NW-A3000/1000/600 available in Canada mid-November

[Dinko]

Haven't seen it posted elsewhere on the boards. Marketnews.ca has this press release from Sony about the new Walkmans.

http://marketnews.ca/news_detail.asp?nid=1217

From marketnews.ca

All models provide up to 50 hours of continuous playback from their built-in, lithium-ion, rechargeable battery (NW-A608 - 50 hours, NW-A3000 - 35 hours, and NW-A1000 - 20 hours). G-Sensor shock protection safeguards the player's internal mechanisms to protect against impact.  The NW-A608, available in violet, stores up to 1,300 four-minute songs recorded at 48 kilobits per second (kbps); the NW-A1000 (violet, silver, pink and blue), stores up to 4,000 four-minute songs recorded at 48 kbps; and the NW-A3000 (violet and silver) stores up to 13,000 tracks.

All three models will be available in mid-November at the following MSRPs: NW-A608 ($249.99); NW-A1000 ($299.99); and NW-A3000 ($379.99).

[Ascariss]

Some news on Accessories for canada:

RMNWS1 remote - $34.99

BCRNWU1 cradle for A1000/A3000 - $49.99

ACU50A AC adapter - $49.99

CKSNWA3000 soft carrying case for A3000 - $14.99

CKMNWA3000 leather carrying case for A3000 - $34.99

CKMNWA1000 leather carrying case for A1000 - $34.99

CKSNWA1000 soft carrying case for A1000 - $9.99

all products arrive dec 13th on the site, and I am assuming a day or 2 later for the store, depending on location in canada.

[MDX-400]

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.

Yeah I already said/knew that, lol! What I was asking was if the exclusivity was going to be removed soon or what--if anyone knew anything about when Sony will release the A3000 to other stores. They are likely going to do it soon, I mean the A1000 is already available everywhere... I'm thinking they just have a low supply of them right now and therefore want to sell them via SonyStyle/Store only...

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.

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I'm supposed to be happy that I can pay a lot of money for something that isn't worth that much, just because I can buy it? Hmm I see one side of that argument but if I could still find an new HD3, I'd take that over the A3000 any day because of the price difference and the fact that I don't see anything that much better about the A3000 to make it worth it. Also I have no clue why having "one of the only A3000s around" is a good thing either. I mean you see so many ppl around with iPods, wouldn't you prefer that those ppl had a Sony player instead of the over-hyped crappy iPod?

Plus who is going to even care that you have an A3000??? For one thing how is anyone going to know it's different than the A1000? They look pretty much the exact same. And then it doesn't matter which one you have people will just call it an "iPod" and then when you say it's a "Walkman" they'll say "huh?" and then you'll say "kind of like an iPod but made by Sony and better" and then they'll say "oh, cool iPod"

Edited December 12, 2005 by MDX-400

[Ascariss]

Yeah I already said/knew that, lol!  What I was asking was if the exclusivity was going to be removed soon or what--if anyone knew anything about when Sony will release the A3000 to other stores.  They are likely going to do it soon, I mean the A1000 is already available everywhere...  I'm thinking they just have a low supply of them right now and therefore want to sell them via SonyStyle/Store only...

I'm supposed to be happy that I can pay a lot of money for something that isn't worth that much, just because I can buy it?  Hmm I see one side of that argument but if I could still find an new HD3, I'd take that over the A3000 any day because of the price difference and the fact that I don't see anything that much better about the A3000 to make it worth it.  Also I have no clue why having "one of the only A3000s around" is a good thing either.  I mean you see so many ppl around with iPods, wouldn't you prefer that those ppl had a Sony player instead of the over-hyped crappy iPod? 

