No New Walkman (HDD) until Late 2007?

[EZero]

http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/05/sony-pl...infrastructure/

Well this just sucks, that Sony is now just getting around to making a new Walkman. I was hoping for something soon, but I guess we're out of luck.

[Ascariss]

ahahah pathetic, wake me up when it gets released.

[bob123_]

Surely not! All the previous word on the street was a player by Mar '07 at the latest. Below is I think where the Engadget article was taken from. If so they have paraphrased the article and assumed the player will be end of next year too (when the article seems to refer to the Software/Store starting then).

Monday, 4 December 2006

Sony Hints at iPod/Zune-like Strategy

Topic: News

At Sony's CES preview event today at 30 Rockefeller Center, Sony revealed its holiday plans, its CES gameplan, and talked a lot about about HD video. But there were a few scraps for us digital audio types, including Sony exec Jay Vendenbree calling "MP3 players" (not "digital audio players") one of Sony's strong suits this holiday season, despite the fact that the 2006 holiday product guide they passed around listed only two MP3 players -- the NW-E003 and an American Idol-themed NW-E005.

More intriguing was Sony Electronics head Stan Glasgow's hint about what Sony might do in the MP3 player/digital music store space after watching Microsoft launch the Zune.

Next holiday season could see a new approach from Sony in the MP3 player space -- one that could resemble Apple's iTunes/iPod combo or Microsoft's similarly-unified Zune approach. Glasgow said that Sony "still han't come back to the [digital audio] market hard," but that "we [CE manufacturers] all want to use this approach," and also "you'll find us doing something in that direction" in the future.

Glasgow also had some choice words for DRM that indicate a break from Sony's previous stance. He said, "DRMs are going to become less important" as time goes on, although he also called implementing multiple DRM schemes on the same device "a nightmare." Although he said it was too early for him to reveal details about a Sony device/store play along the lines of the iPod or the Zune, he hinted that Sony is considering releasing something similar.

As for Sony Connect music store, Glasgow admitted, "it has not been successful," while pointing to Sony Connect's success in providing content to the company's new briskly-selling eReader device. If Sony releases a new music store/device combo next year, it will likely build on Sony's eReader success, which it says closely unites the content source with the device it plays on -- just like the iTunes/iPod and the Zune ecosystems do for music.

[Guest Stuge]

Awww ww,This is bad news

[pata2001]

Wow, sony is going backwards. If Sony want to follow MS/Zune, then it means they will close their walkmen even further, and forget about backward compatiblity. The Zune is not compatible with MS's own play-for-sure, so this is a hint of Sony ditching connect store customers. Sony already have a closed system (sonicstage, connect, atrac). Is Sony really that stupid? The Zune is not even a success, it's limping along with lackluster sales. Wait till Apple unleash their 6G iPods and iPhone, nobody will care about the Zune anymore. And here Sony wants to copy MS? What Sony needs to do is make a decent software, that's it! That's what Apple have done. Zune is a failure also because the software that comes with it is buggy and crashing left and right. Wow, I can't believe the execs at Sony and MS are so stupid like this. What level of education do they have? Middle school? Hey Sony, how about visitting forums like this or the T-board, and see what people really want, and cut off your leeching Sony Music and Movie arms.

Good thing I have moved to iPod.

[Guest Stuge]

Good thing I have moved to iPod.

Off Topic ,but I think you were having some problems with new Nano ?

[Ascariss]

Wow, sony is going backwards. If Sony want to follow MS/Zune, then it means they will close their walkmen even further, and forget about backward compatiblity. The Zune is not compatible with MS's own play-for-sure, so this is a hint of Sony ditching connect store customers. Sony already have a closed system (sonicstage, connect, atrac). Is Sony really that stupid? The Zune is not even a success, it's limping along with lackluster sales. Wait till Apple unleash their 6G iPods and iPhone, nobody will care about the Zune anymore. And here Sony wants to copy MS? What Sony needs to do is make a decent software, that's it! That's what Apple have done. Zune is a failure also because the software that comes with it is buggy and crashing left and right. Wow, I can't believe the execs at Sony and MS are so stupid like this. What level of education do they have? Middle school? Hey Sony, how about visitting forums like this or the T-board, and see what people really want, and cut off your leeching Sony Music and Movie arms.

