Sony Says It's an iPod Killer..

[Christopher]

Snatched from the New York Times.

TOKYO, Sept. 14 - Can the Walkman, the product that began the portable music revolution 26 years ago, make a comeback against the explosively popular iPod?

The Walkman's maker, Sony, is betting that it can. But before it challenges Apple's global dominance, Sony must first prove it can beat its American rival in a market much closer to home: Japan.

Last week, hours after Apple Computer rolled out its newest iPod model, the Nano, in California, Sony unveiled what it hopes will be an iPod-killer in Tokyo.

The line of sleek new digital music devices bear the venerable Walkman name, but sport such iPod-like features as tiny display screens, disk-controlled menus and internal memory able to store up to 13,000 songs in the high-end model.

Sony makes no secret of its desire to reclaim eventually the global dominance of portable music players, a market it created in 1979 with the first Walkman cassette players. But it has its work cut out, analysts say, because it has let Apple get such a formidable head start.

Sony has set an ambitious goal of selling 4.5 million of the new Walkmans worldwide in the fiscal year ending next March. That is more than five times the number of older versions of the Walkman it sold last fiscal year, but still a far cry from the 6.2 million iPods that Apple sold in the three months through June.

"It's just the first step" in Sony's counterattack, Koichiro Tsujino, the co-president of the unit making the Walkman, told reporters last week.

They will go on sale in Japan on Nov. 19, and later in the United States and elsewhere.

Sony says it is committed to selling them in all major world markets. But analysts say the staggered timing of the rollouts appears to reflect a strategy by Sony to use its home-court advantage in Japan, one of the world's largest and most competitive markets, to hone its products and strategies before taking the fight to other countries.

"They want to make sure they capture Japan first," said John Yang, an electronics company analyst at the Tokyo office of Standard & Poor's. "Sony is not in such a hurry to market this overseas."

Analysts say Sony, like many big electronics companies, was late in seeing the potential of digital formats like MP3. Apple got out front early, releasing its first iPod four years ago. It was not until last year that Sony produced similar players.

While Apple's lead makes it hard to catch, analysts point out that Sony brings deep pockets, excellent research and development, and one of the best names in consumer electronics. In a sign of early success, a flash-memory version of the Walkman released in April briefly outsold its cheaper iPod counterpart.

According to BCN, a Japanese market data company, Apple still held a commanding 39.4 percent share of the Japanese market for portable music players in August. That is down from a peak of 48.5 percent in March, before Sony's April rollout. In August, Sony remained a distant second with a 16.5 percent share, but was up from 6.1 percent in March, according to BCN.

While estimates vary, analysts say that Japan is either the second- or third-largest market in the world for portable music players, accounting for about 5 percent to 10 percent of the global market. Gartner, a research company based in the United States, says 40 million players were sold worldwide last year.

Japan has long been a nearly impenetrable market for foreigners, especially in industries like consumer electronics, where Japanese companies have been globally dominant. Partly, this reflects Japan's finicky consumers, who insist on products that are higher quality and more complex than those most Americans would find at local stores.

The demanding nature of the Japanese consumer, though, makes this an important test market. Many in the industry say that if a product can sell in Japan, it can sell anywhere.

"Japan is an extremely important market," said Michael McGuire, a Gartner analyst. "You are in the epicenter of the whole digital device industry, and the backyard of the companies that invented the industry."

Since it went on sale here in November 2001, the iPod has been a runaway success, analysts say. The machines have struck a chord among the nation's youth, who seem enamored with things small and cute. The iPod name also appeals to this brand-crazy country.

Apple does not give out Japan sales data. But iPods are ubiquitous in Tokyo's coffee shops and famously crowded trains. When Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's largest business daily, ran twin articles on the front page about last Thursday's release of the iPod Nano and the Walkman A-Series, it played the iPod article more prominently.

Hoping to capitalize on this beachhead, Apple introduced its iTunes online music service in Japan on Aug. 4. The company said that it sold more than a million songs in the first four days, more than all other online music sites in Japan combined sell in a month. That includes Sony's Connect online music site, which offers fewer songs than iTunes. Apple also has four retail stores in Japan.

Analysts say Sony took its first real stab at Apple in July of last year, when it introduced Walkmans featuring hard-disk drives like those already on iPods. But Sony's models did not easily play MP3 files, the most common format for digital music, favoring Sony's own Atrac format instead. They also did not support popular software like Microsoft's Windows Media formats.