Plus who is going to even care that you have an A3000???  For one thing how is anyone going to know it's different than the A1000?  They look pretty much the exact same.  And then it doesn't matter which one you have people will just call it an "iPod" and then when you say it's a "Walkman" they'll say "huh?" and then you'll say "kind of like an iPod but made by Sony and better" and then they'll say "oh, cool iPod" 

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No, the A1000's were available the same day sony got them into their shops, so seeing as the A3000s already arrived and none available at the other stores, the exclusive availability will remain on them for the time being.

I've already had many people with ipods ask where I got my A1000/A3000, and many of my friends have already mentioned that it looks quite cool and well sweet to quote them.

So far no people i've shown it to have said it is an ipod, most have said mp3 player directly when mentioning it. As well, many know the walkman brand here so, I just say its the new MP3 Walkman from sony. Although I want success for sony with the new walkman, I seriously don't want every dick and harry to be carrying one around. Sure some market saturation would be nice, but we all know sony won't put a dent into apple sales.

I really don't see why you think it isn't worth the amount sony is asking for it, if it was 450 or something like that, then yes, it wouldn't be worth it, but for the battery life and design, 349 is a fair price. You are of course entitled to your own opinion, but then I guess if you haven't used the player, you don't see my side of the story. fair enough.

[lamewing]

Yeah I already said/knew that, lol! What I was asking was if the exclusivity was going to be removed soon or what--if anyone knew anything about when Sony will release the A3000 to other stores. They are likely going to do it soon, I mean the A1000 is already available everywhere... I'm thinking they just have a low supply of them right now and therefore want to sell them via SonyStyle/Store only...

I'm supposed to be happy that I can pay a lot of money for something that isn't worth that much, just because I can buy it? Hmm I see one side of that argument but if I could still find an new HD3, I'd take that over the A3000 any day because of the price difference and the fact that I don't see anything that much better about the A3000 to make it worth it. Also I have no clue why having "one of the only A3000s around" is a good thing either. I mean you see so many ppl around with iPods, wouldn't you prefer that those ppl had a Sony player instead of the over-hyped crappy iPod?

Plus who is going to even care that you have an A3000??? For one thing how is anyone going to know it's different than the A1000? They look pretty much the exact same. And then it doesn't matter which one you have people will just call it an "iPod" and then when you say it's a "Walkman" they'll say "huh?" and then you'll say "kind of like an iPod but made by Sony and better" and then they'll say "oh, cool iPod"

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Have to agree. Many folks have been buying iPods for fashion and everyone else has them. Yet, now the suggestion is to buy the Sony units because few folks have them...even though the software is broken and features don't work....just to say, we have something you don't. That is rather pointless in my books. What is the point of buying something that doesn't work well.

That is like buying an old, used Jaguar and boasting that you have a car few folks have....but it has constant mechanical issues.

[MDX-400]

You really can't compare prices in canada and the US now a days, since the exchange rate vs the US dollar has changed quite a bit, 64 cents vs 86 cents now. No doubt that the prices in the US will be cheaper, the market there is much larger than Canada, but then again we'll see.

I can't compare prices? Sure I can!

It has nearly nothing to do with the value of the dollar in many cases as well. Given, back when the dollar wasn't so good against the US, lower cost items (say things under $200 or so) would still be cheaper by a little in the US but the cost of going to the trouble to get one from the US instead was often not worth it. When it cost like $1.66 CDN for $1.00 US, I bought a Sony STR-DA4ES receiver... It cost me about $500 US (~$830 CDN at the time). That same receiver? The price in Canada? IIRC the MSRP was $2000 CDN!!! Even if you could get "a deal" on it in Canada it would probably be about $1500 CDN, add your tax (in Ontario) and you're up to $1700+ CDN. I was still looking at paying over DOUBLE what I paid for it in the US. That means I could have bought TWO in the US for less than it cost for ONE here, and that was when the dollar was pretty bad against the US. (Sorry for those of you that have heard this example before, but it's the best one I have since it was actually a real-life purchase decision of mine which wasn't hard to make if you look at the numbers.)

