300-400 workers... Looks to me they are going to subsidize the players. No way, they can prize the Connect pplayers in the same range as Apple with that much cost if they don't.

Seize the Year!

Way to respond to a challenge, Sony.

PS Latin is not my first language. I made up the subject line. How close did I come?

I think that is right though my 4 years of Latin ended in 64 so dont try to take it to the bank on my okedoke.

Till the end of 2005 the competition would probably end. And then Sony will introduce its products. I don't think it will sell big.

I am also losing faith in journalism.

At the rate the iTMS and iPod are steamrolling through the last year, can you imagine how huge they'll be a year from now? Can you imagine how big the iTMS alone will be? Talk about late to the party...and that's assuming Sony can finally produced a decent iPod-competitor.

Sony's dug a huge hole...

Isn't this like the 4th time Sony has stated they will "challenge" the iPod? I'm surprised companies haven't just given up, I mean, the last time I can recall a new product so swiftly gobbling up a ton of market share was when Windows was released.

Yeah, it's like Wal-Mart....just keep re-announcing the "launch" your website that's been up for a year til somebody notices. I expect a statement very soon.

"No, really, guys. We're in the digital music business. Really. Look. Hey, where's are you going?"

-Sony, Wal-Mart, Creative, Real, Etc.

All they've done is purchased M$ DRM kit and slapped their own label on it...no one has innovated yet...

WELCOME SONY.

SERIOUSLY.

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MTM wrote:
Seize the Year!

Way to respond to a challenge, Sony.

PS Latin is not my first language. I made up the subject line. How close did I come?

I too took Latin in the early '60s, I wish Sherlock had a Latin translator. I went to a English-Latin translation web site and the word "year" returned as "annus". I think "annum" is used as in per year, per annum. In all seriousness I wish I would have taken my Latin studies more seriously. Anyway,

The iPod is pretty entrenched and Sony will need something insanely great to compete. Even my hoi poli Windows using friends think that the iPod is la crème de la crème.

Interestingly not an hour ago I was shopping at a Radio shack and the clerk was all excited about this "new iPod thing" that he had recently been given for sales demonstrations. When I told him he was suprised to learn that it has been around for more than a few months, maybe there is hope for Sony.

Are they still around?

(Kidding. But seriously...not surprised that Radio Shack employees are out of the loop.)

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Billy K wrote:
Are they still around?

(Kidding. But seriously...not surprised that Radio Shack employees are out of the loop.)

I have seen several of them around town (San Diego) with iPod posters on the window. I stopped in to look for a Treo 600 synch cable and then got into the iPod discussion with the clerk.

Staying on topic, It is getting to the point where I need a Batman type of utility belt for my cell phone, iPod, wallet and so on. My wife has the Treo 600 and uses a lot for email. She is hard of hearing and the Treo keyboard is much better than trying to compose mail on standard cell phone. The Treo can play mp3 files, but has no where near the capacity of even an iPod mini. If Sony could come up with a combination cell phone and music player that was good as the iPod that might take a lot of sales away from Apple.

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AyaSofya wrote:
... If Sony could come up with a combination cell phone and music player that was good as the iPod that might take a lot of sales away from Apple.

Apple heard you. iPhone coming soon.

I took Latin in the early 1990s, and even have an old textbook with me. As far as I can tell, "carpe annum" is indeed correct. The noun annus, anni is a 2nd declension masculine noun, so in it's accusative case (meaning it's the direct object of the verb "seize") it should be "annum."

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Guest wrote:
I took Latin in the early 1990s, and even have an old textbook with me. As far as I can tell, "carpe annum" is indeed correct. The noun annus, anni is a 2nd declension masculine noun, so in it's accusative case (meaning it's the direct object of the verb "seize") it should be "annum."

Thanks, like I said I wish had taken my Latin studies more seriously

... and that would be the PSP, which is coming out in 2005.

Yes, primarily a games player. But it will sell HUGE and is reported to have both cellphone and MP3 player attachements or built-in abilities. Plus we all know how much teens & younger adults luv their games... this thing really targets the iPod's core audience.

It's a Microsoft-like strategy- MS leverages Windows to get into new markets, Sony can likewise leverage content(games) to get into new markets.

Will it be as elegant a musical solution as the iPod? I doubt it. But it may be 'good enough', and there will certainly be a whole LOT of PSPs out on the streets come this time next year.

This is part of why I hope Apple starts to price the iPod and iPod Mini more aggressively soon- if Apple's got the market locked up tight as a drum before PSP shows up (and they DON'T now- we are FAR from saturation yet), then its pretty much game over for the PSP, muscially-speaking. But bad pricing by Apple and sitting on their laurels and margins could leave some daylight for Sony and others.

What a lame response! How did Apple manage to work out a DRM strategy with all of these record labels and Sony, who owns TONs of content can't figure this out? WTF are they doing over at Sony????

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Anonymous wrote:
... This is part of why I hope Apple starts to price the iPod and iPod Mini more aggressively soon- if Apple's got the market locked up tight as a drum before PSP shows up (and they DON'T now- we are FAR from saturation yet), then its pretty much game over for the PSP, muscially-speaking. But bad pricing by Apple and sitting on their laurels and margins could leave some daylight for Sony and others.

Apple heard you. Cheaper iPod on the way. SJ will announce cheaper iPod in his keynote during MacWorld SF 05.

Sony (the electronics company) is shackled by the intrests and red tape of Sony (the record company)