EZero

Name the first 30GB player, offering all of the features the 5G iPod has, as well as the options iTunes has, at the size and price of the 5G. Have fun trying to do that. A 60GB 5G iPod, with 10x the space, color screen, photo and video functionality, and the great iTunes software, has the same amount of battery life as the A1000. Which is why consumers won't even give it a second wink. Creative has managed to come up with a product that trumps the iPod, why can't Sony? The PSP is great, but it's not an MP3 Player. What troubles me is that Sony's computer division managed to create a product, that if released now, I would have said Sony could challenge the 5G iPod, that being the Vaio Pocket. It's beautiful, color screen, 20GB/40GB, and really a marvelous product. The A3000 would have been perfect last year, because then it trumped the 4G iPod. Now, it's archaic compared to those on the market.

Connect. If only it wasn't as bad as it is now. If it was as intuitive or fast as iTunes, it would be great. Sony's not going to touch Apple if they can't get their act together. Look at what Apple is offering, and beat it. Simple. Even Creative can do it, why can't the founder of portable music players?

Compared to the 4G, I'd say you were right. Compared to the 5G, it is so far behind, there is no way you can rationalize that Apple completely leaped over Sony. I hate the iPod, iTunes, Apple, and the rest, I even swore I'd never get an iPod. I've waited patiently, hoping Sony will get their products together, but it just hasn't happened yet. With the 5G, I'm getting so much more funcionality, it's not funny. Don't tell me it's not a step behind, the iPod has video playback, it has a color screen, it has picture functionality, all of which the A3000 does not. Rather than promote this product Sony should have either further worked on the Vaio Pocket and release a new version of it, or at least repromote it, seeing as it's the closest to an iPod rival they seem capable of creating.

I don't see why Sony should bother to market the Aura in North America. You aren't going to touch Apple in sales, rather, you will be easily whipped once again. Sony completely has to start from ground up in order to catch Apple, but to be honest, I don't think they will. Had Apple not released the 5G, I would have bought the Aura, but in the time it takes Sony to launch its new lines, Apple has released to new additions to their iPod line, both of which are revolutionary. While Sony is stuck looking archaic compared to the iPod. It's so sad seeing Sony become what their competitors were back in the Walkman days. Always a step behind.

While I do like the looks, and I like Sony, I think I'll pass on this one. If Sony ever manages to release a product that is on par with whatever Apple has, I'll get it. Until then, I'll just sadly be cheering for Sony on the sidelines holding an iPod.

This is just so annoying. I was so sure that I was going to get an iPod rather than this player, but after reading yours and others' review, and seeing the screens, I'm having second thoughts. I mean, on one hand, I'm getting a better value with the iPod, but I'm still a Sony fan. This player also boasts more battery life, which I like. And it's even more gorgeous than the pics showed, and doesn't seem that large. But then, 30GBs and a color screen. Why couldn't this come with 30GBs, a color screen? I don't know which to pick.

Great for you Ascariss, I just cancelled my pre-order. Really, the battery life and G-Shock are the only advantages I can think this product gives me. Really hope Sony gets it right next time.

A little funny, the Zen Sleek Photo has an OLED screen, and is capable of color, photos. So it seems that a color OLED screen is possible.

Copying what I said in another forum: I used to think Sony wanted to rival Apple, but they are doing an absolutely pathetic job. I'll give them in terms of flash players, they are going toe to toe with Apple (except for the Nano), but everything else, Sony just fails at. Someone explain to me how, a 30GB iPod, with a color screen, video, and all of those goodies is considerably smaller than the A3000? In fact, the 60GB iPod, is smaller than the A3000. Apple, is dynamic. They will announce a new iPod with new features, and a week, or maybe even the next day, it will be out. Sony announced these, going 3 months ago, and it just came out in some places. This is one reason why Sony will never catch up to Apple. Another, is that Sony just doesn't think. I mean, for a hardware company, they really are stupid when it comes to making mp3 players. Mainly, the Walkman division. I kid you not, the Vaio Pocket, made by the computer division, is one of the best attempts ever to rival the iPod. Screw the HD series and the A3000, why didn't they build off of the VP? Could you imagine if Sony was releasing a smaller Vaio Pocket, with all of the features in the A3000, 30 GB, and the same price as the iPod? I'd say Sony had a very good chance at rivaling Apple. I'd be lining up to get one. But they won't. Instead, they are going back to a black and white screen, making it larger than the competitors, and with less space and features. This is why Sony has pushed me to want an iPod, because I'm sick and tired of Sony's nonsense. Why is it just so hard for them to think, "hey, if we want to surpass Apple, we're going to have to create something that people want more than the iPod. So how about we take our best attempt, build off of it, make sure it has MORE features than the iPod, and is released within a month of it's announcement. What features could we add? -Calendar/Date -Video -A LONGER battery life. -Maybe the ability to download a song onto the machine from Connect Music Store, which would mean including wi-fi. -FM Tuner -What about letting consumers trade music or art, or something." But some how, this escapse Sony. It's more like "Let's make it bigger than the iPod, as well as our last release, we don't have to get onto the color screen fad, why bother?" Please, kurisu, or anybody who might be able to pass this information/post along to Sony would be great. I want Sony to succeed, but they aren't going to if they keep this up. I'm sorry for the long rant, feels good to get it off your chest.

