- Do you like it? If so, why?
I have a MZ-NH1. Its sleek, I like the remote, its the perfect size, I love the removable storage. I like the line out. My old player didn't have one, and already I love this feature.
- If not, what is wrong with Hi-MD?
I like it, but I'm still going to put what I think isn't up to snuff on this player.
1) You can't switch to lineout mode with the remote plugged in. So, if I wanna use the lineout option, I lose the easy functionality that the remote brings. I don't think the interface on the player is as bad as everyone makes it, but when I'm using the line out, I'm likely in my car, and using that joystick button and holding onto the entire player is a pain when I could just have the remote in one hand and my other on the wheel.
2) There is no track mark button or record button on the remote. I like to have the hold feature on on the player itself and have it in my pocket while using the remote exclusively. When recording this isn't an option, Which is weak sauce cause discretion is nice, especially when recording live concerts.
- Is it a sufficient improvement on MD to survive in the current market?
As far as MD's go, I think so yes. I loved my old player but storage was a pain, and even on old discs that are reformated its still not as much as I'd like. However, I think the 1 gig disc is perfect for what I need, it fits the right amount of music on one disc so that I only need one, and if I'm traveling short distances, an extra disc would likely cover all the music I'd want to carry. If I'm traveling long then thats not a factor anyway since I'd just bring my MD wallet.
- What has it got over HDD players in general that swung you to buy one? Did you compare before you bought, or was it more or less an automatic purchase because you were a past MD user?
Live recording options. My old MD unit wasn't capable of this, and so the better storage plus recording was just the next step for me. I did consider HDD players. At first the IPod because of transfer speeds and second the Sony HDD player (because my collection is already in ATRAC). The live recording was what ultimately swung my vote. That and the fact that I just don't feel comfortable going around with a harddrive, too worried it'll break, especially when I know people's who have (iPODs at that).
- Would you recommend it to your friends looking for 'an MP3 player' bearing in mind it's limitations? And why?
Yes and no. Yes because some of my friends would simply prefer this format with removable storage because we have huge collections. A friend of mine filled his iPOD up completely an hour out of the box and still had music left, so now hes frustrated cause he doesn't wanna pay money to upgrade to a 40gig from his 20gig.
No, because other friends of mine are impatient. A HDD player would probably be better because getting music on it would be quicker and they wouldn't have to transcode their mp3's.
- Did Sony treat you right? Did your shop treat you right? Did the shop try to mislead you in any way about Hi-MD?
Sony? No. I waited to buy my unit forever, and now I'm waiting just for extra Hi-MD's. Its frustrating and dissapointing at the same time. I got my unit almost a month ago, but I'll be waiting another week probably just go get extra discs.
My store didn't. I bought it from Amazon. I got mine for 340.00, Free shipping, 60 dollars down from what their price was. Shipping was prompt. I don't feel that they misadvertised anything. If they did it wasn't their fault, they pretty much posted what they got from the press kit. WIth the amount of merchandise and customers they handle I can't expect them to call Sony on sketchy claims.
- What in your opinion could Sony do to raise the public awareness of Hi-MD? (Bearing in mind that the ads aren't having much impact)
All I can think are, what ads? I've yet to see any ads for Hi-MD. I've seen ads for their harddrive player. The one with Macy Gray is annoying, and even if I was looking for a HDD and loved Sony that commercial would drive me away from it. In addition the only advertising I've seen for the Connect store was in conjunction with McDonalds.
If they want their stuff to sell they could try advertising more aggresively. If they want Hi-MD to succeed they need to focus on it rather than the gammut of other products they're throwing out on the same table. And finally if they really want Hi-MD to take off, they need to reconsider direct mp3 playback on future gen models. I had a friend that picked up my Hi-MD player, fell in love with it, only to turn around and buy an iPOD (which, might I add, he hates apple, hates itunes, doesn't like the whole iPod image and is still dissatisfied with certain aspects of his iPod) all because he didn't want to transcode his mp3's.
In closing, I love my Hi-MD. Its a product thats perfect for me, and would be even if I'd never owned MD players. I can't say that for everyone else though, and while I may stock up on Hi-MD's and use it religiously, I can't say that the product line will survive outside a highly niche market. Not with the restrictions it has.