Sony has fixed those problems. The new line of Walkmans will work smoothly with MP3 and Atrac, Sony says, and a software upgrade scheduled to be available in December will allow the machines to support Windows Media.

They also offer unique software features. The Walkman will track which songs are most frequently played to build a list of the owner's 100 favorites, which it constantly updates. It also has an Artist Link function that can make "recommendations" of bands and songs similar to those stored on the player.

The new Walkmans will offer comparable storage and performance to iPods, Sony says. Their prices, however, will be higher. The two-gigabyte flash-memory version will sell in Japan for about 32,000 yen, or $290, compared with 21,800 yen for a similar iPod.

But analysts say Sony's biggest challenge will be overcoming iPod's head start.

"Sony has a chance to catch iPod, but the hurdles are high," said Hiroshi Takada, an electronics analyst in Tokyo for J. P. Morgan.

[veezhun]

sorry to say but the new walkman is not designed well at all... personally, i dont like it one bit.. the hd1/3/5 series was somethin.. to say its an ipod killer is stretching it a bit much. they should have added a colour lcd screen the hd5.. the battery life would have come down to about 30 hours.. still, its a killer compared to this fingerprint magnet..

its a sony killer IMHO..

[Beethovenian]

Yes, I agree. I don't see these players as iPod killers, especially at higher prices. They don't bring anything that the iPod doesn't already have, and they're unjustifiably bigger. It's sad, because I would like to see Sony giving Apple a run for its money (we need competition, this iPod dominance is becoming as annoying as the Windows dominance), but I seriosly doubt it will be with this series.

[indeego]

Thanks for pointing out this link, kurisu.

Sometimes I wonder how Sony could wait so long to get their problems fixed (all the management-troubles we've heard about). On the other hand I'm happy to see a real competition between Sony and Apple, Users will benefit from it a lot.

[Ryzir]

I agree, I don't think the new Sony players are going to compete much with the ipod.

What I would like to see from Sony:

HD5 form factor (Replaceable Battery, Screen Rotation, Physical Aspects)

Some type of scroll wheel or touchpad

OLED Screen

More playback options (Like the new models have)

Drag & Drop mp3 & Atrac (Both Ways)

Lossless support (New models might have this with WMA playback)

Bigger HDD's!!

I would also like to see Sony release the atrac codec so third party software can read & encode (winamp, foobar, windows meda player, etc.)

This will probably never happen but IMO if Sony incorporated these features it would then start to compete with the ipod.

Edited September 16, 2005 by Ryzir

[Beethovenian]

I would also like to see Sony release the atrac codec so third party software can read & encode (winamp, foobar, windows meda player, etc.)

←

I second that. Sony doesn't have anything to gain by keeping Atrac proprietary. Just let others use it freely. It's a very efficient codec. If it becomes more common, it will certainly help Sony.

[EZero]

I don't really know, I'm new to the mp3 market, but unlike most here, I seem to be really excited for the new Walkman. I didn't get the HD5 because I think it is absolutely the most hideous thing Sony has ever released. (Alright, one of them) This new one, seems to have everything I want in an mp3 player, the only thing I want is an FM Tuner. I like the fact that the design is not typical of an MP3 player, and that it's using OELD

More power to Sony, I'm getting the Silver/Black A3000 asap.

[pata2001]

Pretty bold claim Sony. Stop talking, and release the product instead. When Steve Jobs announced the nano, it is available that day/few days afterwards. Sony talks about a product that is not going to be on sale untill November, and that is Japan only. US + worldwide is probably closer to christmas/06 release. Plus the price. What if Apple decides to cut the nano and shuffle prices when Sony releases their products? Oh, and don't forget Sony USA's tendencies to cut things and funtionalities for US versions.

Sony is going to the right direction, albeit at baby steps. But iPod killer? Not yet.

[sxc_]

Pretty bold claim Sony. Stop talking, and release the product instead. When Steve Jobs announced the nano, it is available that day/few days afterwards. Sony talks about a product that is not going to be on sale untill November, and that is Japan only. US + worldwide is probably closer to christmas/06 release. Plus the price. What if Apple decides to cut the nano and shuffle prices when Sony releases their products? Oh, and don't forget Sony USA's tendencies to cut things and funtionalities for US versions.