Thank you very much. I've got it working. It's not that bad, I like it more than SS. The only thing that is slow is importing from CDs, but everything else is rather intuitive, and easy to use, IMO.

Pretty sure. It told me that I needed that in order for it to operate, and said to uninstall Connect.

open mg 3.4 component? How do I get that?

Well, kurisu, are you going to comment on Connect Player?

Well then, I guess I'm looking elsewhere for an mp3 player. Really thought Sony would have gotten it's act together by now, but I guess not.

Come on! How's it compare to iTunes? Much better than SonicStage? Ascariss, because it is kind of nifty.

By getting these, we aren't going to be screwed anytime soon, right? Because I'd hate if I sank $300 into one of these, only for Sony to announce a video Walkman. Anyone wondering how Sony plans to advertise these things without getting trumped by Apple?

Supposedly it's brand new. Looks exactly like iTunes.

That's pretty cool. Thanks for the information. I'm getting tempted to suck it up and get a (i)vpod.

I'm going to get the A3000, this is pretty cool though. (But does anybody know if the Vaio Pocket series is dead? I'd love a revamped version, had everything I wanted)

Thanks for the impressions willykyu, do you know when these players are going to be released? The good thing is that Sony is revamping SonicStage/Connect, I really hope that the "Connect Player" is a whole lot better than SonicStage was. I think that was Sony's (Well one of them) major mistake, SonicStage being...not as intuitive as it could have been. Are they smaller than the specs say they are? Any other options we haven't heard about yet?

So can anybody explain to me what Sony is on? I mean, are they actually trying to take down the iPod, or are they just playing around? I love this new player, and I'm not a fan of the iPod, but really, I'm starting to think about which one I should get. These players would have been iPod killers, maybe a year ago. But since Sony announced these two players, Apple has come out with the nano and is about to come out with the new iPod Video. All before Sony is due to release their new MP3 players. Instead of making their DAP smaller, Sony makes them bigger. Rather than creating a color screen, like many companies are doing, Sony keeps a black and white screen. (Really, I think the Vaio is Sony's best try, all they needed to do was improve on it, rather than the HD series) Instead of adding a FM Tuner to their Walkman, which is one thing that I'd like, they keep it only for their flash players. Is Sony really so oblivious to the world around them? Instead of thinking what Apple will do, Sony continues to slightly improve their player, while Apple continues to jump over them over, and over, and over again. It's really sad. I thought Sony was turning around, but it seems that they are still the arrogant company that they've always been. By the time that Sony finally jumps to color screen, Apple would probably have iPods that take pictures, games, access the internet, and everything else. I really think that someone should mail Sony an iPod, and tell them this is what you have to beat, you need these features at the minimum. (Yeah, it's a rant, I had to get it out.) Maybe Sony might tweak the player before it's out, which is probably impossible, but who knows.

So Apple's new iPod, has the same amount of memory, but has a color screen and video and is smaller than the current 20GB iPod. While Sony, on the other hand, is coming out with this new Walkman, which is bigger than the new video iPod, not to mention heavier, and has less features. Everytime I think Sony does something right, it's really they move back two steps. They are a movie and music company, why didn't they try to do what the new Apple is doing with the new video iPod? They should have an advantage, but nope, they decide to give us the A3000. If it was just the regular iPod, I'd say Sony had a chance, but with the new iPod, Sony has lost.

No FM Tuner I guess...

Any reason given why it's bigger than the HD5? (Although, from the pics, it's not that much bigger, I'd say it kind of looked smaller than the iPod, but the sizes say otherwise) Or why the battery life seems lower than the HD5? Will this be out in NA before Christmas? (I really hope it's easy to buy as well. Going to Best Buy, Walmart, Circuit City, you'll find no HD series of the mp3 players, at least, around here. I really hope it changes with this.) Any surprises about the player left to be revealed? How's the build quality? Thanks for answering.

Those look so awesome compared to the dull and ugly HD5. (The design of the HD5 was what stopped me from getting it)