Sony's Network Walkman "not as good" as iPod
Grok Headline matches for Sony's Network Walkman "not as good" as iPod
Mossberg: Sony's new Walkman is no iPod
killer
Mossberg: Sony's new Walkman is no iPod
killer
07/28/2004 01:08 PMThe
Wall Street Journal's technology columnist, Walter
Mossberg, t
akes a look at Sony's new 20GB Network Walkman NW-HD1, the first
Walkman portable music device to feature a hard drive (subscription
required to read the article). Already dubbed an "iPod killer" by some
industry wags, the Walkman fails to impress Mossberg on several
points, including "confusing" user interface, "tedious" song-loading
process that took more than two hours to transfer 416 songs, and less
robust companion music download service that also sports more
restrictive rules than the iTunes Music store. "The iPod wins this
round, and remains champion," said Mossberg.
IPod clobbers Sony's new digital Walkman
IPod clobbers Sony's new digital Walkman
08/04/2004 09:56 PM
San Jose Mercury News Aug 5 2004 1:34AM GMT
Sony's First Walkman-Branded Hard Disk
Player, NW-HD1
Sony's First Walkman-Branded Hard Disk
Player, NW-HD1
07/01/2004 08:45 AM
So this is it, then; the Sony Network
Walkman NW-HD1, the new music-only player powered by a 1.8-inch hard
drive, enough RAM to provide 25 minutes of skip-free playing, and an
impressive 30 hour battery life. While initial reports mention that
the NW-HD1 will support MP3, WMA, and WAV -- and technically, that's
true -- it seems the "support" comes via the same old Sony trick of
converting everything to ATRAC3 on the fly. That still sucks as much
as it ever did, Sony. Still, this is the one they're counting, really,
to make a dent in the iPod's dominance, and right out of the gate it's
got a couple of dings again, with the ATRAC3 and probable lack of WMA
DRM files. At least it's small [8.9cm x 6.2cm x 1.4cm], if not cheap
-- the initial prices for the 20GB model look to be around $400.
Our previous rumors of the NW-HD1 also mentioned a 40GB prototype.
I wouldn't be surprised to see that soon. The 20GB version should be
available in Japan July 10th, in the States in August, and in Europe
by September. (Thanks to everyone who sent this in. You all get
cupcakes.)
Read -
Network Walkman Product Flash [SonyJP]
Read<
/b> - Sony unveils HDD Walkman [TheRegister]
Read
- Sony's 20GB Walkman Sets Sail for America [EverythingUSB]
Read -
mit Festplatten-Playern auf Apples Spuren [HeiseDE]
Read - 20 GB Hard Drive Digital Music Player to Store up
to 13,000 Songs [WholesaleConnection]
R
ead - Sony plans Walkman to rival iPod [BBC]
Read -
Sony debuts revamped Walkman to silence iPod [Yahoo/Reuters]
Related
Sony NW-HD1: A New Walkman-Branded Hard
Disk Player? [Gizmodo]
Apple hits back at Sony's 'misleading'
Walkman marketing.
Apple hits back at Sony's 'misleading'
Walkman marketing.
07/08/2004 12:12 AMMacCentral:
Apple
hits back at Sony's 'misleading' Walkman marketing.Apple hits back at Sony's 'misleading'
Walkman marketing
Apple hits back at Sony's 'misleading'
Walkman marketing
07/07/2004 02:24 PMSony Corp.'s new
hard
disk-based Walkman is the product with the biggest brand
recognition that Apple Computer Inc.'s market-leading iPod has had to
face since its introduction. But it's not the Walkman's 25-year
history that bothers Apple executives, it's Sony's marketing message.
When Sony released the 20GB Walkman they claimed to have trumped Apple
with the number of songs that their device could hold -- 13,000
compared to the iPod's 10,000 -- even thought the total capacity was
half of the iPod's. That message is misleading to consumers, according
to Apple.