Sony is going to the right direction, albeit at baby steps. But iPod killer? Not yet.

←

I agree this is one of Sony's big problems. it announces products and gets all the media attention from that, but then doesn't get the products out into the channel until months later.

The people who loved it at first sight will have forgotten about it, or something new will have come along and Sony's new product looks old and tired by the time it hits the shelves.

[Guest Stuge]

Sony is doing nothing when they say nw-a3000 is an i-pod killer.they should understand that this new model should have a TFT-color screen instead of that OELD Screen which impossible to seen it sunlight or daylight .Also it is quiet hefty when it is compared with i-pod ,it is around 182grams while i-pod is 136 grams .Even from the side view it looks that sony walkman is quite thick a compared to i-pod video.No FM ,no voice recording ,no games(we can live without that also).Sony only scores points when it comes to battery life which is about 35 hours(sony claims) to i-pod 20 hours.But one of main point that i would like to highlight that I-pod video is 30gb &Sony is still selling 20gb(sony nw-hd5 limited editon models of 30gb was available in few countries only) ,THEY THINK THAT WE R GOING TO LISTEN SONGS AT 48KPBS BUT THEY R WRONG less than 192kpbs or 132kpbs is really bad. I have TRIED LISTENING TO SONGS AT 48KPBS & 64KPBS either in english or hindi songs but it is heart breaking.As i have faced a problem that most of our hindi songs r too long( mostly 6mins to 7mins) .Therefore when they r converted using sonic stage to atrac 192kpbs or 256kpbs . Then the files r too big and i`m able to fit around 1500 songs to 2000 songs.Therefore i think iT IS NOT AN I-pod killer at all.

Edited October 27, 2005 by Stuge

[Ascariss]

I don't think it will be an ipod killer, but it should eat into the sales of the ipod. People are slowly realizing that there are alternative DAPs out there than just the ipod.

I for one do not need a FM radio, that is the point of the player, to listen to your own music files instead of the radio.

Don't need voice recording, have MD for that, if I needed something better, I would get a device that only is designed to record, smaller and better than either the MD or new player.

Games, this is the first time I hear of this, my cell phone has games, I haven't played them in months now.

Next 20 gigs is enough for me, the market research has been done, most people do not have the player even half full, the study is posted somewhere here or on minidisc.org. My friend owns the older ipod, 30 or 40 gigs can't remember, he doesn't even have 3 gigs on it.

1500-2000 songs is plenty, if you are able to go through all these songs in one day, I would be amazed. I got tons of house music songs, that range from 6-10 minutes in length, and even though when I get my A3000, I won't be converted to atrac, since it will be faster to just transfer the mp3s. with native mp3 playback for the new players and also the older hd5 and hd3, I doubt many people will use the atrac anymore, unless they want longer battery life.

As long as the player has great sound quality, above average battery life, a screen(no need for colour, I am not 13 anymore, and things like this are not really important in the long run), ease of navigation, and ease of transfer.

If you really want more than this, go for an ipod, or better yet, some kind of PDA, but with limited space though.

[Guest Stuge]

I don't think it will be an ipod killer, but it should eat into the sales of the ipod. People are slowly realizing that there are alternative DAPs out there than just the ipod.

I for one do not need a FM radio, that is the point of the player, to listen to your own music files instead of the radio.

Don't need voice recording, have MD for that, if I needed something better, I would get a device that only is designed to record, smaller and better than either the MD or new player.

Games,  this is the first time I hear of this, my cell phone has games, I haven't played them in months now.

Next 20 gigs is enough for me, the market research has been done, most people do not have the player even half full, the study is posted somewhere here or on minidisc.org. My friend owns the older ipod, 30 or 40 gigs can't remember, he doesn't even have 3 gigs on it.

1500-2000 songs is plenty, if you are able to go through all these songs in one day, I would be amazed. I got tons of house music songs, that range from 6-10 minutes in length, and even though when I get my A3000, I won't be converted to atrac, since it will be faster to just transfer the mp3s. with native mp3 playback for the new players and also the older hd5 and hd3, I doubt many people will use the atrac anymore, unless they want longer battery life.

As long as the player has great sound quality, above average battery life, a screen(no need for colour, I am not 13 anymore, and things like this are not really important in the long run), ease of navigation, and ease of transfer.

If you really want more than this, go for an ipod, or better yet, some kind of PDA, but with limited space though.