Good thing I have moved to iPod.

actually the article mentions more or less copying of apple, ie since it is the most succesful unit out there currently.

backwards compatibility won't nesscarily be lost since if sony, ditches DRM, the earth will stand still when that happens, will allow for addition any file types that are not copyrighted. I am sure sony will not ditch the old atrac format and will still have it, but should have the option to encode it to atrac.

Although I am sure sony will adopt new formats like they use in their phones, since it's like evolution, evolve and adapt or die out. Sony has to see this, otherwise maybe monkeys are running the show behind corporate.

Here is my take on it.

A move like this by sony is suprising yet expected. DRM is abviously needed I won't disagree there, but locking out people from using your product because a site selling music (other than your own) is cheaper in their country or has the music they like is just ridiculous.

Assuming spiral frog takes off and is launched, was due this month (I am assuming its middle or late december unless it has been delayed) then free music is coming to a website near you. No doubt, the DRM on those songs will be removeable thanks to your friendly neighbourhood, so the DRM on those files, and DRM on music in general will be pointless and a burden on the hardware companies. I don't buy DRMed music, reason is I want to transfer it to my mp3 player as many times as I want. I respect copyright nonetheless since I bought the songs from the website and it was my own money, why should I give it out to people I don't know? This is also high quality mp3s, 320cbr. and not any crappy atrac or mp4 from apples sites.

so general message, music I buy shouldn't be locked down to any specific hardware or program, since if it is, you are just locking out certain people from buying your product.

We can forget about drag and drop for the new player, since it was mentioned some interface would be used, so that dream or wish has very little chance of materializing.

Why the sudden change? well it is possible sony did consumer clinical tests and the results were less than appealing and people might have been confused with the new product and software, which isn't different from the current sony way. Sure the new walkman may have looked great but if it didn't function the way sony wanted or expected then it is dead in the water. So this is one possible reason for the shift by sony.

Although most likely the best method to beat a competitor is to copy them, but release something that is better. Which is basically ipod, with video, but less drm, better quality, bigger screen, better battery and better sound. Mind you this has to be priced competively otherwise its not gonna get off the ground. All speculation though, we are a long ways off from christmas 2007 so it's best to ignore the news of the new player for now and wait and see what crazy piece of hardware sony releases next for their walkman line.

[pata2001]

Sony is not thinking about a better product. Sony is thinking of locking the content and hardware for their future walkman. Just like what MS did with Zune, it locks Zune with Zune marketplace. The Zune is not even compatible with other services that use WMA/play for sure. Sony did exactly this with connect and Atrac, and they failed. Now they want to do it again? Sony cannot even make a decent software, let alone another new ecosystem? Heck, even MS cannot make a decent software for their Zune.

As for Sony restructuring, I thought that what the Howard guy was going to do years ago. Well, what do we have now? Nothing. In fact, Sony is worse now with many bad PR (root kit, exploding batteries, PS3, etc). Do you think another restructuring will make any difference, if the same execs are still sitting on their fat asses at Sony Music/Pictures?

I'll make it easy for Sony execs. Put together some of your wages in a pot, call Steve Jobs, offer the pot to him in exchange for Apple to develop iTunes to work with Sony DAPs. Not only you get a decent working software, you'll get exposed to the millions of iTMS userbase, which means more profit. Oh, and fire those execs at Sony Music/Pictures, so that Sony can have more money on the pot.

Off Topic ,but I think you were having some problems with new Nano ?

The latest firmware reduces the problem. http://www.audiotstation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32099

[Beethovenian]

Well, there is a hint of hope there, with the comment that "DRM will be less important." Honestly, I think music companies need to get together and force DAP makers to adopt one single DRM system, otherwise we'll create a monopoly for Apple and become hostages to whatever Steve Jobs demands. I have an iPod, and I'm sick of this domination it has on the market. The iPod may work, may even be better than what other companies offer, but it's a way overrated product that doesn't justify transforming Apple in the Microsoft of digital music. Sony seems to be the only company able to make products that are at least in terms of hardware sexy enough to go against Apple (and I find my iPod ugly, though the nano looks very nice). If they managed to get rid of most DRM, that would go a long way to making their products more usable, since I believe the majority of the problems with SonicStage were DRM-created.