Apple hits back at Sony's 'misleading'
Walkman marketing (MacCentral)
Apple hits back at Sony's 'misleading'
Walkman marketing (MacCentral)
07/07/2004 03:00 PMMacCentral - Sony Corp.'s new hard disk-based Walkman is the product
with the biggest brand recognition that Apple Computer Inc.'s
market-leading iPod has had to face since its introduction. But it's
not the Walkman's 25-year history that bothers Apple executives, it's
Sony's marketing message. When Sony released the 20GB Walkman they
claimed to have trumped Apple with the number of songs that their
device could hold -- 13,000 compared to the iPod's 10,000 -- even
thought the total capacity was half of the iPod's. That message is
misleading to consumers, according to Apple.
Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman
Sony NW-HD5 Network Walkman
04/05/2005 07:43 PM
Sony has
just taken the wraps off their new NW-HD5 hard disk-based music
player, a tiny little thing with 20GB of storage. It weighes just 125
grams, which I'm told is less than the weight of a heavily-iced
cupcake (I'm not very good with weights, you might have noticed). Sony
is also promising an ample 40 hours of bettery life and an easily
removable battery. The NW-HD5 will be available in silver, red, and
black and will go on sale in the UK next month for £200 (no word
of a US release yet, but I'd say we'll get it soon enough).
The coolest trick is probably its new 'Follow Turn Display,' which
orients the interface screen depending on which way the NW-HD5 is
held. If I know Sony, I'll bet the controls rotate, too, like the Sony
Vaio U-Series.
Sony
announce the NW-HD5 [Pocket-LintUK]
Walkman vs iPod
Walkman vs iPod
08/06/2004 10:22 PMSunday Times South Africa Aug 7 2004 2:21AM GMT
Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 Reviewed
Sony Network Walkman NW-HD3 Reviewed
02/05/2005 10:17 PM
Gizmo Girl
has a healthy review of Sony's relatively new NW-HD3 MP3 Player. (And
it plays real MP3, instead of "converts to our proprietary
format while you wai MP3", which had been the case with all of Sony's
previous "MP3" players.) Sony kindly calls it a "Network Walkman", but
don't let those words invoke in you dreams of sugarplum IP fairies,
streaming audio from one device to another, with rainbow wireless
interfaces and candy packets of audio sharing. No, the NW wraps your
MP3s so that effectively once they check in to your device, they don't
check out. Still, sans file-conversion, the transfer process isn't
quite as awful as their earlier players. And it comes in pretty (and
familiar) colors. Battery life is apparently quite stellar, and its
small stature but high capacity has them swooning.
Gizmo Girl
Review [Pocket-Lint]
How The iPod Ran Circles Around The
Walkman
How The iPod Ran Circles Around The
Walkman
03/14/2005 05:50 PMThe reach of a company with the optimal mix of assets can extend in
all directions -- and right through the front door of its competitors.
By Rnadall Stross, New York Times
Sony Building Smothered In Network
Walkman
Sony Building Smothered In Network
Walkman
04/07/2005 12:44 PM
It was only yesterday that Sony's NW-HD5 was
officially announced in Japan, and it seems the company has already
managed to convert the Sony Building into a giant promotion for the
Network Walkman line, called "Walkman Records." This marks a first for
Sony, as their domestic (Japanese) Walkman campaigns typically
revolved around MiniDisc (and for good reason). The first floor is
divided into three sections: "TOUCH," "LISTEN," and "BUY," where I
presume you can do each activity. Don't expect to see this at your
local Sony store any time soon — as of this writing, Sony hasn't
even announced the NW-HD5 for stateside release.
Netwo
rk Walkman in Sony Building [AV Watch]
Has Sony finally gotten a Clue with the
Network Walkman
Has Sony finally gotten a Clue with the
Network Walkman
07/01/2004 05:32 PMI'll be honest I don't think so. I love Sony products I am typing
this article on a Sony Vaio and I have a lot of Sony products in my
home. I always like Sony products and being my wife is from Japan she
is a fan of Sony too. I draw the line though when it comes to buying
vehicles as I am a die hard Chevrolet man. Anyway this Network Walkman
that may or may not play the MP3 format and supposedly has a 30 hour
battery life but only 20 gigs of storage priced at about the same as a
Apple 40 gig iPod.
