bob123_

Take a look at some of the comments to that engadget article the first comment is from someone who actually has the device and says that the proprietary headphone jack statement is wrong - source was a french review - maybe stuff got lost in translation - as for the 1.1 USB...surely not - again maybe lost in translation?

Just received this reply email from sony regarding my question as to why NZ won't be getting the 4GB model: Hi David, Feedback and customer response is towards smaller units with 1-2GB storage capacity. Regards, Arthur Not really a great explanation but this time at least I got a personal email. Nice touch!

Yes it is odd. If they think they won't sell well, why not just stock a very limited amount. I am guessing they think there won't be a market for them on the basis that the screen is too small to scroll through 4GB worth of music - but what about those who want to load high bit rate songs onto it? Or maybe they are planning to focus on the next HDD devices? Who knows. But it is strange if you ask me.

Probably not many users from NZ - but this will likely be the same for Australia... Just received this email from MySony New Zealand: Further to your query regarding the NWS-700 series Walkman, we have now confirmed the NWS703F and NWS705F in 1GB & 2GB capacities respectively. The Walkman NW-S700F series is available from December in 2 memory capacities. The 1GB NW-S703F is available in gold and black, the 2GB NW-S705F in black at the price of $329 and $399 respectively. Best regards, The My Sony Team Customer Communication Marketing Division Sony New Zealand Limited PO Box 100-045, North Shore Mail Centre Akoranga Business Park, Northcote, Auckland, New Zealand Maximise you Sony experience and register your Sony products at www.mysony.co.nz I have sent a reply email asking why we aren't getting the 4GB version.

I'm interested in what people would like or expect from the upcoming HDD/Video Walkmans. I'd love for the screen to be the best out there & for there to be a high capacity flash version (say 10gb). Any other thoughts?

I too am making a choice between hd5 & a3000. my questions are: 1. what is the screen on the a3000 like in direct sunlight. i have a nw-e507 & it is almost impossible to read outside. is the a3000 the same or better? 2. i have never had a hdd mp3 player before. what are the start up/processing time etc like compared with flash drives? will i find it frustrating?