NW-E003F

The NW-E003F is the FM-equipped overseas version in the seventh-generation E Series Network Walkman range. It uses the same crystal-designed USB memory-stick shape as its siblings. With 1 GB of internal storage, it supports MP3, ATRAC, ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus, WMA, and AAC playback. The OLED display and 28-hour lithium-ion battery paired with direct USB connectivity and FM radio.

The middle-capacity FM variant of the USB-stick E family best captures why these overseas radio branches existed. The underlying player was already compact and easy to live with. FM simply made it feel more complete as an everyday-carry object. By this point the E Series was no longer trying to enforce a very specific vision of digital music. It was trying to be useful.