←

hi,i`m not discouraging u from buying it.i`m also going to get it as soon as it is released in India.but i don`t agree that radio is not needed at all, we need that option specially when we want to hear new music(but don`t say t.v. is there).Also to tell u sony doesn`t sell any md players in india (thats my bad luck),Thats why i needed voice recording .But u have different point & i have different.

And don`t take that by heart

Edited October 27, 2005 by Stuge

[veezhun]

Delhi da puttar,

why do want to buy the new a 3000 when you have the hd3 and the hd5? that makes it a minimum of 40 gb. plus, these things in india will be extremely expensive. i had my rh10 got through somebody. in india too, i am seeing ads for the hd3 and not the hd5. do let me know if sony has started advertising for the hd5 too in delhi.

[Guest Stuge]

Delhi da puttar,

why do want to buy the new a 3000 when you have the hd3 and the hd5? that makes it a minimum of 40 gb. plus, these things in india will be extremely expensive. i had my rh10 got through somebody. in india too, i am seeing ads for the hd3 and not the hd5. do let me know if sony has started advertising for the hd5 too in delhi.

←

Hi,

Sony India has launched its product in september 2005.The cost of the product product is Rs 19990 which is quite cheaper then nw-hd3 (but now sony world few selected showrooms r selling that for Rs 15000{if they had that model .[b`coz they want to throw that item at any cost] } & as far buying Nw-a3000 ,i don`t think it will be available until feb or march but that time i will be having enough money.First of all i will see it than i will think of buy .Secondly , In which city do you live(let me know )?And don`t worry i will either nw-hd3 or nw-hd5 before getting one

Edited October 28, 2005 by Stuge

[nbaki82]

I think one shouldn't really compare the two, because iPod is more for young people, while Sony with it more expansive prices and more modest design for older people. Both have their audience.

Snatched from the New York Times.

←

[Shiver]

I like sony and im 14, and my uncle has an Ipod...

[Tetsugaku-San]

None of the current players are iPod killers, they probably never will be - mainly because Sony has something else up it's sleave . . .

Mobile Phones, the wlakman branded phones are doing tremendously well and are pulling the rug from under the Shuffle, and to some extent, Nano's feet. The new W900 launching in a week or so will have half a gig onboard, with a Duo slot to take an aditional 4Gb if needed.

Has a radio, dedicated playback buttons, supports atrac and MP3, Drag and Drop, a excellent 2Mp camera, supports 3G video calls, full sysnc with a PC for contacts and watched folders . . .

Most people (read, 'not the people on this forum') Don't want or need that much music. They listen to the player to get to work and back, that's it

*Flame On!*

Edit: Incedentally the W900, along with the W800 both ship with equivelents of MDR-EX71S 'phones, that alone show you how committed they are to taking over via the back way as it were. Even my Sony K750i came with a full set of proper headphones/hands free thing, not brilliant ones, but sufficent. And the K750 has a radio, drag and drop, blah blah. I even use an MP3 as my ringtone.

Edited December 2, 2005 by Tetsugaku-San

[Pooh]

"Mobile Phones, the wlakman branded phones are doing tremendously well and are pulling the rug from under the Shuffle, and to some extent, Nano's feet"

Via iLounge:

'In its annual report (SEC form 10-K) filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple summarized several iPod and iTunes related details.

Apple said that net sales of iPods rose $3.2 billion, or 248 percent, during 2005 compared to 2004. The company said it sold 22.5 million iPods in fiscal 2005, an increase of 409 percent from the 4.4 million iPod sold in 2004. Apple has now shipped more than 30 million iPods since the device’s introduction four years ago.

“Strong sales of iPods during 2005 continued to be experienced in all of the company’s operating segments and was driven by strong demand for the iPod shuffle introduced in January 2005, the release of an updated version of the iPod mini in February 2005, the release of the iPod nano in September 2005, and expansion of the iPod’s distribution network,” Apple said in the filing.

Apple said that net sales of other music related products and services, which consists of sales associated with the iTunes Music Store and iPod accessories, increased $621 million, or 223 percent, compared to last year.

