Looking for details on the Sony NW-E507

June 19, 2005 4:01 AM

I've just been reading about the Sony NW-E507 mp3 player, and I need some clarification...

It looks great, however I can't seem to find some information I really need before I make a purchasing decision. I've emailed Sony and had responses, but they haven't cleared up much for me.

Since I listen to long files (lectures, audio books etc.) I need the following functions -

Pause - so I can chat to someone then get back to where I was, and

Resume - so I don't have to skip through 35 minutes of audio to get back where I was once I stop the file.

Does anyone know if this unit has these functions? If not, is there any other solid state unit which does (and maybe has a bookmark function, too!)

posted by tomble to Technology (6 answers total)

The manual is online here. It doesn't say anything explicit, but it looks to me as if the player stays exactly where it is when you press stop, even after powering off.
posted by cillit bang at 4:31 AM on June 19, 2005

I also listen to long files -- timeshifted radio shows from my favorite noncomm radio station's 7-day mp3 archive. My mp3 player (not this model, a Creative MuVo TX FM) does remember where it was -- I mostly leave it in the car and just keep resuming what I was listening to when I get back in the car. I'm inclined to think that these days all mp3 players have this basic behavior.
posted by intermod at 8:47 AM on June 19, 2005

Waay off topic. Intermod, You don't list an EMA in your profile or I would have asked this directly.


1) Thanx for the outstanding link to WREK. What a great station.

2) While listening to the shows thru streaming is fine while I'm at my computer, I too would like to DL the shows and listen in my car, etc. But when I attempt to D/L by 'saving target as,' I get the error message 'IE cannot download from getMeta..., no such interface supported.' What is your work-around?
posted by mojohand at 12:27 PM on June 19, 2005

I couldn't find it in the manual, but can it act like a usb thumb drive, ie, work without crappy software?

I asked a suit in the sony store but I think he might have been lying to get a commission.
posted by Iax at 5:03 PM on June 19, 2005

Yes. It's on Page 30 under "Storing non-audio data". It doesn't say whether it needs the Sony drivers installed to work as a drive though.
posted by cillit bang at 6:03 PM on June 19, 2005

mojohand, they can't make it easy to download because they have to dodge the stark fist of the RIAA. To figure out the files to download, stream a show (preferably in WinAmp) and then do a right-click-properties on one of the files in the resulting playlist (each file is a 30 minute chunk of time). You should then see the direct URL to the mp3 file, which will have a filename that should imply what all the other filenames are. It's a little tedious but it's worth it.

Now that you've tried that and understood it, go to the archive page linked above and scroll down to the bottom. See the two asterisks? Hmmm....
posted by intermod at 7:58 PM on June 24, 2005