Shinji Ikeda

Yes the NW-A800 series is compatible with the BCR-NWU3 cradle. You should use the stand that came with the NW-A808, but you do not need it. The great thing about this stand is that you can use it to charge the NW-A800 without the use of your computer, or can charge it with your computer. I am using the stand with both the NW-S706 and NW-A808. The BCR-NWU3 supports any Network Walkman with a WM-Port.

Yeah! That is true . You want to have enough money when you turn 80, so you can spend it then. Anyways nice slip case. It seems as though it will keep your new toy pristine.

I would have to strongly agree with you on that. This is sounding more like an SonicStage love in. It seem that some people actually have had good experiences with SonicStage, it good to hear.

Nothing really to worry about it is estimated that you will live to 80 years old. Is that a case that you have with the new NW-A808?

You can have Multiple ATRAC devices with SonicStage whether or not the files in SonicStage has DRM. You are required to register your ATRAC device before you can transfer DRM files to an ATRAC device. Other than that minor issue you should have no problems.

Here I was expecting something earth shattering. I keep the volume between 12-18, and find 20 too high. The volume can seem low in noisy environment such as train station, and in traffic. These are the only situations that I can think of. My recommendation is to get a set of noise cancellation head phones from any manufacture. This would allow you to lower the volume and save your ears. Another option would be a closed ear headphone such as the Sony MDRXD300 Studio Monitor.

Yes this model require to use of SonicStage to transfer files.

So it seems that Sony will be refreshing their product likes this year.

This is not about the Canada getting different models that the USA. USA has gotten more models of consumer goods that than Canada. USA is a much larger consumer market than Canada. Case in point, USA get the e-Reader and Canada does not. Sony releases 10 models of laptops in USA and 9 in Canada. USA gets the TZ and C series, while Canada gets the BX series. This may not be the most comprehensive comparison, but should illustrate the difference with the two countries. Anyways, ... Yes Sony USA has some of the models of the DAPs, but are missing most of the newer models. It has been 4 months since the NW-A800 series has been release in Japan, and about 3 months since it has been release to the rest of the world. Additionally, the NW-S600 was release in October/November of last year. In other words, Sony USA has not release a new DAP to USA over 6 months with only one model released for the NW-S700 series.

I am really trying to understand Sony's DAP plans for USA. It can be strongly suggested that this is move by Sony America. With a much smaller market Canada seem to be getting a better selection for DAPs. Which is strange for the two countries. Manufacturers usually give USA a wider selection of their products that Canada.

Amen. That is the absolute biggest problem with SonicStage. Once your tracks are in ATRAC there is no possible method of converting it to other codec. SonicStage should atleast allow the conversion to MP4 or MP3 format.

The iPod is a safe choice for those that can do research on the various media players on the market. Seeing an abundance of accessories how influences people into believing that the above mentioned product is the absolute best. If consumers actually did some research then the popularity of the iPod would not be as dramatic as it is. Apples marketing on the iPod is simple, 'Spend more time enjoying your music'. The funny thing is that it was Apples move to allow iPods to work with Windows PCs that cause the popularity of the iPod to explode. The iPod has several brain cramps in its design, like all DAPs, but this is absolutely ignored. The 100 million iPods sold have created a group of people who will absolutely defend the iPod and ignore its worts. We all make compromises when making a purchase.

I am sorry that you are having difficuties with SonicStage. My experience with the program is different to yours. The program imports albums from CDs with no problems. There are issues relating to MP3s. My question is how should SonicStage deal with the various "Black & White"? SonicStage does what the user tells it to do. It does need some improvements, but not on some of the issues addressed on the first post.

I am sorry that you are having difficuties with SonicStage. My experience with the program is different to yours. The program imports albums from CDs with no problems. There are issues relating to MP3s. My question is how should SonicStage deal with the various "Black & White"? SonicStage does what the user tells it to do. It does need some improvements, but not on some of the issues addressed on the first post.

I would have to agree with that, but it seems that battery life is not an important consideration for the mainsteam consumer. Advanced features and battery life are my major preferences.

Huh? SonicStage can be a resource hog at times. So, Windows recognizes it as a removable media and through explore you can copy files to the NW-A3000. Have you removed any media from your optical drive? Try to see what happens when only SonicStage is running.

As stated about the OLED display on your NW-S705F is defective. Only one colour channel is working that is why it is blue. This definitely is something that should be replaced not repaired.

My wish list would be more simple. Just a little more consistency in design of functionality. The addition of a tag for audio files would be a great addition, and a quicker method of accessing specific point on a track. Also for SonicStage to stop returning the NW-A800 series from returning to the beginning of the first track. This always happens when connecting NW-A800 to SonicStage.

I still think 5 hours is extemely long for a podcast. However, in essence the NW-A800 series is designed for music. Or is it? Let us hope for an improvement with cuing audio files.

Nav. Sony hopefully will be refreshing their DAP line-up this winter season, with a HD player. However, there is no ihype or irumour surrounding Sony products. Which definitely is a good thing.

Massimax, Your English makes sense. There maybe something wrong with your NW-S706. Mine has not caused the problem that you describe, but other users have had a similar problem. One question: using the Sony Ericsson Walkman headphone with the Sony Ericsson cell phone causes no problem? Your problem sounds as though either the cable is snapping, or somehow the connection in the NW-S706 are loses. If it is the first case then you may need to have a longer cable, or ensure that the cable is loose when using the head phones.

Lulu, this is how Sony was inconsistent in the design of the NW-A800 series. The functionality of the video and audio playback are different. With the video playback, no matter the videos play it will always go back the the exact point if you play another media. However, this is not the case with the audio playback. Anyways, the key sequence to increase the playback speed on for the video playback, will cause the audio playback to skip to the next track. I have not real complaint about this, but wish Sony would have designed the NW-A800 considering that users would listen to podcasts. On the NW-A800 series, during playback you can cue through an audio file at intervals of about 3 seconds. However, during pause/stop you can fast forward at intervals that appear to be 10 seconds and a faster rate. I used cue and fast-forward to indicate the distinct nature of both modes.

Then Sony reduced the volume on all their current models world wide though the hardware design. Thus, this has make it impossible to software hacks to unlock a feature that does not exist. Hey, some ingenious person may actually prove this to be totally wrong.

It all depends on what assumption you want the software to make. It is possible to have two albums of the same name from two or more different artists. Whereas this are totally different albums and not compilation. I strongly believe this is why SonicStage includes the compilation check box.

Dura, Fatfrank would have to convert the MP3 files to ATRAC inorder to divide the tracks. I wish I had remembered about that feature in SonicStage. The process would not be simple, but it is a possible solution.