Sony to release a rival to Apple's iPod

Incompatible with...everything. Doesn't even play mp3s.

Yup, that's definitely the way to go.

Yeah, it *could* have meant a danger if it played MP3. But only ATRAC ? good one Sony..

Had a Sony mp3 player that accepted mp3's (with 3 times limit transfer with OpenMG).
Is there a chance that this is the case?

Nope, it will not play MP3s. Dumb move on Sony's part. It would have sold better if it didn't have the most incompatabile format out there.

Without the ability to play mp3, it's hardly a threat.

This must be Sony's thousandth attempt at a decent mp3 player - and they've messed it up again.

I don't get it. A smaller hard drive stores more songs?

Sony is to revamp its famous Walkman by launching a digital music player to rival Apple's iPod, which has led the market since its 2001 launch.
Didn't they already try to do this with their already unsucessful line of MP3 players?

Sony said its device would be about �55 cheaper and able to store 3,000 more songs than the top iPod model.
Good luck competing with Creative, Rio and the others. They all make decent players as well.

It is also aiming to boost use of its online music store Sony Connect, as its Walkman will play songs only in the company's own format.
Did they like forget about the MP3 revolution that has taken place recently. Oh yes, people will love converting their entire song collection that they have been building for years.

The Walkman hits Japan on 10 July, the US in August and Europe by September.
Cool, like 3 years late but give it a whack anyway!


Is this the thing with the special "touchpad" thingy? If so, I bet it's gonna bomb. Cool and innovative � but not in a way that makes the thing easy to use.

People who buy these things are for the most part not stupid anymore. They know their tech enough so they know what to look for. Sony will not be able to "trick" anybody to just pick this device up because it's "Sony".

Should sell as well as the Mini Disk did.

Nice way to go Mr. Sony,

Does not play anything but the music your store sells....hmmm

Mr. Sony WAKE UP AND SMELL THE HUMMES! you expect someone to download all the song from you misic store and just ditch the .mp3's .acc and .others that one has!

...but the top of the line...it plans to fight the iPod...right.

Sony suck.

I'll take ten.

Won't hit it

-t

Really. What has happened to Sony? How many times have they bombed in this area lately? They don't seem to 'get it' anymore.

Must be the the accountants and suits trying to run things instead of letting the product guys develop products. I guess that's what happens when you own so much content and are worried about losing it.

sounds like my miniDisc recorder.

You'll have to run your MP3 files through Sony's software in order to convert them to AATRAC (not a bad thing) and load them onto the player. Every 4th time you move a file onto the player, the software will want to 'see' the original source file.

Sony Music has pretty much crippled Sony electronics.

But Sony has made mp3 players in the past. I know because I had one, and it did not have to convert to ATRAC3 which minidisc's have to. Why did they not go down this route?

I heard they've got all sorts of proprietary crap in the PSP, too. I think they just don't get it. The need to play by the rules, at least to some degree.

It's only 20 GB too so they're really stretching when they say it holds more songs, especially since you can choose from a host of formats on the iPod.

They say it undercuts the price of the 40 GB iPod!! Well no sh!t, its got half the hard drive space!!

http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/01/tec...dex.htm?cnn=yes

My guess is Atrack or however you spell it is a higher compression format at a lower kbps no idea how it sounds, but it's probably like what apple did with aac, they want to be able to say it has tons of songs, so they go with a smaller format. That said I highly doubt Sony's format has as good of sound quality.

And you guys are right, Sony music has seriously screwed Sony's music anything. Instead of getting on board and screwing themselves but recouping the cost in another divison, they've let Apple, iRiver, Rio, Panasonic, Samsung, and just about everyone else screw them, and they get jack.

This is an awful move, this will be eaten up by Sony fan boys but that's it.

Sony's been in a decline for awhile--everything from TVs to speakers are working less and less well if you buy anything but the overpriced high-end. Its new music service has nothing on iTMS, its new player has nothing on iPod.

[insert company name] to release a rival to Apple's iPod

A few things to keep in mind...


It's from Sony. The #1 recognized name in quality. *AND* the originator (Walkman) of popular portable music devices. Don't easily dismiss those facts.

The 'Sony iPod' likely uses AATRAC format to store audio files. Just like their MiniDisc recorders. There will, no doubt, be 4 or more levels of compression to choose from. AATRAC doesn't suck, by the way.

Since the 'Sony iPod' won't playback MP3 format files, you'll have to convert your MP3 library to AATRAC before it goes on your 'Sony iPod'. Big deal? No, not really. It'll happen on-the-fly as you add files to the device. Just as transparently as dragging and dropping an MP3 to a real iPod. There will be no downside other than Sony's "3-checkout" limit (then you hafta 'show' the original source again...be it MP3, CD or whateve)r. Something of little concern if your entire music library fits inside the device.


While anyone would agree there is no compelling reason to choose a Sony iPod over an Apple iPod - there's no compelling reason not to, once you think about it.


This devil's advocate message paid for by friends of Spliffdaddy

Sure, there is:

Converting MP3 to AATRAC on the fly will result in lower quality and additional artifacts.


