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The 'ergonomic' bean-shaped player offers 512Mb and 1GB capacities in white, black, blue or pink, with a one-line OLED display and neat, pop-up USB connector. The 512MB version will also be available with an FM tuner.

Sony claims 50 hours of playback from a single charge though past evidence has suggested that real-world battery performance rarely matches manufacturers' claims. There is playback support for both ATRAC and MP3.

The Walkman Bean will be available in mid-September for £99.

Comparisons with Apple's iPod shuffle are inevitable and observers will highlight the Sony Bean's battery life. In Apple's favour is, of course, compatibility with the iTunes Music Store. While Bean owners will only be able to play downloads from Sony's Connect store which are encoded in ATRAC. Still, as both support MP3s ripped from CDs, on paper there appears little to choose between them.

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