Sony unveils Meb Keflezighi Edition Walkman W Series (video)

Sony just announced the Meb Keflezighi Edition Walkman W Series. A special edition orange hue pays tribute to the third-time Olympic marathoner’s device and, like the other players in the line, it features a water resistant design, a quick-charge mode and an eight hour battery life when fully charged.  Twenty-four minutes of audio coaching by Meb himself are preloaded into the player’s 2GB memory, which is estimated to store roughly 470 songs.  The Meb Keflezighi Edition Walkman W Series runs $69.99 at Sony’s online and brick-and-mortar stores, and will be available at Walmart in October.

Check out the video and full press release…

FULL PRESS RELEASE

MEB KEFLEZIGHI EDITION SONY WALKMAN® W SERIES AVAILABLE AT WALMART STORES NATIONWIDE IN OCTOBER
Sony Congratulates Meb Keflezighi on 4th Place Finish in Olympic Marathon

SAN DIEGO, September 4, 2012 – Sony today announced the availability of the Meb Keflezighi edition Walkman® digital music player W Series at Walmart stores nationwide beginning in October. Sony also congratulates Meb Keflezighi, an American distance running hero, on taking 4th in the Olympic Marathon and securing a place among the most accomplished marathoners in history. After winning the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and a first-place finish in the 2009 New York City Marathon, Meb returned to the Games and improved upon his 2004 silver medal performance time by 23 seconds.

Meb Keflezighi Edition Walkman® W Series

Meb partnered with Sony to develop a product that would invigorate his marathon training program as well as the regimens of runners and health and fitness enthusiasts around the world. The Walkman W Series is a wire free digital music player designed to conveniently and comfortably accompany its user to the gym, trail and treadmill. The water-resistant technology ensures it can withstand sweat from intense workouts in any weather condition.
“Having Sony behind me and my MEB foundation has inspired me to continue to accomplish more and has given me the tools to continue to perform at my peak,” said Meb Keflezighi. “Having the right training tools are critical in maintaining a high level of energy and motivation in my training, and the Sony Walkman W Series is a must on my list.”

“We are proud to be working with Meb again this year and brining his special edition Walkman W Series to our first key dealer, Walmart,” said Brian Pancarik, Senior Product Manager at Sony Electronics. “Fitness is a critical component of a healthy lifestyle. Meb agrees that music can help fuel even the most challenging workouts and has many tips that he wants to share with his fans, which is why we have developed the Meb Keflezighi Edition Walkman W Series.”

Leading up to the Marathon, Meb used the Walkman W Series to stay motivated during grueling workouts with his favorite music. In order to inspire others, Meb worked with Sony to pre-load each Meb edition Walkman W Series with tips and techniques to help runners of all types achieve their running goals. The digital music player has 2GB capacity (approximately 470 songs) and comes in a special-edition orange.

Like all Walkman W Series, the Meb edition comes with Content Transfer software that allows users to easily drag and drop music files from iTunes® for Windows®, Windows Media Player or Windows Explorer (DRM free content only). The device also offers a convenient quick-charge function. With only three minutes of charge time, the device can run for up to 60 minutes and full battery life is up to 8 hours.

Beginning this September, runners, marathoners, and music fans will get to compete in Rock the Race with Meb, presented by Sony Walkman W Series. Rock the Race with Meb is an online marathon race where players can race like rock stars to win VIP trips to train with Meb Keflezighi, experience Rock ‘N’ Roll marathon® with bibs or roll like a rock star to SXSW® 2013. Like us and stay connected to get the latest news at Facebook.com/RocktheRacewithMEB.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each Meb Edition Walkman W Series benefits the MEB Foundation up to $20,000, which stands for Maintain Excellent Balance, a non-profit aimed at inspiring children and their families to lead more active and balanced lives.

The Meb Keflezighi Edition Walkman W Series is currently available at www.sony.com/walkman, Sony retail stores and other authorized retailers nationwide. For images and information, please visit www.sony.com/news. The 2GB Meb Keflezighi Special Edition Sony Walkman player retails for $69.99.