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A Raft Of New Products From Sony Japan
my1wong writes "Sony Japan has launched a DoVaio campaign which features a lot of new stuff. ... Main new stuff included wide screen notebooks ( E series), multimedia desktop replacement ( A Series), long-awaited evolution update to the ultra small U101, and this time it's a tablet indeed ( U series). Last but not least, the expected challenger to iPod, it's called VAIO pocket, VGF-AP1. All very sexy... Guess Sony has been woken up by Apple's success with iPods and Powerbooks."
God I love seeing shiny new gizmos coming out.
Not cos' I can afford them by any stretch of the imagination, but it means that the thing I've been wanting for the last 3 months is soon to be that much closer to my budget cos' it's becoming outdated...
'Don't worry' said the trees when they saw the axe coming, 'The handle is one of us.'
I for one, am a happy Ipod owner. I am very happy that the device will let me play music files. I do not need to watch videos on it, i do not need to call with it or whatever else manufacturers want to sell me. I just want to listen to music with as little fuss as possible, and the ipod serves that purpose admirably. Not to mention it integrates great with my operating system :-)
I can't wait to see what horrible DRM Sony includes with its newest music player. If the past is any indication the DRM will be the products major stumbling block. The Sony version of iTunes is already riddled by DRM issues and I can't imagine that this player would be any different. One of the major benefits of the iPod and iTunes is that the DRM is not a hinderince to the overall product, this is what needs to be copied by the other music players in order to be as successful as iTunes. A slick player with a slick interface will only get you so far if you cripple the right of the people to do what they want with the things they purchase.
Please do not let scientific accuracy interfere with the intended humourous/interesting/insightful value of this comment
The real question is bang for your buck. One of the big things with the powerbooks is what you get for what you pay. You almost always come away with a better deal with a powerbook. The best I have seen is another laptop come even.
THe other big plus in the powerbook is a BSD based OS. Not windows so there isn't as much crap (virus, worms, etc) to deal with.
Evolution or ID?
It plays MP3 files by converting them to ATRAC on your PC.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
$465, it only plays ATRAC 3 format and the looks...well, I'm not sure Apple have too much to worry about. I don't think the Sony brand has all that much cachet these days - they just churn out mass-produced stuff built down to a price, same as most other manufacturers. Shame - they used to be a bit of a Japanese icon in the days of the first Walkmans, when Trinitron was by far the best TV tube you could get.
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
Except if you're ripping from your own CDs you don't get DRM'ed AAC, you get plain AAC (which is actually a Dolby format) in a Quicktime container. AAC inside a Quicktime container is actually MPEG-4.