mrhappyholiday

I've got to admit it, the iPhone (ApplePhone, whatever they end up calling it thanks to Cisco Systems) looks spankingly gorgeous. If this is the direction that Apple and iPod are heading in then I don't think that Sony has a chance of catching up in this race now. As much as I love my A1000 I think that it's time to admit that Sony are now well outside of any position to become a dominant player in the DAP market, instead they've been relegated to the long list of also-rans against the iPod. Even Samsung is pumping out some super-sexy players nowadays and yet Sony still haven't even fitted a colour screen yet. Couple this with unhelpful (at the least) software and codec with no support from any other industry player and it's not hard to see why the shows over for them. Sony tried, failed and now it's time to pick up the pieces and go home. They need to regroup and now look at a way to leap frog all the competition in the market in a way that doesn't involve specialised formats, codecs or proprietary software. Sony have a sucky track record when it comes to proprietary tech, particularly recording media. MiniDisc, UMD, ATRAC, none of these have received the universal industry acceptance to establish them as anything more than a hobbyists plaything. I love Sony stuff, but they are losing this war. My money isn't going to Apple, but it isn't going to Sony unless something AMAZING happens. It's just sad that I don't think that Sony will manage it...

I used to work for the Oxford Sony Centre and I can tell you that all of the Sony Stores are not owned by Sony but are instead franchises that are run by other organisations. For example, Sonex owns the Oxford Sony Centre, but not the Portsmouth Sony Centre so despite the two looking identical instore they are completely unrelated. As for the warranty issue, I'm pretty sure that if you were sold an extended warranty then it would have been from a third party company. You need to check the details of your warranty documentation or contact another Plumbs-owned Sony Centre to see if they are using as a warranty provider.

I'm definitely with you on the 352kbps issue. Anything else sounds pretty appalling to me. Checking the Sony UK website shows that the E005 only supports a maximum of 256kbps in ATRACplus. I don't see why you couldn't use that though instead. The only problems that I think that you would have would be (obviously) not getting as much music on your E005 as you would with a lower bitrate and not getting the acclaimed battery life. You wouldn't need to change the format of all of the files you already ripped. If you're using Sonicstage 4.2 you can specify the format that you want all music transfered as and it'll convert it directly on to your player as and when you transfer files without the need for re-formatting your entire library. Handy, eh? However I have just noticed that you can only specify it to transfer as a 256kbps ATRAC (as opposed to ATRACplus) so I'm not sure if this would work... Anyone? Not sure what you mean by crippled MP3 performance though. Do you mean gaps between tracks. I'm using an NW-A1000 with latest firmware and Sonicstage 4.2 and the gaps with MP3 are almost imperceptible. ATRAC is seemless however so take your pick.

MDX is right in the assumption that we (long-suffering NW-A Users) will receive exactly no compensation, but this does not mean that we can't do something about it. We live in a capitalist society and although many would be quick to claim that large corporations are taking over, the fact of the matter is that the one's who possess the greatest power are us as consumers. Signing a petition will demonstrate to Sony that you are dissatisfied but ultimately they don't really care. They've already got your money. What you need to do is make sure that you invest your money elsewhere next time: Then they will really start to take notice. As much as I have enjoyed using my NW-A1000, there is no chance in hell of me ever buying another Sony portable audio device ever again. I'm sure I'm the only one who feels alone in this. Indeed, having spent four months working in Oxford's Sony Centre I can tell you most definitely that I am not. It's your money, you worked for it and it's yours to use. Make your stand by giving it to someone else. (I mean by buying a Creative or iRiver, don't just give it to a random guy on the street!)