Give me a break Sony if you would have not been so scared that
those ripping music was going to hurt your music division. I think
they better wake up and smell the roses ripping of music is not going
to stop and I bet their entire library is available on the P2P
networks. [Engad
get]
Sony Refreshes Its Network Walkman (PC
World)
Sony Refreshes Its Network Walkman (PC
World)
04/06/2005 09:21 AMPC World - Hard drive-based device features a new design that more
closely resembles the IPod.
Walkman 'inventor' threatening to sue
Apple over iPod
Walkman 'inventor' threatening to sue
Apple over iPod
06/04/2004 10:47 AMThe German inventor behind the Sony Walkman has been offered a
multi-million dollar lawsuit after a 25-year-long dispute with the
consumer electronics company...
Walkman Inventor Mulls iPod Lawsuit
Walkman Inventor Mulls iPod Lawsuit
06/03/2004 11:27 PMThe inventor of the Walkman that the Sony marketed to huge success may
sue Apple for its iPod digital knock-off.
By UPI (via MyAppleMenu)
Sony plans Walkman to rival iPod
Sony plans Walkman to rival iPod
07/01/2004 07:03 AMSony is to revamp its famous Walkman by launching a digital music
player to rival Apple's iPod.
Retropod = iPod inside a Walkman body
Retropod = iPod inside a Walkman body
07/01/2004 12:27 PM
John Young sends word of a
retro-riffic iPod mod: "The Retropod is an iPod case made from a
vintage Sports Walkman, from which the guts have been removed. Cases
and do-it-yourself kits are available, for those Billyburg hipsters
that want to make their own."
Link. A timely diversion, given
the fact that today is the 25th anniversary of Sony's 1979 release of
the first Walkman:
Link. (Thanks, L. Smith!)
Walkman 'inventor' ponders iPod action
Walkman 'inventor' ponders iPod action
06/04/2004 10:37 AMHOWTO de-obfuscate proprietary Sony
Network Walkman files
HOWTO de-obfuscate proprietary Sony
Network Walkman files
04/10/2005 02:56 PMCory Doctorow:
Waider sez, "I've spent some time over the past fortnight unravelling
Sony's obfuscated MP3 file format as used on the Network Walkman
device I have, and probably others in the same product range. The URL
has a full writeup that should allow folk to roll their own code -
I've already got command-line tools to load, list and unload the
device under Linux, and I've made a first pass at a plugin for XMMS to
allow you to play files straight off the device. Note, this isn't
ATRAC - it's obfuscated MP3."
* The file starts with a 4-byte signature, "WMMP"
* Next is a 4-byte longword giving the total file-size in bytes. This
includes the file header, i.e. it's exactly what you'd see displayed
in a directory listing of the file.
* Next is the duration of the track in milliseconds, again in a 4-byte
longword.
* The third 4-byte longword gives the number of frames in the file. If
you're trying to write a file to the device using your own code, I
recommend ripping bits out of XMMS or mp3info to get this number, as
I had difficulty locating a library that would calculate it without
actually decoding the entire file.
* There are 16 bytes of magic: there's the 0x08 0x9f 0x9e 0xff
sequence that occurs in the PBLIST file, followed by 0x01, and
padded out to 16 bytes with 0x00. I've no idea what any of this is
but it seems unchanging.
* The rest of the file is the obfuscated MP3 data, with no ID3 frames
- strip those out before you encode or your file will not play in
the device.
See, this is why DRM is doomed: some guy spends a couple weeks' spare
time picking apart a file-format for the intellectual challenge, and
then your system is irrevocably, totally, permanently b0rked. Sucks to
be a DRM engineer: how do they sleep nights, anyway?
Link
(
Thanks, Waider!)
