A-series players in the U.S.A. ? When and if

[lamewing]

Hey folks,

I have been scratching my head after looking at the locations where I can buy a A-1000 or A-3000 player. Japan check. Canada, A1000 check, A3000 no., etc etc

The Sony site in the U.S. has a few flash players and that is all. NO HDD based mp3 players of any type. Sony U.S. is tightlipped about when and if these will be released in the U.S.A. even though they are being sold in Canada...grrrr.

Could one of you guru's enlighten me at to when and if Sony is going to provide a HDD player here? Do we have to wait for the Z1000???

If Sony has intentions of ignoring the States (even after the Sonic Stage CP - grrrr no unicode after all these years) does anyone know a way to order from Canada? Perhaps I can work something out with a Canadian on this board?

Any and all help and information will be appreciated.

Joe

[Zizone_]

well, I may be totally off... but I think US will have new walkman, the new generation to come in future. I don't think Sony will release NW-A1000/3000. Not that they are ignoring US, but it's just that US is more competitive market. Having bad reviews and comments throughout various websites, some true while some are just ridiculous bias, current walkmans will not stand up to people's bias. I think I read news somewhere saying they may release new walkman line up in possibly November.

Again, this is purely my thought and surely I can be wrong.

Oh and if you really want to import one, here is a possible website for you.

http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/

As you can tell this is UK website. I believe they ship worldwide.

Edited May 26, 2006 by Zizone

[lamewing]

I just found something using search that mentioned a new player in the U.S. by MARCH 2007. So we are expected to wait longer than a year without Sony offering a HDD player? Wow, that is crazy. You think the A-series will skip the U.S. completely? If so is this new player going to replace the A-series throughout the world? I would hate to see Sony only provide a localized product further weakening their product base.

I can understand Sony not wanting to get spanked by Apple here in the U.S. (at the local Brick and Mortar stores), but at least they could sell it via Sony.com. Are we even going to see the new E-series here in the states?

Oh, thanks for the link, but 169 pounds is a bit much, when sony Canada sells it for $250.00 Canadian. What is that, around $230.00 U.S. right now? I had hoped that minidisccanada.com would sell the thing, but no luck.

Does Sony realize that they will NEVER (near future) gain back their lead in the U.S. ??? I just won't happen unless Apple royally screws the pooch AND Sony comes up with a miracle product. Can't they just accept 2nd place and just make a solid player with good software (UNI UNI UNICODE!!!!). I think this is Sony's big problem. They are always trying to find a way to gain 1st place again.

Edited May 26, 2006 by lamewing

[Zizone_]

If the news you mentioned is true, March 2007, then A series will be more than a year old (since A series were released Nov. 2005). So by that time, I believe it is ok to replace with new line ups.

And, yes I agree with you that skipping US is bad. But I really don't believe Sony was expecting this software problems that further damaged reputation of brand Walkman (I still think player itself is very well made).

edit:

I don't think it's really a matter of being 2nd place. There seems to be big gap between 1st and 2nd since Apple hold about 70% of this market (% maybe wrong).

Once, Sony said this will be a long battle, a battle that can't be won by just one generation product line. Thing is that while Sony is improving but the rate is too slow, which is a huge problem. Hopefully there will be some sort of bright news to be made about possibly upcoming new lineups.

Edited May 26, 2006 by Zizone

[lamewing]

I am really suprised at the software problems they had with Connect. How hard can it be to program software for music management? iTunes is a great product (if you like the design and UI) and is generally very stable.

I simply don't understand why it's so hard to accomplish this task. Are the programmers that Sony employees totally incompetent or did it have to do with a lack of communication withing Sony itself? I still cannot believe that they 1) released the software knowing the poor condition it was in and 2) that they gave up on it and instead just added some extra features and support of hardware to the venerable Sonic Stage.

Edit: Your comment about Sony continuing to fall behind is spot-on. Sony needs to just listen to the customer base and give them what they want. Look at the competion now. Video on a music player with a not-to-distant full-fledged video iPod in the works. Sony needs to reconsider their options. The HD5 was a nice machine (eaisly removeable battery), but sported a monochrome screeen. The Pocket Vaio had that lovely color LCD, but the G-sense was a bit quirky and would go spastic every so often.

What Sony needs to provide is a solid player (aluminum body), with a color LCD, video playback (mulitiple codecs -divx, xvid, mp4, etc), removeable battery, great sound quality, true drag-and-drop (at least as an option for consumers who don't like software to transfer files). If they remove this DRM nonsense they will open up their players to a larger audience (and accept that piracy will still exist no matter what happens). Remember the PSP can accept files just copied to the memory stick and play them with no trouble...and still use the ID tag info.

