Ascariss

i'd prefer 8 or 16 gig flash player with video myself, but that's just me.

maybe, but even though I have both hdd players I hardly scroll through my music and just use playlists.

what's with no 4 gig models as well odd.

I am sure that is what sony wanted, but once the E00's came in 512, 1, and 2 gig formats, all others were gone from the sony canada site.

it wasn't there when I checked for the US before. http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/C...ationPath=46881 only 2 and 4 gig version http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/C...ationPath=46881 only 1 gig 600s with no noise cancelling feature.

16000 is actually the cut of for 192 mp3 files mp3 files have 2 diff freq, 32mhz, 44.1mhz, and 48mhz, with 16mhz per channel, 22.05mhz per channel and 24mhz per channel respectively. if you have 320 mp3s at 16000 it usually a sign of re-encoding from a 192 file lol. i buy 320 mp3s off sites and all are above 20mhz per channel which most cutting off at 22.05 per channel since they are 44.1mhz. 320 is fine for the a3000, even a good encoded 192 sounds amazing.

It might be a chip limitation but I am not sure but it might have to do with the fact that new units have been released to replace the E series, well the 400 and 500 ones at least, and 600 actually. best thing to do is find out what chipset the units have and see what they are capable of.

that model isn't available in the US or canada and is most likely eu and jp only.

I believe so, since the 4 and 2 gig models have Noise cancelling built into them, so the 706 and 705 models. the 603 models do not have noise cancelling option so you would not be able to use that feature with those units. I believe it is something that is built into the units and that is why the 2 gig and 4 gig models are more expensive than other comparable mp3 players I guess. Still the 1 gig 603s come with in ear canal head phones which is a bonus compared to other mp3 players on the market.

can always check the sonystyle site. http://www.sony.com.au/walkman/catalog/pro...ategoryId=30333 nothing here. or here http://www.sony.com.au/category.jsp?id=21613 so not sure if AUS gets it this year, perhaps early next year?

uhm if you are in europe, then i believe all mp3 players have this problem with sound output, not just sony.

UK model shipping at the end of october 2 colours £ 179.99 VAT incl. (£ 153.18 VAT excl.)

i don't think there are any, only flash or hdd based players now.

Any comments on the recording function? or you didn't use it?

real life photos more here http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20061013/dev164.htm it looks quite nice. hundred times better than the ipod.

not sure if mentioned but looking here http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP....&Dept=audio shows no 4 gig model of the new series for hte US, while canada does get it. 200 bucks US for the 2 gig. Frequency Range: FM: 87.5-108MHz lol sony will never learn.

Sony still doesn't have a winner here. I'm sure you could bet a kidney that the sound quality will blow anything out the water and conquer all current products on the market. The colour options available in canada are poor and although the unit is nice, I am not sure if I will buy one, if best buy carries it, I might opt to buy it there but for now gotta stick to the A1000/3000 for space. Interesting fact is that only the 2 and 4 gig models actually have the noise cancelling option while the 1 gig does not aka the 600 series. and hte jump in price from a 1 gig to a 2 gig is nuts, 80 dollars. insane. I guess that is the price of the extra capacity and new headphones. 289 for a 4 gig is a bit crazy as most of you have mentioned, but sony is a premium brand, like bmw or merc are premium cars. I feel better knowing I own a sony rather than some other brand, and I am sure the sony marketing people are just thrilled by that, but it more to do with the fact I don't want to be part of the ipod crowd. given a choice between an 8 gig nano or 4 gig S700, I think I would opt for the sony alone on looks. The ipod look generic, boring and craps out in the design dept. I am sure all the cool people will go out and buy an ipod and then show it off the next day lol it's what the pod people do. Will this new mp3 player sell better? perhaps but it won't touch ipod sales and won't break any records, but perhaps more people will take notice of sony once these are released. the headphones are a major plus side, as is the recording option, which hopefully can be used with any device that has a headphone jack or out line. it looks like you can browse via the album covers which might be nice on a larger screen but not on one this small I don't understand why apple can announce a player one day and have it on sale the next, why can't sony do this? seriously? if sony introduced an 8 gig flash player tomorrow, colour screen and a bit larger than this one, I would pick it up right away.

I knew it, I had a feeling sony would not be able to fix that no matter how hard they tried. shame. good to hear you can use it longer. If possible I was wondering if you could find out some few things. -the recording ability, what can be done, and what can't -playlists and can one be made on the unit (this wasn't mentioned sadly though I am not expecting much) -ease of use of the menus, speed of the menus etc. thanks.

Thanks for the quick review. any chance of a photo of an album image on it? btw any things you didn't like? I am sure there were some negative aspects of hte units?

It might be a sound card problem or driver problem on your side, if the sound card is fine, update the sound driver and then retransfer. initialize the a3000 then rehook it up and transfer over a few 320 and 192. then play them, next press option and scroll in the menu until you see detailed information then press the play button, it will tell you what format hte song is in. please check its still mp3.

there is a hdd player coming, has it, no A3000 anymore on jp market, europe and canada.

well it is available now, 2 gig version is sold out already, ie out of stock.

Soooo many idiots on engadgets site, it's just sad http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/01/sony-nw...layer/#comments

There are a few options. first look at the bottom of the player, press the reset button and then let the unit restart. then plug the device back into the computer to a different USB port not the same one. and check if Connect will recognize the player this time. the only files on the device will be called OMGAUDIO I believe once you transfer stuff over, of connect player doesn't work for you, try sonicstage 4.0CP

gr00vy0ne, I was wondering if you could give some information on the player, like playlists and if they can be made on the player?