What is a Wireless Walkman?

The wireless walkman is a Sony® product that has many imitators or close cousins. The Sony® version resembles a pair of earphones, or more accurately, earbuds, that are not attached by a wire to an accompanying player. Instead, the device that plays music, is a tiny piece attached directly to the earphones. This allows people to listen to their favorite music without all the mess and fuss of getting tangled up in wires.

There are actually a number of wireless walkman types or solutions on the market. Sony’s®, which will probably go through many changes as it evolves, is celebrated for ease of use and sound quality in keeping with the company’s past reputation. Since it is a hands' free device and the ear buds tend to fit securely, many enjoy using this player particularly if they want to be active.

The one disadvantage cited about the wireless walkman of this type is that it doesn’t have a screen on the small MP3 player. People have options like shuffling their music or moving to the next song with a click of a button, but some people find the lack of screen and limited functionality of the MP3 player inconvenient. It’s been compared to screenless versions of the iPod® Shuffle in this respect.

For people who do enjoy the control of a wireless walkman type device, there are several alternative options. Many companies make Bluetooth® wireless headphones. When used with a small adaptor and a pair of headphones or earbuds, they can still pick up music being played from an MP3 player or cellphone.

Some of these can be used around the house while the MP3 player sits close by. For those using the device while running or walking, there are plenty of handy ways to carry it. The big advantage to going the Bluetooth® route is it allows people to pick their favorite MP3 player and make adjustments to the music as they want, with greater ease.

A wireless walkman can be a great way to go, and another option for some folks is to purchase radio headsets. These eliminate the work associated with buying music, creating playlists and downloading it onto an MP3, and lets radio stations do the programming instead. Like the wireless walkman, most of these headphones or buds make it pretty simple to navigate radio stations. A few tech companies have combined two good ideas, offering radio/MP3s that are wireless. In a sense, these dual function products are quite similar to the Sony walkman of old that featured ability to play cassettes and listen to the radio.