Sony has put out successful products in various CE categories. From their televisions, to their Playstation gaming consoles. In the good ol' days of analog their Walkman was the standard. With that said, it's amazing how poorly they've done in the DAP industry. I'm sure there are a number of explanation of why this is the case but for now I'll give my view on some of the most telling.

First, there was the sole use of their proprietary format, ATRAC. Many consumers were still trying to figure out what MP3 players were back then, so why would they go with players that didn't even support that codec. The second reason was their software. I think I've heard more negative feedback about Sony's Sonicstage than any other music transfer program to date. Not only were older versions difficult to use, you were also locked in to the program. Combine these two faults with the increasing popularity of iPods and there is your imminent demise.

So here we are today with Sony's newest player, the NW-800 series. It supports MP3 playback, and the newer versions of SonicStage are apparently better. Unfortunately for Sony, design is also a key factor. This new player really hasn't won people over from what I've seen. The interface looks nice, but it also doesn't add anything groundbreaking.

Of all the companies in the DAP industry, I felt Sony had the most potential to gain marketshare. They have a lot of power to go around in terms of movie studio and label support, and they have enough money to take a few risks. Is it too late for them? Maybe, but I'm not giving up on them just yet.

So with my personal thoughts already on the table let's go on to the actual reason why I wrote this post. GenerationMP3 got their hands on this player and provides a nice review and a thorough walkthrough video of the interface.

Here's a rough translation of their summary:

Pros: -Audio/video quality -Screen Quality -Adjustments -Videos and photographs have UMS Support Cons: -Obligatory D-encoding of the videos -Battery life in MP3 -Diagonal of the screen a little right with force (?) -Sonic Training course (software issue) Score: 4/5

The player is not yet available in N. America, but should arrive here in the upcoming months.

LINK

Thanks, hobo