“The company has experienced strong growth in sales of iPod services and accessories consistent with the increase in overall iPod unit sales for 2005,” Apple said. “The increased sales from the iTunes Music Store is primarily due to substantial growth of net sales in the U.S. and expansion in Europe, Canada, and Japan.” '

http://ilounge.com/

[Tetsugaku-San]

SE on the other hand sold 55 million handsets in the same period, demand for the K750 and W800 has outstripped demand and their succesors are primed to do the same. SE only has a 6.7% market share yet this is growing, fast.

[Pooh]

SE on the other hand sold 55 million handsets in the same period, demand for the K750 and W800 has outstripped demand and their succesors are primed to do the same. SE only has a 6.7% market share yet this is growing, fast.

←

That says little or nothing about what it may or may not be taking away from Apple in terms of iPod sales, or any other DAP maker come to that.

[Tetsugaku-San]

My apologies I didn't go into it enough. This article offers some back up http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27018 .

The thing is Sony Ericcson has onlly launched one phone branded as a walkman, the W800, which has been so popular, they have put prices up as they can't even meet demand. The K750 which was not branded as a walkman but had similar capabilities has also met with the same reaction, SE's market share grew by about 0.6% in a single quarter just due to these two phones.

The launch of the W900, with far improved walkman features will undoubtably be even more of a success, QVGA (240x380) full colour screen, drag and drop, no need for connect, radio, remote control, MDR-EX71 inc. headphones, proper full walkman branding, exclusive availability on Vodafone who will push it to hell, a cheap price of about £100 on a decent contract, a large and poppular advertising campaign on the TV.

The point I am trying to make is that *most* people just want a few tracks to get them to work, a few gigs is sufficent, hence the availability of the 2gb nano. The convenience of just one machine helps people make the decision.

Apple have not passed the hump yet, but they will soon, the iPod will become so ubiquitous that noone will want them, and in a year where every phone is a walkman with decent capacity, noone will need them..

That's what I think anyway, Industry pundits recon the same. I mean it happened with digital cameras . . .

[danwhit]

That says little or nothing about what it may or may not be taking away from Apple in terms of iPod sales, or any other DAP maker come to that.

←

Hi Im new to the forum and already reading that this nw3000 has problems

Well ...let me tell you I have had 2 yes 2 ipods within a year and theyve both packed up. screen freezes lock outs and not a single human to talk to

I will never buy an apple product again

My story is my son has autism and I bought him an ipod for christmas 2004 this very day a year ago which stopped working in may so apple replaced it 28/05/04 new ipod which the click wheel stopped doing any functions about a month ago...so i contact them and they say its out of waranty ( what happened to 1 years manufacturers guarantee???

Please tell me how I get this thing going as I have bought it for him for christmas and Im having problems loading tunes on to it already!!!

Grrrr technology

[Guest Stuge]

Hi Im new to the forum and already reading that this nw3000 has problems

Well ...let me tell you I have had 2 yes 2 ipods within a year and theyve both packed up. screen freezes lock outs and not a single human to talk to

I will never buy an apple product again

My story is my son has autism and I bought him an ipod for christmas 2004 this very day a year ago which stopped working in may so apple replaced it 28/05/04 new ipod which the click wheel stopped doing any functions about a month ago...so  i contact them and they say its out of waranty ( what happened to 1 years manufacturers guarantee???

Please tell me how I get this thing going as I have bought it for him for christmas and Im having problems loading tunes on to it already!!!

Grrrr technology 

←

Show them the recipt (Proof of purchase) ......

[lamewing]

The point I am trying to make is that *most* people just want a few tracks to get them to work, a few gigs is sufficent, hence the availability of the 2gb nano. The convenience of just one machine helps people make the decision.

Apple have not passed the hump yet, but they will soon, the iPod will become so ubiquitous that noone will want them, and in a year where every phone is a walkman with decent capacity, noone will need them..

That's what I think anyway, Industry pundits recon the same. I mean it happened with digital cameras . . .

←

I think you are looking at this from the point of view of a person with more than average knowledge regarding daps and a lack of understanding of the average buyer/user - no insult intended.

I can admit it the truth when I see it; Apple has sewn up the portable music player market for YEARS to come, just as Sony did with the walkman when I was growing up. Yes, there were other brands out there, but all I wanted was a Walkman. The same stands true for folks today.

Folks want a simple and easy-to-use player that sounds good - not great mind you, just good. The iPod and iTunes combination do the very well. Sure some computers might have issues with an iPod/iTunes but most don't. Sure it seems there are many more iPods with issues than other players, but when you look at the number sold, of course the number with issues will be larger. I don't think the percentages will be much different.

