ATRAC really sucks. On ATRAC format is how you get the extra long play time. It takes too long to convert your music (MP3 or CD) to ATRAC to take advantage of the long play times advertised. The software alone is tedious to use on the old Sony HD player. I kept it for a week and returned it. As much as I think Ipods are evil, all 4 people in my family have 20GB and I a 40GB Photo. iTunes also has its faults but is so seemlesly integrated with the web and you can not beat the accessories selections.

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Anonymous wrote:
SONY has positioned this product perfectly to fail. The units do not support the #1 file format for legal downloads (AAC) nor the #2 file format (WMA). Instead they support only a third format (ATRAC) and the ubiqitous MP3. Therefore, the only online music store that works with this product line will be SONY's own store. SONY will have to fight against the LoudEye-based WMA stores instead of taking advantage of their efforts against Apple. If these players supported WMA, they might be competition, as they are, they're just another stupid management decision at SONY.

Don't be too hard on Sony. Sir Howard Stringer will rectify this. I'm sure it will support AAC/FairPlay in no time. I'm not a geek, can this be fixed by a firmware upgrade? If not then wait for second generation.

It is just BURNING you up!!! The ipod WINS again and again and again....
Look at the market share! APPLE IS UBER KING OF THE HILL. And I'm loving it! After a long cold winter, Apple is getting its just desserts

actually, the only reason I didn't buy a Shuffle was because it had no display. apple's marketing wasn't good enough to brainwash me to think that it's "shuffle" feature is so innovative and cool, "live life on the edge! be random! who knows what song you will get next! be cool, no one tells you what to do! (except apple)"

um, earth to apple, shuffle is a standard feature practically on all audio players out there. besides that, if i had 1GB of songs from all genres, i don't want to be sitting there having to listen to the first few seconds of each song to figure out which song it is before i finally find a song that i'm actually in the mood to listen to. if i'm at the gym, i don't want to be listening to some sappy love songs.

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Anonymous wrote:
if i'm at the gym, i don't want to be listening to some sappy love songs.

You look at your iPod's screen when you're at the gym? Most people I see have them strapped on their arm.

I own a mini, but I could just as easily have a shuffle. I listen in my car, and I certainly can't be looking at the screen while I'm driving. If I don't like a song that comes up, I hit "next" without looking at it. Pretty much exactly how a Shuffle works.

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Mace wrote:
These are legacy of Nobuyuki Idei/Kunitake Ando's era.

With Howard Stringer as the new Chairman cum CEO, content is king and gadget is second. It is likely that Sony will sacrifice its own propriety format & gadget for the sake of pushing content.

So, we might see Sony supporting AAC/FairPlay fairly soon.

Not impossible, but unlikely. Sony is very much a hardware-based company, and the Sony engineers I've had dealings with (in Tokyo) have been very conservative. Many Sony products seem to be designed with the express purpose of shifting excess component inventory (the Mavica cameras with floppy disk drives, for example).

We'll see - there's a lot of institutional arrogance to clear away.

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Anonymous wrote:
... Many Sony products seem to be designed with the express purpose of shifting excess component inventory (the Mavica cameras with floppy disk drives, for example).

We'll see - there's a lot of institutional arrogance to clear away.

Exactly, the reasons why Howard Stringer is appointed as CEO, to change those practices. Idei and Ando will be around to caution him about the pitfalls. Actually, Sony is run by a tripartite (Stringer, Idei and Ando). Howard is the public face.

The SONY lacks the APPLE marketing "Hip and cool" factor and the sony players looked too metallic and similar to korean flash players where there are thousands out there, apple shuffle is unique as it is very simple and very cool looking and let's face it, sony is still way too expensive for a mass market.

Sony just doesn't have the design smarts and new ideas to take on Apple. But they might make No.2 in players... if they try real hard.

seems to me the ultimate mp3 player for MOST of us that don't require a 1,000 friggin' tune playlist (if one can even imagine) is a device that accepts a flash drive (Jumpdrive) loaded up with 50 or 60 of our favorite tunes. just plug the flash drive into the device and bingo! instant mp3 player! i actually saw one of these gizmos at Wal-Mart that sold for $35 - that plugged into your car's cigarette lighter.
so... $35 for the "player" and another $35 for the 256 meg Jumpdrive... you got yourself a mobile mp3 player for $70.
why frig around with iPods and such when you can get a "player" for a whole lot less?!
- eviljam

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NoVaMac wrote:
It is just BURNING inside you!!! You just eat those hot peppers again and again and again....
Look at the outdated AppleShare(tm) technology! APPLE IS BURGER KING OF THE EXOTIC FOOD. And I'm loving it! After a long cold winter, Apple is dessert to Napster.

at $150 the sony nw-e107 is going to be able to hold as much as 4gb mp3 files because of atrac3plus files. The software provided should convert any other files if its the same as the one that was supplied with the MD players from years ago. Its really not a bad buy since its going to be in the price range of the shuffle but will have a screen (id say its a must just because they say it can have up to 695 atrac 3 plus songs at about 4min a song). I do tend to lean towards sony products cuz they can typically take a beating and i also dislike the whole ipod scene. I heard the itunes software is way better than the supplied sony software (sonicstage?) but i think its because sony converts files to fit more on the unit... im not sure if the itunes AAC (?) files are compressed. I think theres some sony drag and drop mp3 file management software being released april...

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NoVaMac wrote:
It is just BURNING you up!!! The ipod WINS again and again and again....
Look at the market share! APPLE IS UBER KING OF THE HILL. And I'm loving it! After a long cold winter, Apple is getting its just desserts

Yup, by introducing to the world the low functionality, high price, more form, less substance...essentially, the Windows 95 of mp3 players. Apple indeed is getting its just desserts, by becoming the lowest common denominator. Humorous, at best.

Business is business and there's nothing wrong with Apple's success; I'll be the first one to admit that Apple's strategy is indeed impressive. There's also nothing wrong with owning an iPod; there's something for everyone out there. However, I'm entirely entertained by the sight of Apple's clueless fanboys desperately clinging on to the success of a mediocre hype-whored MP3 player in order to justify their delusions of "underdog credibility". As blatantly displayed by this NovaMac character here.

Back onto the subject of Sony, I think the new players are lovely-looking (would love a 400/500 model if I ever needed a flash player). It's a shame that it's overly reliant on MP3 and most importantly Atrac. Also, I do believe that sonicstage is a requirement; that is quite the disappointment.

Cheers

ps. The musical tampo...erm, shuffle. Elegant? And that it's a better design than the 400/500 series? That people out there actually think this of a white stick is a scary thought, but I suppose one cna't expect much more from the masses.

They can be used as a flash drive but you cannot just copy over you mp3 and play them. You have to used the supplied software which would not be my choice. Let the consumer decide what software that want to use.