Sony has introduced a new MP3 player, called Walkman. The new models will be available in a 2OGB (NW-A3000) and 6GB (NW-A1000) versions – 20GB (NW-A3000) and 6GB (NW-A1000) and come in violet, siler and pink colours with matching earphones.

By selecting ‘My Favorite Shuffle’, the device automatically selects the most listened to 100 songs and plays them at random. The ‘Time Machine Shuffle’ function randomly selects a year and plays all of the songs from that particular year that are currently held on the device.

Once switched on, a mobile phone style ‘Home’ menu appears offering nine different options that can be selected via the four-way directional button. These include ‘Music Library’, ‘Play Mode’, ‘Initial Search’, ‘Intelligent Shuffle’, ‘Favorite 100′, ‘Play History’, ‘Settings’, ‘Playlist’ and ‘Now Playing’.

Music can be searched in a variety of ways, via ‘Genre’, ‘Artist’, ‘Album’, ‘Song’, ‘Release Date’, ‘Rating’ and ‘Recently Transferred’, all of which can be scrolled through to enable users to find their music faster and easier. Sony WALKMAN records three years of playback history that can be searched and also features the first ever ‘Initial Search’ on a hard disc device, allowing the user to scroll from A-Z for ultimate ease of use.

The models will measure W55.0mm x H88.1mm x D18.7mm (the thinnest part is 11.5mm) with a 1.5in screen for the 6Gb player and W65.2mm x H104.2mm x D21.4mm (the thinnest part is 13.5mm) with a 2in screen for the 20Gb.