I phoned the UK branch of SonyStyle Europe a few days ago to find out what's going on... Initially, I was told that they don't have it in stock (which, of course, I already knew from browsing the site). When I pointed out that it's available on the *American* SonyStyle website (as well as Amazon.com and other online US retailers - none of whom will ship the product outside the US), he said that is normal, as America is usually several months ahead of the UK with most products. I then pressed him further, asking if he could please give me a UK launch date for the RH1? He put me on hold for a bit, while he asked his colleagues, and when he returned he told me... guess what? That SonyStyle Europe has no intention of ever stocking any mini-disc products (including blank media) again! Well, I was so shocked at this revelation that I didn't have the strength to protest at such a lunatic decision, but I have a good mind to phone them up again to complain! What on *earth* is the point of Sony's official online retailer in the UK not selling all of the company's current products? I'm sorry to say this, but I'm afraid the RH1 is doomed to fail, in the UK at least, what with the ridiculously high price tag (much higher than in the States), extremely limited availability and general lack of promotion from Sony. I really don't know what Sony UK are playing at - it's as if they *want* it to fail. And that's a huge shame. Anyway, SonyStyle Europe advised me to try one of the authorised Sony Centres, as they normally stock the full Sony range. So I contacted the one nearest to me (about two hours away!), and they said they have run out and won't get their next batch in for several weeks, but they will give me a ring when they do. The man I spoke to there said he predicts that the RH1 will be the very last mini-disc recorder that Sony brings out (although he couldn't swear to this, as he said it's impossible to predict what Sony is going to do next!), and that it will probably have a very short shelf life, about 12-18 months, before being discontinued. He's probably right about the latter at least because, let's face it, this model is never going to take off, therefore it won't be popular or commercially viable enough to keep it going for long. When it does get discontinued, maybe a year from now, I imagine Sony will cite poor sales as the reason, ignoring the fact that they themselves were largely to blame for this by not marketing the machine properly! The RH1 was touted as Sony's revival of the mini-disc format, but if it doesn't succeed (and the evidence so far is that it *isn't* succeeding), then I fear it really will be curtains for our beloved mini-disc. It doesn't look good...