OK – The DNE240s is good for what it is: just above an entry level CD player. Other than mp3 CD playback capacity, it's really pretty featureless. While this means you can get a CD player pretty cheap, it's not what you might expect from a Sony.

Since Sony was more or less coming up with all the new innovations in personal entertainment a few years ago, it's somewhat disappointing to see that this, the top of their range, is actually a long way behind what we used to see, barely higher than their basic models. Gone are simple features like backlit displays. There's no remote, nor capacity to connect one when every model used to either come with one or have it as an optional extra. While using AA batteries makes it simpler for travelling, it's also much bulkier -no more players about as thick as a CD case.

However, the mp3 CD playback is great, allowing the unit to be competative with the mp3 players that are now so incredibly cheap. The price is good for said mp3 playback, but at the cost of all the features.

So, a good unit but not really a Sony, nor nearly as good as it could be. Reasonably priced, good unit, nice to have mp3 playback. Not much in the way of features.