Japanese Walkmen still require SonicStage?

[viscus]

Hi guys. As you've probably noticed, I'm new here. *waves*

Anyways, I'm looking to replace the NWZ-A818 that I lost on a recent flight (ARGH!). I'm currently living in Japan, and I've got my eye on the new S series Walkmen coming out next week. Now, I know that the Japanese Walkman models still support ATRAC and therefore use SonicStage, but do they have the option of using drag-and-drop for music transfer instead? As a Linux user, SonicStage is a dealbreaker for me. So I would like to know before I go shopping whether or not I'll have to pony up for an overseas model Walkman.

Thanks!

[Guest Skiro'n]

I'm the developer of an alternative to SonicStage (for Windows, Linux and MacOS) called JSymphonic.

I'm in touch with Japanese people owning Walkmans which are UMS/MTP in Europe and which support ATRAC in Japon. These japonese players need SonicStage. So I think that it is the case for every ATRAC compatible walkman. But as I said, you can use JSymphonic in Linux