Sony Debuts 20 Gigabyte Walkman to
Silence IPod
Sony Debuts 20 Gigabyte Walkman to
Silence IPod
07/01/2004 07:10 AMBoston Globe Jul 1 2004 11:35AM GMT
Japanese Swap The Sony Walkman For The
Apple iPod
Japanese Swap The Sony Walkman For The
Apple iPod
04/10/2005 05:54 AMTokyo's so-called 'gadget city' of Akihabara, where Sony's walkmans
once reigned supreme, the most prized gadget is now Apple's iPod. It
was perhaps some indication of how Japan's self confidence has
faltered along with its economy. By Peter Cave, ABC News
Sony takes aim at iPod with new
hard-disk Walkman
Sony takes aim at iPod with new
hard-disk Walkman
07/01/2004 08:50 AMSony Corp. has unveiled its first hard-disk drive-based digital music
player to bear the Walkman name. The device was launched on Thursday
as the Walkman brand marked its 25th anniversary. The NW-HD1 features
a 20GB hard-disk drive and is, according to the company, the smallest
music player at this capacity. It measures 89 millimeters by 62.1
millimeters by 13.8 millimeters and weighs 110 grams. The capacity is
half that of Apple Computer Inc.'s highest capacity iPod, but Sony
says its player trumps Apple's in terms of the number of songs it can
store: 13,000 on the Walkman versus 10,000 on the iPod.
Sony’s Network Walkman NW-HD1 - the
world’s smallest 20GB ATRAC3 player.
Sony’s Network Walkman NW-HD1 - the
world’s smallest 20GB ATRAC3 player.
07/01/2004 08:41 PMEngadget:
Sony’s Network
Walkman NW-HD1 - the world’s smallest 20GB ATRAC3 player. "The
Network Walkman is supposed to be able to get an astounding thirty
hours of battery life on a single charge." Dell has been advertising
"twice the battery life of iPod" on the radio lately, but the fast
talk at the end of the commercial says they assume 64kbps files. Most
people probably have 128kbps files on their iPods, so the Dell DJ
probably accesses the hard disk half as often -- voila, twice the
battery life. And if you use 48kbps audio, like Sony does, then you
get three times the iPod's battery life -- around 30 hours. When
everybody's using the same parts, the only way to get a 2x or 3x
advantage is to cheat.
Sony Debuts 20 Gigabyte Walkman to
Silence IPod (Reuters)
Sony Debuts 20 Gigabyte Walkman to
Silence IPod (Reuters)
07/01/2004 12:11 AMReuters - Sony Corp. unveiled plans on
Thursday to launch a Walkman digital music player capable of
storing 13,000 songs, aiming to reclaim the top spot in a
market now dominated by Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod.
Sony takes aim at iPod with new
hard-disk Walkman (MacCentral)
Sony takes aim at iPod with new
hard-disk Walkman (MacCentral)
07/01/2004 08:53 AMMacCentral - Sony Corp. has unveiled its first hard-disk drive-based
digital music player to bear the Walkman name. The device was launched
on Thursday as the Walkman brand marked its 25th anniversary.
Sony's $60 iPod? No way
Sony's $60 iPod? No way
11/06/2003 01:54 AMThe Register echoes our skepticism about Sony's announcement that
they're planning a $60 MP3 player to compete with the iPod:Sony hasn't
said that its $60 music player will feature a high capacity hard drive
as the iPod does - or is as compact as the Apple machine. Hard drive
prices are falling, it's true, but ultra-compact, high capacity models
are still pretty expensive, and eat up much of the cost of
manufacturing a hard drive-based music player. We've no doubt that
Sony will offer such a device of its own, but the $60 model isn't it.
That's less than half the price of a typical 128MB solid-state MP3
player, for heaven's sake.What Sony is probably planning is some sort
of barebones player that can have a hard drive attached to it or
something like that....
Retropod: iPod case made from a vintage
Sony Sports Walkman shell.
Retropod: iPod case made from a vintage
Sony Sports Walkman shell.
07/07/2004 04:43 AMyellow Sony Walkman .. RetroPod
retropod.com
track this
site | 5 links
NW-HD5: Sony's iPod Killer?
