The Walkman X-Series isn’t just an iPod rival. It’s a Walkman saviour. Sony invented portable music in the late 1970s and dominated for two decades. Then the Apple iPod appeared and Sony didn’t so much drop the ball as meekly hand it to Apple. The Tokyo giant refused to support MP3, put out a succession of horrible-looking novelty players and looked on in horror as Apple sauntered off with its crown. That’s all history now, though. The X-Series is where the Walkman fight-back begins.

beefed up by both digital noise cancelling and an advanced digital sound processor. Extraneous hubbub, from chit-chat to moderate train noise, is comfortably filtered out by the noise cancelling, while the S-Master digital sound processor ensures that even if you’re playing music loud, it still remains crystal clear.

The X-Series isn’t fussy about what it’ll play, with MP3, WMA and AAC supported. With iTunes Store music now DRM-free, there’s nothing stopping you from putting tracks purchased there on your X-Series. Although there’s still nothing as elegant as Apple’s iTunes software for managing tunes, you can drag and drop tunes, in fuss-free style.

The X-Series offers a slightly smaller screen than the iPod Touch – 3 inches compared to 3.5 – but what it lacks in girth, it makes up for in crispness and vibrancy. Put simply, the OLED screen here thrashes the iPod’s LED one, putting in a better performance with video and photos alike. It does make you long to live in Japan, though – their X-Series can receive digital TV broadcasts, which look stunning. Over here we’ve got YouTube, which is a pretty poor consolation, visually.

The X-Series’ touchscreen is a tad basic compared to the Touch’s, a little unresponsive at times and lacking multi-touch or an accelerometer. You do get a coverflow view if you want to finger your way through your collection, as well as more traditional list views.

Looks-wise, the X-Series is a more butch counterpoint to Apple’s curvier, more attractive Touch. It’s slightly smaller and more pocket-friendly, while the granite sides give it a look and feel that’s tough yet tactile. The rough edges also house oft-used buttons including the noise-cancelling switch. It’s not as tidy as the ’Pod, sure, but it also saves you fishing the X-Series from your pocket every time you want to fast forward or adjust the volume.

This is a superb PMP. Things like a poorer interface and lack of Mac compatibility put it at a slight disadvantage to the iPod Touch, but its screen and audio quality really shine. After numerous false starts and a general drubbing from the iPod, the X-Series puts the Walkman right back in the game.