Sony Corp. today announced the release of its first hard disk-based portable music player to bear the Walkman name: the Walkman NW-HD1. Indicating some significant cluelessness on their part, the player supports only the proprietary Sony ATRAC3 audio format, the same compression format utilized by Sony's MiniDisc system (yes, that means MP3s and other audio files will be subject to a lossy transfer to ATRAC3). The player is really tiny, it comes with 20GB of storage, and is expected to retail in the U.S. in mid-August for $400. And of course, it will integrate with Sony's Windows-only "Connect" music store, which Sony is hoping will bring it into direct competition with Apple's iTunes Music Store. Meanwhile, Dell is offering a $100 bounty on iPods for individuals interested in switching to their Digital Jukebox 15GB player; and Apple has entered into a five million-song countdown to its 100 millionth sale through its music store.
Can anyone say too little too late? If the devices were cheaper, the software was better, and the support for file types was better, then maybe they would be close to the same level as the iPod. Until then, it's apples to oranges (if you'll forgive the expression). The iPod is still the best designed, most flexible, and (surprisingly enough) the most affordable device of it's kind.
Agreed emphatically!