Sony Unveils New MP3 Hard Disk Walkman
Sony Unveils New MP3 Hard Disk Walkman
by , 8:30 AM EST, November 30th, 2004
Sony Corp. announced Tuesday a new 20 gigabyte digital music player with MP3 support that will be available in Great Britain and Japan before Christmas and elsewhere in Europe in early 2005.
The NW-HD3 (see photo below) will go on sale Dec. 10 in Japan in black, blue, silver and grey colors. It will retail for approximately US$463. An exact availability date for Britain was not announced.
The new hard disk player is the successor of Sony's first hard disk Walkman, which it introduced this summer, but which can play back only music compressed with Sony's proprietary ATRAC3plus software. Atrac3plus is the format Sony uses on its Internet music shop Connect.
The decision to add MP3 support shows consumers were not fully embracing Sony's proprietary standard and wanted access to other online services that offer MP3 files. "Many users have lots of MP3 files and want to be able to play them, and we believe adding that feature will benefit consumers," said Sony Japanese spokesman Shinji Obana told The Wall Street Journal.

Sony said it will produce software upgrades for earlier players with hard disk storage so they can play MP3s too. The company did acknowledge it will bring the NW-HD3 to the U.S. market, but would not say when.
The device is not compatible with Apple's iTunes Music Store and does not support the Macintosh platform.
Observer Comments
Tue Nov 30, 2004 11:16 am Subject: Looks like a camera from the back?
This device requires two hands to use vs. one hand for the iPod. That may not seem like a lot but the "landscape" layout changes the entire dynamics of its use. If your traveling its handy to have a hand free.
The placement of the headphone jack also does not make it pocket friendly, since the "landscape" layout keeps you from sliding it into your pocket. even if you could without placing pressure on the jack, the buttons on the top would be upside the side of your pocket.
Bad design for those on the go...
Tue Nov 30, 2004 1:56 pm Subject:
Boy, that thing is a stinker! Look at the picture and imagine holding it in 1 hand and controlling it. Does the wheel scroll? (I'll bet not). It is clear Sony doesn't have anyone in-house that can figure this market out.
And such a catchy name. "did you get your NW-HD3 for Christmas?" We can go do some NW-HD3-casting for fun". "We're having a NW-HD3-DJ party - wanna come?".
Geezh - this thing is stillborn.
http://www.bandsradio.com
11 channels - funk, reggae, hip-hop, alt country and more.. come n git it.
Perhaps this will push Apple to do something about its awful battery life (which shortens quickly with use), the only knock on an otherwise great product. They are claiming 30 hours per charge for the NW-HD3. If the battery is user replaceable and the user interface is not clumsy, I see it as worth an extra $100.
8 hours (now 12) and 2-3 after a year of real world usage does not cut it.
Sat Dec 11, 2004 11:44 pm Subject: Re: Competition is Good for Everyone
Fri Jan 21, 2005 3:21 pm Subject:
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