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Sony to dump Connect music service

31 August 2007 5:06 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 8 comments

Sony Corp. is acknowledging that its proprietary ATRAC music format was a market flop by shutting down all its Connect music stores and making its devices compatible with other formats. The company made the announcement yesterday at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. The company also unveiled a pair of new Walkman players that support MP3, Windows Media Audio (WMA) and AAC files.

Sony's new NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610 can also display photographs and playback video content and both come loaded with an FM tuner. Now Sony will phase out Connect music stores that sell in the ATRAC format. "This gives customers greater flexibility in their music software approach," the company said in a statement. "As a result, Sony will be phasing out the Connect Music Services based on Sony's ATRAC audio format in North America and Europe."

The new Walkman players do not directly support ATRAC. "We are offering conversion software to convert ripped non-secure ATRAC files to MP3," Sony spokeswman Linda Barger said. A specific date for closure of the services was not set, but a message sent to Connect users confirmed they will close before March 2008. Sony's Connect eBook service for the Sony Reader will not be affected.

Sony's new Walkman players come with 8GB, 4GB and 2GB storage capacities. Prices range from $120 to $230. Additionally, a third line, the NWZ-B100, will play audio only and will come in 1GB and 2GB models, costing $60 and $80 respectively.

Source:
Yahoo (AP)

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Discuss this article!
MightyOne (Junior Member) 31 August 2007 7:34
Sounds like Sony decided to wise up and "Go with the Flow" [ + quote]
BcMester (Newbie) 31 August 2007 10:17
*Quote:* Sony Corp. is acknowledging that its proprietary ATRAC music format was a market flop... Finally! I used to have a MiniDisc player/recorder which played only this ATRAC crap, and although I loved the long battery life and the easy controls, I got rid of it because of the uber-annoying SonicStage and the fact that I had to convert all my MP3's to stupid ATRAC. Well, I've learned since to do my research before buying anything. :) [ + quote]
jookycola (Member) 31 August 2007 10:28
$230 bucks for an 8 gig mp3 player???? Sony really isn't in touch with consumer reality are they? for a few bucks more you could have a 30 gig ipod. Even with an FM tuner it's not worth it. [ + quote]
Unfocused (Member) 31 August 2007 15:27
*Quote:* "This gives customers greater flexibility in their music software approach," the company said Gee, it only took them how long to realize that this is what the customer wanted from the beginning? [ + quote]
club42 (Member) 31 August 2007 17:30
*Quote:* "We are offering conversion software to convert ripped non-secure ATRAC files to MP3, Software has been out for awhile that converts "secure" ATRAC files to mp3. Glad I dropped sony and converted everything I bought from them to mp3. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 31 August 2007 17:31
akaangus (Member) 1 September 2007 1:57
I thought this was already announced a couple of months back? Yet another Sony failed format [ + quote]
gmontalc (Junior Member) 8 September 2007 13:22
* BcMester * *Quote:* Finally! I used to have a MiniDisc player/recorder which played only this ATRAC crap, and although I loved the long battery life and the easy controls, I got rid of it because of the uber-annoying SonicStage and the fact that I had to convert all my MP3's to stupid ATRAC. Well, I've learned since to do my research before buying anything. :) Answer: you haven't understood the article... Sony is not dumping "ATRAC" ATRAC is the driver device created by Sony, is alike WMA for Microsoft... now "CONNECT" is the equivalent of iTunes. CONNECT did not succeed, because is base on Windows Operating System, also wasn't reliable and expensive per download and the software wasn't free either, in other hand iTunes Apple Linux was/is free, and without any hidden cost, it was and still is popular when did the cross over to Windows Platform. as is the most popular, people tends to go for it. [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 9 September 2007 23:36
*Originally posted by MightyOne:* Sounds like Sony decided to wise up and "Go with the Flow" Ditto. [ + quote]