-t

And converting takes a while. And it surely won't work with AACs, much less protected AACs. And their store doesn't work with Macs, does it? (I haven't checked, but I wouldn't be surprised)

And, I didn't RTFA, but if it requires special software to get the songs on the device, they surely won't release it for Macs.

Think about what you wrote man! Why jump through hoops when an iPod is readily available?!

Celebrities have made the iPod the coolest thing around, why the heck would anybody want this thing if iPods are still being sold?

When you were cryogenically frozen, this was true. But things change. Sony has some residual influence, but it's waning.

Somewhat recently:
- Sony released Aibo...brought in a lot of dough, eh?
- Sony's quality has dramatically dropped for all items but their most expensive (which are, indeed, overpriced).
- Sony unveiled their so-far less-than-successful music-store.

Basically, this is how it is:

iPod = bling. Bling = sales.

Sony has no bling factor.

End.

Exactly.

There will certainly be a cult following, but I don't see this one flouting and overthrowing the elegantly ghetto-fab iPod.

Good point.

*Gasp*

You really think ?
Or do I miss the irony here ?

-t

Looks fantastic, and going by Sony standards, and my shitty experiences with iPod build quality, should be a cracking wee player. Pity about the closed formats though, kind of a deal breaker.

Yes I do. Many people have made lots of interesting points about the potential significance of this development. Spliffs post was quite a contrast since most think Sony won't get very far with this. I thought his post made sense, too!

What irony?!

Because Sony is not what it used to be. None of its newer products have done exceptionally well (the discman was the last, I believe), and quality control seems to mean less and less while profits mean more and more.

Sony standards meant something 5 to 10 years ago... Can't quite say the same anymore. They're middle-of-the-road quality in most areas with most products.

Oh, and sorry to hear about your iPod experience; mine, on the other hand, has been excellent.

Mine's been shocklng, as well as most of the guys in the studio. Really dissapointed in the quality.

Uhh yah last thing Sony did that was sucessful was the discman... if you count out the play station. Sadly Sony still is a SUPER powerful company. Evil as they may be. Their portable audio stuff sucks, but it's partly because they want it to I think.

you forgot to link to cnet

This is from this: http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentS...d=1087373424672

Now. Somebody tell me how a 20 gigabyte "walkman" can store "more songs" than a 40 gigabyte iPod? That's just wrong and liable.

For those of you wondering.... The footnote next to the number of songs says....

Capacity based on 4 minutes per song and 48-Kbps encoding.

No typo, FOURTY EIGHT!

Now why 48 Kpbs you ask? Why it's the lowest supported bitrate on Sony's player. So why not list the MAXIMUM number of songs you can get on it!? Great Advertising!

I figured that's why they say it can hold more songs. But that's still a lie. A blatant lie and misleading. An ipod can have sh*tty-quality mp3's if it wants and therefore hold more. ********.

Thanks for the laugh Spliffy.

For the record, there's numerous people around here (myself included) who won't buy Sony products 'coz their quality is crap. Sony stuff breaks a lot. Therefore, Sony suck.

Sony won't see my money

Exactly.

And their obsession with building proprietary stuffs made me sick

That makes four of you.

A recent Harris poll suggests that most folks seem to feel quite differently.

Sony Corporation of America

Press Release

FOR FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW, SONY NAMED #1 IN HARRIS INTERACTIVE’S BEST BRANDS SURVEY

New York, New York - July 23, 2003 -- For the fourth year in a row, and the sixth time in the last nine years, Sony has been chosen as the number one brand, according to the annual Harris Interactive® survey of the best brands. Since The Harris Poll® began measuring "best brands" in 1995, Sony has been named number one six times (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003). "This poll underlines very strongly the linkage between corporate reputation and brand image," Harris Interactive stated in a press release issued July 23, 2003.

This year's poll reflects the results of an online survey of 879 adults in the United States conducted between June 16 and June 22, 2003. The survey asked respondents to name the three brands they considered the best. In the nine years since Harris Interactive began asking this question, Sony has never been lower than third. Sony led this year's list followed by Kraft, Dell, General Motors and Microsoft. The results of the survey were released today.

"We are very proud that The Harris Poll respondents continue to recognize Sony's brand value across all of our businesses from electronics to videogames, motion pictures, television, digital entertainment and music, ” said Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO, Sony Corporation of America. “Our ability to continually sustain this strong brand recognition is a reflection of Sony's commitment to quality and innovation, together with the indomitable passion and dedication of our employees around the world." (cont'd)


http://www.sony.com/SCA/press/030723.shtml

Do you know the difference between "brand" and "quality"?

The link you posted have nothing to do with the quality of Sony Products.

They produce quality products too?

Hahaha!!

That survey is almost worthless

Pretty much. It's brand name recognition, not quality recognition.

cant stand having to use attrac. my current md players (3) wont work on my powerbook and that is the reason why i didnt buy their new Hi-MD line which holds 1 gig disks .. having to burn 'em on my pc is not exactly convenient. sony morons.

maybe they expect it to become more like a portable book reader? aren't most audio books of a lower bitrate?