I don't think Sony is really up to the task as they seem to be betting it all on the PS3. Think how much R&D has been put into the PS3! If only a small portion of htat could be used to focus on a competitive DAP. /sigh

Edited May 26, 2006 by lamewing

[Zizone_]

Yeah, I share same questions as you do. For some reason, there products are really at top level, while there softwares do not meet our expectations. I think there is some issue since they also own music industries.

I know not many will agree with me, but I personally believe music files should be more restricted as Sony did previously; since one can find atleast 9 out of 10 people has download music files illegally. I think this is where the problem started when walkman lost lead to apple; for that people enjoyed music files without charge, while Sony's problem was more restricted to illegal files and file sharings. Now, files may be protected or not by option provided in SS. But by this time, apple gained lead, and this move left permanant image to Sony's Walkmans. I still have friends thinking Walkmans only support ATRAC.

Edit: Yes, I agree with you on that they should also listen to consumers. And Japanese has saying that the customers are a god. Anyway, looking through their lenses, they cannot just ignore their numerous divisions either. So, finding this balance between consumers and their owned market divisions are surely tough. So this removal of DRM is one very complicated issue, again due to their own music market and for the consumers (it's like trying to pick a side when one's children are fighting).

About that LCD and other issues, i strongly believe (by looking at their current deals with other companies) their future product line ups will have video support. And, I am hoping they will still deliver the superb sound quality like they have been doing through out their history.

And I also hope Sony will show more attention for DAPs...

Edited May 26, 2006 by Zizone

[lamewing]

I cannot agree with you on the more restrictive files. It won't matter how restrictive you make the files on the player, all you are doing is making it impossible to copy them off of your players. Have you seen the nightmare that happens to the folks here when their HD crashes and all their files are gone (or the SS database is corrupted?) and all they have are files on the player. Of course you can't pull those files off and transfer them back to the computer, so you are generally screwed.

The REAL piracy takes place on a much larger scale then people realized. The average Joe who trades a few files isn't the problem. Heck, my downloading of jpop (now I can use itunes japan to test new songs) has opened up my music tastes considerable. AND I have about 100 Jpop CDs due to the downloads, not to mention the 600+ CDs my wife and I own that are standard western music.

Sharing music is a way to allow others to experience more choices, more styles of music. Why would you want to keep the downloaded files once you get a CD of the music. The downloads are terrible anyway! Heck, the legal downloads are pretty poor as well. I just burnt a CD from some songs I bought on iTunes and the Master > 128AAC > CDR conversion process basically created a music CD with absolutely NO life to it. Terrible quality.

Try going to East Asia (Seoul for instance) and see the real pirates hawking their copied CD on the street corners. No amount of DRM on the players is going to stop that.

You stated that Sony lost to Apple due to file sharing. That isn't at all correct. Sony stated that they didn't want to get into the DAP business because they didn't know how to "balance their interests". This wait allowed Apple to provide a solid product that worked seamlessly with iTunes for an extended period of time.

This "Balance" everyone speaks about doesn't exists. The RIAA and it proponents suggest strict music control, but that doesn't solve anything. Why, because no matter how restrictive the software makes the files or whether the CDs are copy protected or not, the REAL pirates have hardware that can make a single digital recording (and strip any protection from the digital stream) of a CD. Once that copy has been made, poof, the CD is in the wild. Heck, I can use my Sony CD to CD dubbing deck and make a copy of ANY copy protected CD and then use that new copy protection free CD as a master.

Sony SHOULD allow folks the option of hooking their players together and sharing music from one unit to another. Not quite tape swapping, but close. The more music you expose folks too, the more they will buy. The folks who don't buy music are not going to buy it anyway. This isn't going to change (except as those folks get older and appreciate what the artists really do), so Sony should take advantage of this mentality instead of trying to waste resourses to fight it. Heck, sony is doing the same thing fighting the homebrew folks who write emulators, etc for the PSP.

Sony's biggest competition isn't Apple, but Sony itself.

Edited May 26, 2006 by lamewing

[Zizone_]

Yes, that's why Korean music market is dead. Their top chart in 2004, Seo Taiji's 7th album sold only 470,000 copies. This is musician who used to sell 3 million copies. Not to mention there seems to be no real artists lately.

But, just think if one person shares 10 files, and say 10 other people shares 10 files... then one can get a point and see that numbers becomes big within a few moment.

But, again people may argue with me and that's perfectly fine.

What I am saying is that, this one very complex issue (what I mentioned is, surely, not the whole story) has proved Sony's current downfall in DAP market.

Edited May 26, 2006 by Zizone

[TrueNorth]

To respond to Lamewing's dilemma.

The A1000's are going for between $200 and $250 Cdn in ebay.

My problem is a mirror image of yours. I have the A1000 but cannot access the Sony Connect store in the US to purchase music.

[Zizone_]

My problem is a mirror image of yours. I have the A1000 but cannot access the Sony Connect store in the US to purchase music.

