[Macworld]

Post your comments for Hands on with Sony's new X-series Walkman here

[mrgrumpy]

Maybe it's just me but this looks and sounds like a virtual copy of the ipod touch. Especially the whole album cover motif. I wonder if Apple is considering legal action.

[hillstones]

mrgrumpy said:

Maybe it's just me but this looks and sounds like a virtual copy of the ipod touch. Especially the whole album cover motif. I wonder if Apple is considering legal action.

For what? It is not an exact copy. They aren't suing LG for their cell phone that looks similar to the iPhone. They aren't suing Microsoft for making their Zune look like an iPod. Car manufacturers don't sue each other for making cars that look similar. Sony didn't sue anyone in the 70's and 80's for making portable music players that looked and functioned exactly like the Walkman. Apple doesn't have rights to everything in the world.

In case you didn't know, Apple was sued by Creative for infringing on their patent for the software used in the iPod. It looked exactly like the software used on Creative's Zen player. Creative filed for their patent in January 2001, eleven months before the iPod was released. Apple filed for theirs in 2002, but was rejected. Apple paid $100 million to Creative to settle. Creative became a member of the Made for iPod accessory program.

[Rhywun]

Actually, Creative still makes players. The new flash Zens are really nice.

[Blufyor]

I've liked the UI's on most of my Sony A/V electronics, and I've heard good things about the sound of their MP3 players, but their older MP3 players are infamous for being hobbled by horrible (and, of course, Windows-only) software. A Sony MP3 player that's compatible with Macs would be a good thing.
But, since the author is from "IDG News Service" and the article doesn't appear to specify operating systems, I have to ask: Does "drag and drop" refer to file transfers through MTP or USB mass storage compliance (a.k.a. MSC or UMS)? MTP is a Microsoft protocol, while MSC devices mount like an ordinary USB storage device and work with every modern OS & USB-enabled devices (like car stereos) without drivers. If it's the former, like many bigger iPod competitors are these days, it will have drag-and-drop file transfers out of the box...but only on Windows.
Sony doesn't appear to have anything up for it yet on sonystyle.com, and, speaking more generally, most specs for MP3 players sold in the US are maddeningly vague about what "drag-and-drop" actually refers to compatibility-wise. For instance, Creative's old MuVo players were listed as Windows-only on their website, but they're perfectly usable with a Mac. Sandisk, Cowon, and Archos have been better about stating Mac compatibility.

[ChrisLJ]

What, no slot for a Memory Stick? I thought it looked interesting until I saw that it supports Windows Media and ATRAC but not AAC.

[IVIIVIi4ck3y27]

I have to agree with ChrisLJ and Blufyor... Sony is missing the boat if 1) it does not support UMS at the very least and 2) if they do not support AAC. With Apple having opened up DRM restrictions, AAC is now a very relevant player because of iTunes Music Store alone. In fact... Sony should be looking at creating plugins to support iTunes so that their players can load/appear within iTunes, otherwise UMS = a respectable alternative. Yet... no AAC = no sale for many Mac users who would likely welcome the alternative. I believe Apple made the SDK available years ago and players such as the Rio's were capable of syncing with it when iTunes first started. Sony, as a huge company with an incredible development team, would simply be dumb if there wasn't a Mac and Windows iTunes plug-in available for this player.

[hillstones]

IVIIVIi4ck3y27 said:

I have to agree with ChrisLJ and Blufyor... Sony is missing the boat ...

Sony missed the boat when they couldn't come up with the digital portable music player before anyone else did. What were they thinking? They invented the Walkman! I have their portable MD player and home recording deck. Those combined were very nice, and then MP3's came along and wiped them out. In fact, the MD was a great replacement for the aging cassette deck.

I do love Sony's menu system on their BluRay Disc Players.

[IVIIVIi4ck3y27]

hillstones said:

Sony missed the boat when they couldn't come up with the digital portable music player before anyone else did. What were they thinking? They invented the Walkman! I have their portable MD player and home recording deck. Those combined were very nice, and then MP3's came along and wiped them out. In fact, the MD was a great replacement for the aging cassette deck.

I do love Sony's menu system on their BluRay Disc Players.

Sony's prior missteps don't go without mention, I do agree... they screwed up after pretty much inventing the market. That said, after numerous failed attempts along the way and concessions that had them reluctantly caving in and basically admitting defeat time and again to the point of even making iPod accessories, you'd think they'd finally get their act together with a new unit with so much potential. I think that was more the angle I was going for. Apparently old habits die hard with Sony... it's a shame, the unit looks to have lots of potential.

In as far as Sony's menu system on their BluRay's... we own a Samsung and I think they're as good or better. Sony's still right at or near the top but it's just a matter of learning to not self-neuter product that could be a huge hit on either side of the pond. Their seeming Windows-only lean after launching the Vaio has hurt their credibility amongst many a Mac-user. Just because they have their own dedicated PC's and laptops doesn't mean that they shouldn't remain agnostic with regard to supporting alternative platforms. Then again, I'm a huge proponent of iTunes for Linux myself for the same reason (even as I'm primarily a Mac-user and have a Windows PC for gaming). I know Apple doesn't deem their market that big but I still think after years of Mac users having to argue the precedent about marketshare being meaningless, I'd still wager there's a considerable lot of Linux users that'd love to have the iPod remain an option.