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Sony to Release Digital Walkman
ari{Dal} writes "Sony has revealed plans for a new digital walkman for the Japanese market. " Not quite a Rio or Nomad, it will take Sony's Memory Flash Stiks, like the Vaio and Aibo. It can play the Sony proprietary musical format, as well as encrypt and play MP3s or Wavs.
I've seen a 64mb module memory stick. The things are tiny. This is what I've been waiting for to jump into the portable MP3 player arena. Can't wait to get one.
r owse_the_products/memory_stick/memory_stic k_models/msa_16a/index.html
From:
http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/dimaging/b
General Specifications
Memory Type: Flash memory (MSA-32A: 32MB) Connector: 10-pin Interface: Serial
Operating Voltage: 2.7V to 3.6V
Power Consumption: Average: Approx. 45mA;
Standby: Approx. 130A
Access Speed: Writing: Maximum 1.5MB/second;
Standby: Maximum 2.45MB/sec
Operating Environment: 0C - 60C (non-condensing)
Dimensions (LxWxH): Approx. 21.5 x 50 x 2.8mm
Weight: Approx. 4g (0.14 oz.)
Supplied Accessories: Memory Stick Storage Case, label, operating instructions.
There already is a good video game movie. It's called Tron. Has anyone here seen Tron?
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
According to what I've read on minidisc.org, ATRAC3 is an updated version of the ATRAC1 compression that minidiscs use which is able to store the same audio quality at 128kbps instead of 292. It can "easily be transcoded into ATRAC1".
As per ATRAC compression itself, it does sound a bit better than MP3 as per audio quality (using my minidisc units as a reference, an Aiwa AM-F7 - Sony ATRAC1 v3.5, and a Sharp 821 - Sharp ATRAC 6.0)
However, the amount of audio that can be encoded on a single stick is too little. If we used ATRAC3 on minidisc players then that would be 160MB on a 74:58 disc, which at 128kbps would be around 171 minutes... not bad...
Considering the Sony track records, it will just make a player so samll than make all you cd-r zealots SICK. If you think carrying a cd-r/mp player and a big stack of CD is cool, then you might as well get a Newton instead of a Visor.
.85 X .11 in.), storage: 4m-16m, Speed: 1.5m/s
Memory stick size: 5X2.15X.28 cm (1.97 X
Note that I'm not preaching memory stick, but it does has its advantage, size. And Sony can easily make a player as small as my aiwa am/fm receiver, which is about 1 X 3 X 5 cm, and run weeks on a AAA battery.
CY
Granted, I am biased, because I own a digital camera which uses them, but smart media cards are impressive.
... (at least not yet).
...
I also don't understand the appeal of memory sticks. They look dumb (OK, that's not a technical reason, but its what my aesthetics are screaming); they're no 'better' a shape than Smart Media (though perhaps a little thinner than CompactFlash); and IIRC, are not available in denominations as high as those available in CF and SM
I hope SM sticks around, for all these reasons. Or perhaps even better, if it goes down the tubes and I can buy some large pieces for cheap
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
Well CD's I agree with, but cassettes? I am a big fan of minidiscs. I don't understand why they never caught on. I mean they're great, it's like a digital cassette on which you can record over and over again, move tracks around, name the tracks, etc. It has all the features compilation making ppl like myself always missed with cassettes (random access play, etc.) And it's pretty inexpensive, considering. You can get a portable recorder for under $200 and blank minidiscs are like $2 a pop.
I would agree that Memory Sticks are a terrible idea, but keep in mind that the Japanese market is big enough for any electronics company to justify putting a proprietary product with even the slightest chance of becoming a fad.
Japanese consumer behavior is very peculiar, and relies on fads. A new, totally incompatible, proprietary product may become an overnight success just because it has a flashy name, or a cute design. Just think about the usefulness of Tamagotchi(how many people remember it now?), or more recently the Pokemon cards. Now if Sony can start a digital memory stick walkman fad among Japanese teenagers or enthusiasts, they should be able to drive down the manufacturing costs of the memory stick with the help of economies of scale. Then they can start thinking about what it is really good for.
I bet a huge marketing campaign for Memory Sticks is now under way in Japan, complete with flashy billboard ads and a cute-sounding pseudo-Japanese spelling of "memory stick" using Katakana. I would appreciate if any fellow Japanese Slashdot reader is kind enough to write anything about this...
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Smaller player and rewritable media.
Oh and Sony needs something to use their memory sticks in.
I find being offended by me offensive.
It debuts at a retail price of $430, with flash cards ranging from $60-100? Not to mention that it is a Sony product (not known for the greatest quality) and it is using the lastest unknown and unsupported proprietary compression format. How many of these from how many different companies do we need? I suppose if the lawyers recognize them as a good thing, they might forget that mp3 is still free and available to everyone, which is better for us.
Anyway, I'm still waiting for pine to hurry up and release their mp3/cd player (if it's not vaporware). 650MB of storage; I've yet to see anything else come close.
It looks like sony is looking for a product to use their memory sticks cince noone else will use them. I'm waiting for a mp3 player that uses a pcmcia slot so I can slap my Clik drive in there (Ok a CF slot will work, as they have an adaptor for that now.)
What would be great is a device that will record in stereo mp3... that way I can compress all meeting thoughts into nice snippets that I can play on the computer.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.