Sony takes on iPod shuffle with new flash players

http://www.macminute.com/2005/03/08/sony/ ^ | March 8, 2005 - 12:35 EST   | MacMinute

[mastercylinder]

Sony takes on iPod shuffle with new flash players
March 8, 2005 - 12:35 EST   Sony has announced nine new flash-based MP3 players to compete with Apple's iPod shuffle.

"The lineup includes a set of cigarette lighter-sized models, a bit more

expensive than the iPod Shuffle but with a much longer advertised battery

life--50 hours of playback time with a rechargeable battery compared to

Apple's 12 hours. And unlike the Shuffle, the Sony players have bright,

3-line screens to display song information. A 512MB model costs $130

and a 1GB model costs $180. Models with an FM tuner each cost $20

more. A second set of players, set to ship later this month, are roundish, with a

diameter slightly larger than a poker chip. They run on AAA batteries,

which Sony says will give the user 70 hours of playback time on a single

battery. The prices range from $90 for 256 MB of memory to $150 for 1

GB of memory."  

[ThinkDifferent]

A 512MB model costs $130 and a 1GB model costs $180.

So Apple is the low-cost vendor, that's a new one.

[anonymous_user]

Sony: Old and Busted
Apple: New Hotness

[mastercylinder]

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[SweetPilotofCanuckistan]

I don't get what anyone sees in the iPod shuffle - it has no screen and the capacity is pathetic. I don't particularly like the flash drive mp players.

I love my iPod mini.

[mastercylinder]

I agree but it creates new opportunities for apple

[SengirV]

Competition is great for consumers, too bad the iPod has yet to see any. Well, there has been some. That is why the 4G iPod mini is $199 now.

[ikka]

Supposedly it has near-perfect frequency response, i.e. excellent sound reproduction.

[mastercylinder]

FUN INFOMATION

Need help choosing an iPod? Call 1-800-MY-APPLE
Model	iPod shuffle		iPod mini		iPod	iPod U2	iPod photo
Storage (1)	512MB	1GB	4GB	6GB	20GB	20GB	30GB	60GB
Song Capacity(2)	120	240	1,000	1,500	5,000	5,000	7,500	15,000
Price	$99	$149	$199	$249	$299	$349	$349	$449
Color	White		Blue, silver, pink, green		White	Black/red	White
Battery life (3)	Up to 12 hours		Up to 18 hours		Up to 12 hours		Up to 15 hours of music playback; up to 5 hours of slideshows with music
Included accessories	Earbud headphones, lanyard, USB cap		Earbud headphones, belt clip, USB 2.0 cable		Earbud headphones, AC adapter, FireWire cable, USB 2.0 cable		Earbud headphones, AC adapter, USB 2.0 cable
Skip protection	Skip-free playback		Up to 25 minutes				Up to 17 minutes
Display			1.67-inch (diagonal) grayscale LCD with LED backlight		2-inch (diagonal) grayscale LCD with LED backlight		2-inch (diagonal) 65,536-color LCD with LED backlight
iPod Ports	USB connector, stereo minijack		Dock connector, remote connector, stereo minijack				Dock connector, remote connector, stereo headphone jack, composite video and audio through headphone jack
Connectivity	USB 1.1 and 2.0 through integrated USB connector		USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 (with optional cable) through dock connector		USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 (cables included) through dock connector		USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 (with optional cable) through dock connector; composite video and audio through headphone jack or line out on the iPod photo Dock
Charge time	About 4 hours (2-hour fast charge to 80% capacity)						About 5 hours (3-hour fast charge to 80% capacity)
Audio support	MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store, M4A, M4B, M4P), Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4) and WAV		AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF
Photo support							Syncs iPod-viewable photos in JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and PNG formats
Size (in inches)	3.3 x 0.98 x 0.33		3.6 x 2.0 x 0.5		4.1 x 2.4 x 0.57		4.1 x 2.4 x 0.63	4.1 x 2.4 x 0.75
Weight	.78 ounce		3.6 ounces		5.6 ounces		5.9 ounces	6.4 ounces
Included software (4)	iTunes for Mac and Windows
Documentation	Electronic documentation and getting started guide
Limited warranty and service	Your iPod comes with single incident telephone support for the first 90 days and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan for iPod to extend your service and support to two full years. Only the AppleCare Protection Plan provides you with direct telephone support from Apple technical experts and the assurance that repairs will be handled by Apple-certified technicians using genuine Apple parts. For more information, visit Apple support or call 800-823-2775.

1. 1GB = 1 billion bytes; actual formatted capacity less.
2. Capacity based on 4 minutes per song and 128-Kbps AAC encoding.
3. Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information.
4. iPod and iTunes are for legal or rightholder-authorized copying only. Don’t steal music.

[Tanniker Smith]

I don't get what anyone sees in the iPod shuffle - it has no screen and the capacity is pathetic. I don't particularly like the flash drive mp players.

Steve Jackson, of Steve Jackson Games, put it this way:
"It's the first mp3 player that you wear instead of carry."

Basically, folks that don't like to carry these things might not mind the shuffle.
Personally, I don't own any of them. Except for my Palm, I guess.

[Reactionary]

It appears the iPod now sucks.

[mastercylinder]

in what way?

[mastercylinder]

I've got a 1'st generation ipod and still plays fine

[Rodney Dangerfield]

"Competition is great for consumers, too bad the iPod has yet to see any. Well, there has been some. That is why the 4G iPod mini is $199 now."

I have a 20GB Dell player, and it's much better than the iPod IMO.

Built in voice recorder and an optional FM Tuner.
Better sound quality and longer battery life.

And it cost nearly $100.00 less than a 20GB iPod.

[SaltyJoe]

It's a cult of technology! The one with a more universal appeal shall rule!

I vote for Sony, I bought their mini-disc player years ago. It's [‚·‚Ø‚Á cƒ‚¢ƒ‚¢l]!

[steve-b]

The new Sony players also support the generic MP3 audio format, which is what most people use when converting their music CD collections to digital files. That's a major concession for Sony, which had tried until recently to persuade consumers to only use its proprietary audio format, called Atrac.

They may have enough brains to survive after all. After their last string of fiascoes created by their insistence on proprietary standards, I was expecting them to start a death spiral in a year or two.