The receiver even had a better warranty in the US (5yr v. 3yr) though I understand if I ever need warranty work on it, I'll have to bring it back into the US. To me the fact that I was paying half price for it really offset any future inconvenience with bringing it back into the US.

There are exceptions though, not all electronics are cheaper in the US... I think the iPod nano, for example, is cheaper in Canada or at least about the exact same price. Though I hate Apple and the iPod in general, I will commend them for being fair that way.

The HD5 starts from 280 US from a retailer, new. The HD3 ranges from 325 to 350 US.

Yeah but these are prices that aren't consistent with the model being current. For example when the HD3 was the current model it could be had for about $210 US easy, at most online (and Authorised) US dealers. The places that have it listed for that much either don't have it any longer and just have the price left over on their site(s) or they just never sold any of them because their price was too high to begin with.

Vaio Pocket was also in that range, IIRC. I remember eCost and a few other etailers had it in the $200 US range as well.

The HD5 can be had at Amazon.com for $260 US new though that isn't far off the $280 SonyStyle.com price. I wouldn't really consider that a good price though because I don't think I ever saw it for as low as the HD3 was; and I liked the HD3 a lot more (and it was even made in Japan).

The VAIO Pocket was certainly the best deal of the three though, it's too bad they didn't make the remote port the same as on Walkmans

If you need 20 gigs, wait for A3000 at FS or BB, but it might never be sold there, and sony store rarely lowers the price of their products, except with the A3000, 30 dollar discount already compared to original price it went for. A1000 is available at BB or FS, so if you don't need the 20 gigs, I suggest getting that.

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What I'm really hoping for is to find a new HD3 for about $200 US but I've been searching around a lot with no luck Don't get me wrong I do like the A3000 a lot, it's just I'd like to get it cheaper than it is currently selling for; especially considering it isn't that big an improvement over the HD3 from what I can see. I mean really what is so much better about the A3000 which is two generations later? If I were convinced it were that much better I'd probably be okay with paying the premium for it.

Edited December 12, 2005 by MDX-400

[Ascariss]

You forgot the last line, 'No doubt that the prices in the US will be cheaper, the market there is much larger than Canada,"

This mainly the reason why the products are usually cheaper in the states. the stores can bring in a lot more stock at lower prices and thus charge lower prices.

I didn't have the privelage of owning any sony hdd players before, since sony didn't advertise jack for them here, or even sell the HD3/HD5 models. I am sure I would have a similar opinion on the A3000 if I were you if I owned the HD3/HD5 units, but sadly I only own a measly MZ-N10.

Look at prices at FS or BB for other brands in the hdd market, like creative, apple, iRiver and so on, compare the prices vs the sony models. You will see they are similar in price with some some cheaper and others even more expensive.

The vaio wasn't really a walkman, and almost a bastard child, excuse my language, in the DAP market. It was designed seperetely from the rest of the audio arm of sony. It was in an article that is posted in the lounge here. It was a good product, but I don't think it would catch on at the price sony wanted for it. As well its design as a bit radically different than what was on the market at that time.

The VP didn't have mp3 playback until you did a firmware update. Most people now a days are lazy, and will want mp3 playback out of the box in their units.

The A series now provides better battery life than the HD3 and comparable to the HD5, possibly even better. The battery can be changed once it dies. OLED screen looks much better than the LCD on the HD3, shame it's useless in the daylight lol. The HD5 as well is a great product and can still rival the A3000 in specs and would beat in some circumstances.

Design wise? that's subjective, I like the look of the new A series much better than the either the HD3 or HD5, reasons being it looks more organic and natural. Almost something out of the future perhaps.

If you want your mp3 player to go smaller each generation, then don't buy this sony, as it is larger than the previous model, but why would I want something light and flimsy? I want a sold piece of tech that I know won't break.

Anyways, good luck on your hunt MDX-400 for the HD5 or HD3, minidisc-canada has the HD3 at a lower price, but still more than you want it for sadly. Perhaps ebay?