NW-HD3

The NW-HD3 completed the first-generation hard-disk Walkman lineup. It features 20GB hard drive storage and expanded format support to include MP3 alongside ATRAC, ATRAC3, and ATRAC3plus. Its LCD screen displayed track information and it delivers up to 30 hours of battery life, with shock protection and an acceleration sensor. It is the first HDD Walkman to offer standard MP3 playback, marking the family's shift beyond ATRAC-only audio.

The HD3 is where Sony's hard-disk Walkman finally became much easier to defend. The branch already had a strong core idea of carrying far more music than any flash player of the period, but the earlier models made too many parts of that experience feel heavier than they needed to be. Native MP3 support made the player feel much more realistic in ordinary use. It did not erase the tension between strong hardware and Sony's old ecosystem instincts, but it reduced it enough that the HDD Walkman started feeling less doctrinaire and more practical.