Yeah, that's true problem. For some reason, music market seems to be really localized as for copy right issues for legal download market. They only let people to purcahse musics if they are really released at that particular country. Hopefully this issue will be fixed soon... sigh...

To Lamewing:

oh and yeah it may allow people to experience more music. But that experience to let others to listen used to be a market where money can be made. Once people get hold of files, not many buys CDs or download it again. Also, it's very good to hear that you care about music quality. But there are tons of people who don't know about or can't tell difference between bit rates.

Edited May 26, 2006 by Zizone

[lamewing]

To respond to Lamewing's dilemma.

The A1000's are going for between $200 and $250 Cdn in ebay.

My problem is a mirror image of yours. I have the A1000 but cannot access the Sony Connect store in the US to purchase music.

I was able to bypass that problem by using iTunes Japan and just buying iTunes cards on ebay. The funny thing is I used Apple's address as my own when I registered (needed a Japanese address) and all went through fine. Can you do the same thing with the U.S. Connect Store? I can help you get the cards if you can get the software end to work.

Yeah, that's true problem. For some reason, music market seems to be really localized as for copy right issues for legal download market. They only let people to purcahse musics if they are really released at that particular country. Hopefully this issue will be fixed soon... sigh...

To Lamewing:

oh and yeah it may allow people to experience more music. But that experience to let others to listen used to be a market where money can be made. Once people get hold of files, not many buys CDs or download it again. Also, it's very good to hear that you care about music quality. But there are tons of people who don't know about or can't tell difference between bit rates.

Well,

People who buy music will continue to buy music.

Peple who can hear the difference will always buy the better quality music.

People who are too dishonest not to support an artist they downloaded and now listen too are bad people no matter what.

There are a couple of issuse not taken into account by the RIAA. The total number of files download means nothing to the number listened to. ie say I download 100 songs, but I only listen to 15 of them (and delete the other junk) then I only need to pay for those particular songs as that is what I am enjoying. Yet the RIAA claims all of these downloads are potential sale losses. No No and No. It is only a loss when the person who downloads the song decides to keep it. At that point they need to pay for it.

How is this any different in me going to the library and borrowing music or buying mucsic from the local used CD store? The royalties are only paid once.

Also, the problem also lies with the music industry raping the singers/bands by taking 70%+ of the profits.

Maybe I am from a different time and am just getting old, but I believe in paying folks for their labors and will do so. Maybe it is the current gereration of kids who don't care? I hope not as that would be a rather broad and terrible generalization...especialy if it is true.

Edit: Zizone, enjoyed the conversation, but real life calls. It is now time to brave the big burning ball in the sky...!!!!

Edited May 26, 2006 by lamewing

[Zizone_]

hey, I also enjoyed conversations and nice points you made. Anyway hopefully the industry will find a right place.

Edited May 26, 2006 by Zizone

[Guest Stuge]

You People should be happy the You will get better player than A-series .

[lamewing]

Stuge,

There is absolutely no guarantee that we will get anything better than an A-series player. The Aseries was supposed to be an upgrade to the HD5. Look at what we lost: eaisly removeable battery, metal body, standard usb connector, battery life (?). What I mean is that some folks would consider the A-series a loss compared to the HD5. Could the same thing happen with yet ANOTHER new Sony walkman product?>

I think the A-series was a nice machine overall, it was the software that trashed the A-series reputation. Sony should have just made a few design changes on the A-series to improve it. I would at least have enjoyed the chance to actually buy one of the devices. Instead I am stuck with importing the thing (no real warranty options - or at least exaggerated time for repairs due to shipment back to Japan) from Japan or Canada.

Sony's big mistake is to trash the player and start anew, instead of just fixing the software!!! It would be nice to see a HD5 sized player with color LCD and video capablity, etc. But who knows.

[MZ-1]

I think the USA Sony Style site shows everything about Sony's current mindset about "portable audio":

Right now, the item at the top of the page is an automobile GPS unit.

For MP3 players they're displaying the discontinued "bean" and "core". Other items are "boom boxes" and shower radios -- oooooh.

This is not a page that should be displayed by a manufacturer that used to *own* portable audio.

To me this page has either:

1. The look of death before exiting portable audio.

2. The look of trying to sell off excess unwanted inventory.

or

3. (Hopefully) The calm before the storm as Sony tries to save a sinking ship (in the USA) and finally shows off a complete new line of models reflecting the rapid change of the demands of the market -- and being prepared to follow that market.

Maybe they're waiting a few months (year) for the market to "settle" down so that most-desired features and styling become apparent, then move ahead.

Sony doesn't need to dump 100,000,000 players on the market every two years -- that's craziness. Sony needs the ability to put 200,000 players (or whatever number) on the market every six months with updated features and technology.

I suspect that Sony is bewildered by the rapid change of the market and models and there is nothing (yet) in place in the corporation to cope with it.

Paul