Folks aren't willing to put up with crappy/buggy software (in the US at least) when they want to just take some music with them. Some folks here may be willing to work hard to get SS or Connect to work correctly, but the average (this DO NOT mean stupid) person has no interest in do this. Just look at the hoops one has to go thru to get east asian languages to show up on a Sony player with SS. iTunes is unicode and does it natively. Connect does this too, but it isn't stable enough.

Heck, folks are listening to compressed music and can live with it (I am guilty as well with my music). They are not audiophiles using high-dollar equipment and reference speakers. They also don't care about gapless playback. I listen to some classical and I can live with the minor gap, as can most folks. Only the most picky (true lovers of the music) will care enought to buy a player based on gapless only.

While the build construction on some of the other units is better than an iPod, none are eaiser to use. I have been a very strong supporter of build quality, but after Sony dropped full metal bodies on the MD units, I had to learn to live with some plastic...sigh. I now admit that plasitc doesn't necessarily mean poor quality construction; my Cowon A2 is a prime example of a SOLID plastic body. Overall, though, the construction of the iPods is more than acceptable for all but the most abusive owners.

Now, Apple is a bit to focused on appearance (which helps sell the product I guess) and because of it, the iPods get really scratched up. This is unfortunate if you want a pristine unit, but most folks don't care, and some people like having a unit that looks well used. Heck, my original 5G iPods looked pretty ragged, but kept working for three years until I sold it to get back into minidisc (I tried that twice, never again).

If you can get past Apple's hype, the fanatacism of the fanboys (on all sides) and the emotional baggage some folks carry regarding any-and-all DAPs you will find the iPod to be a good unit. Could it be better? Yes. How?

1. Add a real EQ

2. Provide better battery life. The new 5th Gens could have double the battery life if Apple hadn't made them so thin. A factor of the appearance factor I guess.

Questionable additions:

1. Some want an external battery but heck even Sony gave up on that with their DAPs. I don't think it matters that much. As long as you recycle the old battery, all is well.

2. Some want a radio feature. My last DAP had a radio and I might have used it two or three time to listen to NPR when walking to class. People don't buy DAPs for the radio feature and the only folks who claim it to be important are those that don't have much of the DAP market.

3. Some want recording capabilities. Most folks, once again, just want a player. I would like recording capabilities, line-in and mic, but most recording DAPs just have a built-in mic (ick) and not all record in both WAV and lossy formats. It would be nice, but once again, I used the reocording capabilities on my iAudio X5L about 6 times since the mic was so bad.

In the end, no matter how ubiquious the iPod is, consumers will continue to buy them, unless something much better comes along. There were naysayers about the Walkman and it lasted 20 years. Will Apple last that long? I don't know. If they are smart, they eaisly could, if they keep providing a good product. If they fall to hubris, like Sony did, then all hell could break loose.

It is funny to watch human nature. Whenever someone is on top, there are always folks who want to take them down, for whatever reason - good or ill. Political example: even if the U.S. (I live here) were to do everything right, without pissing in the worlds corn flakes, there would still be folks who would want them to fall. That is just the "Rich uncle on the hill" syndrome. If it wasn't Apple, it would be someone else. I think it just pisses folks off that it was Apple that pulled this coup. Apple, the small, no-nothing computer company.

In regards to the pundits...they always nay-say Apple and have been doing so for 20+ years. The camera issue isn't quite the same, as there was never one specific camera that owned 75%+ of the market. Now, will DAPs (as a whole) become ubiquious? Yes, and when that does happen, the quality, for the most part, will nose-dive, like it did when the Walkman's competitors began to crank out cheaper copies.

Overall, I really wish the zealots on all sides would just give it up and use what they want instead of bashing each other. All it does is waste time/energy and produces nothing constructive.

Just my 2 cents...

Edited December 16, 2005 by lamewing

[EZero]

It's Christmas Eve. The A3000 is not in stores here in the US. Amazon.com doesn't have it. How is this supposed to kill the iPod if they aren't even selling it in the US during the most opportune time of the year? Connect Player hasn't had the upcoming update yet, and really, this is just a huge mess Sony has created.

With CES so close, I'm hoping the iPod killer is announced. I'm hoping Connect gets improved. I'm hoping for Sony to win me back!!!