finalcoolman

To further Arcariss comments on the 3000 and 600 availibility. For any product on sonystyle.ca that says "Exclusive" beside it, it means it's ONLY available through the web site or the Sony Store. So until (more like when pigs fly) that tag is removed on the web site you will NEVER see it at Future Shop, Best Buy or anywhere else. Just be happy it's available for us in Canada. And look at the bright side. It means the chances of you seeing someone else with your player are DRASTICLY reduced. Almost as good as importing a product from Japan just to be unique.

And when you add a decent size SD card it really gets expensive. Naa, a A608 for the same price as the 2 gig Nano is great.

The problem with the winter special is the Japanese tuner. Not worth it at all.

Very interesting indeed. It might add to the rumor that because of the shortage of 2GB flash, they are unble to make alot of tese to fill all the stores, which would be a task in Canada let alone the US. It still doesn't explain the very limited availability of of all the new A series players. Why would they not be in the States? Do they have something new coming in at CES 2006? Anyways here is a direct link to the Sony Canada MP3 selection: http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/C...ategoryId=46881

Hey, the NW-A608 is FINALLY on the Sonystyle.ca site. However like the A3000 it is exclusive meaning it will ONLY be sold online or at the Sony Store, no places like A&B Sound or London Drugs or Best Buy/Future Shop.

Yup, I live in Port Coquitlam. I've seen the 1000 at Future Shop, Best Buy and London Drugs in Coquitlam. Have only seen the 3000 and 600 at the Sony Store like you have. I still don't understand why the 600 is not listed yet on sonystyle.ca after almost 2 weeks of being available in the Sony Stores.

Yes, 1000 and 3000 are available here. As for that rumor, reasoning from what I understood is Sony USA is afraid of the Connect player. They are afraid it is so buggy and unstable it will further damage Sony's reputation for MP3 players and software in the US, most notably the software part which affects the reputation of the actual MP3 player. Remember although the Sony hardware is great, according to Americans, crappy software=crappy MP3 player. However why they do not just bundle Sonicstage 3.3 instead of Connect is beyond me. P.S. Lamewing, check your PM inbox.

You know the 608 is available in Canada now in silver and purple? Canada has the same frequencies as the United States. So if you can find a Canadian website here selling it or from a Canadian eBay member, you'll be set. P.S. As crazy as it sounds I heard a rumor that Sony US will not be carrying the new A series players (600, 1000, 3000). While here in Canada we have all the series now available.

What firmware update? There is no firmware update available anywhere for the 608 before it's released like you say there is, lthough there will be one in December of January to add things like WMA support.

It's a pretty obvious numbering issue, can't believe n o one caught on to this yet. The 512 MB version is called NW-A605. The 1GB is called NW-A607. So using simple math skills learned in elementry school the 2GB version should be called the NW-A609...but it's not. It was called the NW-A608 instead. Now why? Simple. To leave room for a 4GB NW-A609 to compete with the 4GB iPod Nano. With the 2GB A608 just announced on Sony Canada's website running at the exact same pricepoint as the 2GB Nano for 249.99CDN, it would make sense if Sony releases a 4GB NW-A609 to compete with the 4GB Nano at hopefully the exact same price at 299.99 CDN.

It's announced on Sony.ca via a News Release! 2GB 608 will be the same price as the 2GB Nano! 249.99CDN. Appears to available in Violet only though: http://www.sony.ca/sonyca/view/english/cor...6C262B176.shtml