Japanese technology manufacturer Sony has rolled out its two latest music players — the NW-ZX707 and the NW-A306 models — to attract new customers to its Walkman, which ruled the music industry in the 1980s and 90s.
“Both players are designed for listeners to enjoy music the way the artist intended with high-quality sound with a sleek design,” Sony said.
The Tokyo-based company, which launched its first cassette-based Walkman, the TPS-L2, in 1979, is credited with revolutionising the portable music market and changing the way people listen to music.
The National explores the new Walkman models and looks at their competition in today's market.
Nostalgia mixed with modern tech
Walkman is a portable audio player brand produced and sold by Sony since 1979. The company’s first Walkman was a portable cassette player that transitioned its presentation and technology over the years into CD, mini-disc, MP3s and eventually music streaming.
Sony sold about 200 million cassette-based Walkmans before retiring them in 2010. However, the total number for all devices under the Walkman brand is more than 400 million, according to different reports.
More juice to last more than a day
The new models come with a longer battery life compared to previous iterations to ensure listeners can immerse themselves in more music.
The NW-ZX707 has a battery life of up to 25 hours, while the NW-A306 has a battery life of up to 36 hours, the company said.
They come with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that can be fully charged in 3.5 hours from a computer using a USB cable.
Android 12 and Wi-Fi support
Both models are supported by the latest Android 12, Google-owned operating system and are compatible with Wi-Fi connectivity.
Android 12, which was launched in October 2021, allows users to access various music-playing apps available on the Google Play Store. Users can download music and stream from several services including YouTube and Spotify.
“This stylish and compact music player lets consumers download and stream more of the music they love,” Sony said.
Besides enjoying streaming services and music apps on the Walkman, users can also connect the device to their personal computers to gain access to their own music collection.
How big is the new model?
With a 3.6-inch display, the NW-A306 models weighs only 113 grams and comes with a 32GB memory. The NW-ZX707 has a 5-inch screen and weighs about 227 grams, offering an enhanced memory of 64GB.
How Apple’s iPods drove innovations in Sony’s Walkmans
Apple's iPod, a device that upended the music and electronics industries more than two decades ago, is no more, but it fuelled innovations in Sony’s Walkman at regular intervals.
In 2004, the Walkman entered the hard disk music player arena to compete with iPod. Starting from close to $400, the company unveiled a palm-sized device that could store up to 13,000 songs on 20GB.
At the 2011 Internationale Funkausstellung, Sony unveiled an Android-based Walkman to compete with the iPod Touch that allowed users to gain access to apps available on Apple’s App Store.
Called the Walkman Mobile Entertainment Player, the new gadget allowed customers to use various music apps through the Google Play Store.
Using high-definition multimedia interface technology, users could also play games and videos stored on the Walkman on any HDMI-equipped TV.
Similar to iPod Touch’s AirPlay technology, Sony introduced “throw” technology in 2011 that allowed the Walkman to find a local compatible device and stream content directly on them.
In May last year, Apple announced that it would discontinue the iPod Touch, the last remnant of a product line that first went on sale in October 2001.
Price and availability
NW-A306 will start from about $430, while the NW-ZX707 will cost $820, more than many smartphones on the market. Both products will be available in select markets in Asia and Europe.
The company expects the new products to add to its profitability. Its net income jumped by 24 per cent on a yearly basis to about $1.78 billion in the quarter that ended in September last year.
The view from The National
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
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