NW-HD5: Sony's iPod Killer?
04/06/2005 12:37 PMSony showed off the latest addition to its line of Walkman digital
music players Wednesday, the NW-HD5. While it is the fifth hard drive
player to be released by the company, it will be the first to see
worldwide distribution. Unlike Sony's previous units, the NW-HD5 is
designed to stand upright, similar to Apple's iPod.
Sony's iPod, er, Attempted Murderer
Sony's iPod, er, Attempted Murderer
05/10/2004 10:08 AMWhile Sony has played a silly "We could win if we wanted, but we don't
want to" game when it comes to digital music, pushing MiniDisc and CD
players along with so-so music downloads (check out the dismal showing
from their Sony Connect music service), it should come as a...
Why you should think twice before buying
Sony's iPod Killer
Why you should think twice before buying
Sony's iPod Killer
05/12/2004 02:36 AMWell Sony has done a bang up job making a very stylish MP3 player..
Whoops hold the phone it isn't...
Sony's "iPod killer" Fails to Draw Blood
Sony's "iPod killer" Fails to Draw Blood
07/31/2004 01:42 PMI have none of the players, Apple's iPod
or Sony's. I can't have an idea of why
to buy a player that does not
I have none of the players, Apple's iPod
or Sony's. I can't have an idea of why
to buy a player that does not
07/10/2004 07:51 PMTechTree Jul 10 2004 11:41PM GMT
"Network for Good"
"Network for Good"
12/31/2004 10:22 AMNetwork Appliance: A Bit Too Good?
Network Appliance: A Bit Too Good?
12/20/2003 07:28 AMBusiness Week Dec 20 2003 6:28AM ET
Network for Good :: Tsunami Devastates
Southeast Asia
Network for Good :: Tsunami Devastates
Southeast Asia
12/30/2004 11:53 AMNetwork for
Good
networkforgood.org/topics/international/earthquake/tsunami12260
4.aspx
track this
site | 4 links
iPod Shuffle Is Good Deal, But...
iPod Shuffle Is Good Deal, But...
03/19/2005 02:29 AMIf you can live with its limitations, the iPod shuffle offers a
great way to get music on the go. By KCRA
iPod Camera Connector Reviewed (Verdict:
Good Enough, Barely)
iPod Camera Connector Reviewed (Verdict:
Good Enough, Barely)
04/01/2005 09:28 AM
iPodlounge reviews the official Apple iPod Camera Connector,
the little clip-on bit that makes direct transference of pictures from
your camera to your iPod photo. It's far from perfect, but it at least
fixes the most glaring flaw of the iPod photo: the ability to copy
pictures directly to your iPod and then view them, all without
touching a computer. It's still slow, though, like the other media
readers, and using the iPod like a portable data drive sucks down a
lot of power quickly, too. For only $30, though, it's probably a
no-brainer if you already have the iPod photo.
On the other hand, it doesn't work at all with previous generation
iPods, so if you just want a dumb storage device with no display
capability, you'll have to pick up something from Belkin (or
similar).
Appl
e iPod Camera Connector [iPodlounge]
USA Network offers iPod, iTunes contest
USA Network offers iPod, iTunes contest
06/01/2004 07:32 AMThe USA Network is offering a contest to promote its new "The 4400"
series, which premieres on July 11th...
""I'd just like to get together with a
guy from time to time just to -- just to
play. I'd like him to be, uh, in very
good shape, flat stomach, good chest,
good arms, well-hung, cut, uh, just get
naked, play, see what happens, nothing
real heavy ..."
""I'd just like to get together with a
guy from time to time just to -- just to
play. I'd like him to be, uh, in very
good shape, flat stomach, good chest,
good arms, well-hung, cut, uh, just get
naked, play, see what happens, nothing
real heavy ..."
08/31/2004 08:45 PMGrok Description matches for Sony's Network Walkman "not as good" as iPod
GrokA matches for Sony's Network Walkman "not as good" as iPod
Sony's Network Walkman "not as good" as iPod
