AfterDawn: Tech news

Sony to challenge the iPod

Written by James Delahunty @ 18 Feb 2005 6:06 User comments (7)

Sony to challenge the iPod Japanese electronics giant Sony has said that it will release a new portable digital audio player later this year that it is confident can dethrone the iPod. Sony is responsible for the Walkman, a device which changed the way the world listened to music. "We are confident of being able to offer by the end of the year a product that is much more competitive than the iPod," Sony president Kunitake Ando said. He said the success of the iPod was simply due to the fact that Apple made it easy to use.
"We have to develop software that makes use of our products more intuitive and simple," he told reporters. Apple's iPod device can store thousands of songs and recently versions of it have added support for photo storage also. The iPod is becoming increasingly popular, and also driving more customers to Apple's iTunes music store where they can purchase digital tracks that can be stored on an iPod.

Rumours were circulating that Sony were to buy Apple, but Ando dismissed these rumours saying it has become too expensive due to the success of the iPod. "We have put in place a very aggressive plan to become number one again in portable music", said Nobuyuki Idei, Sony chairman and chief executive officer.



Source:
Yahoo

Previous Next  

7 user comments

118.2.2005 09:25

I think Sony should go for it. If they could make a player that supported more than the obvious formats (mp3, wma, wav, [proprietary format]), then I would definitely buy one. I would love to see a player that can play those formats, and then ogg, flac, and maybe a few other lossless formats like ape, as wav is annoying without tag capability.

218.2.2005 09:39
diabolos
Inactive

That was Sonys main problem before. The made people use thier Atrac format, and didn't even support Mp3 (at first)! I would be very surpised if they supported WMA or AAC.

318.2.2005 11:53

I really don't think that Sony will make an "IPod Killer" lots of companies have tried and "failed". Sony won't be any different, partially because of there (in)famous Atrac Player from last year.

418.2.2005 13:33

Sony's format is much better than WMAP, and similar to ACC (can only be played on 1 device, and is somewhat propietary). If Sony allows the player to have MP3, WMAP, WMA, and a sub $300 price (best selling iPods are 20GB, 4 GB, and 1GB models, all under $300) they will surely dethrone the iPod. Then again he may just be referring to the PSP. The thing is a portable movie player, music player, and PS2 (at $250). I dont think a mini PSP is out of reach.

519.2.2005 15:31

I have a few minidisc units from Sony, JVC and Onkyo. Sony portable models I have have been wonderful with no problems. ATRAC format is different from other formats; but, it has proven its ability. I know alot of iPod owners, they try to get me convert to MP3 side. I am still old school and will use minidisc format. I prefer not to put all music in one location, battery run time and able to change music type. Battery type on the minidisc MZ-NH600D and MZ-N505 is superior on 1 "AA battery" and no internal battery.

620.2.2005 07:43

I've had a number of mp3 players (though not an IPOD) and minidisc players over the years and I have to say there are serious advantages to the minidiscs. Especially, with Sony's new HD discs, where you can fit huge collections on a single disc (for instance everything Led Zepplin has ever done). Combine that with Sony's long battery life, great audio formats, equalizers, radios, everything in a smaller package than the IPOD - the result, sony has a chance!

720.2.2005 21:53

compared to most anything, the iPod sucks...

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31)
VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times.
1 user comment
Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09)
Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier.
8 user comments
Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments

News archive