11: Max Volume (31); MP3; Sound Normal; Power Save Normal

Results: 54 hours 1 minute
Hmm...I expected the volume to have a bigger effect on the battery life...guess not...

Test 12: Volume @ 05; MP3; Sound I; Power Save Normal

Normal conditions I normally listen to at home. Not too bad, volume does not have a huge impact at all.

Results: 59 hours 10 minutes

Test 13: AVLS; Radio; No sound settings; Power Save Ultra <- this should result in higher battery life

Results: 25 hours 2 Minutes
2nd Test: 24 hours 22 minutes I don't listen to radio for a whole day straight anyway...

***??? It should definitely get battery life than this! I might retest this a few times. Maybe the FM tuner used more battery life than I thought...

Test 14: AVLS; MP3; Sound Setting 2 (Max bass); Power Save Normal
Results: 52 Hours 15 Minutes


Bottom Line: Yes, Sony's claim on battery life is correct, at least on the NW-E4xx and NW-E5XX flash based series as of yet. Just don't leave the screen on all day.

edit: Someone has asked me about the price of this MP3 player, but seeing as it is outdated now, it's harder to find. I looked on froogle and they go for around $65-$100. For that price, some of the newer Sony's may be a better choice now. Though they definitely go for cheaper than that on ebay...take a look and you may get a good deal

edit2 (5/16/2010): yep, this thing is beyond ancient now. Hopefully the latest Sony players have just as good battery life. I have not had the opportunity to test them.




Edited by numlock2.0 - 5/16/10 at 1:01pm

Just to say one thing. It takes a while to do these tests. I estimate 12 more days before I complete all the tests.

I really hope this lives up to the standards of the OC forum

EDIT: huh? Why is it in opinion? Oh well

Update: Test 10 completed. Moved sections. Pictures added.

Please criticize and critique my FAQ. Improvements?

Thanks guys! Just corrected some stupid grammatical errors. I'm currently charging the MP3 player for my next test

yeah, (just about) the same here. I did that for about the first 8 months that I had it. But I just HAD to see if the player would actually last that long.

However, it does not take into account the user switching tracks, changing volume, playing with the bubble animation, etc...I'm not sure how I would test that...

yeah, but changing the tracks requires the screen to turn on. That might affect the play time by...a few minutes I guess...