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Sony takes aim at iPod with 'Viao pocket'

musicpyrite

musicpyrite

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 6, 2004
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Cape Cod
Here't the story from CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/05/11/sony.vaio.pocket.reut/index.html



What I don't get is that the article says it has a 20 GB HD, but stores 13,000 songs. What gives? It might hold 13,000 songs if they were 32 kbps and were only thirty seconds long.

If Sony can lie about the number of songs it's mp3 player can hole so can Apple: Quote from Apple's web site, the NEW and IMPROVED iPod can hold 30,000 songs! And all on the iPod Mini's 4 GB drive!


:rolleyes:
 
musicpyrite said:
What I don't get is that the article says it has a 20 GB HD, but stores 13,000 songs....It might hold 13,000 songs if they were 32 kbps and were only thirty seconds long.
Click to expand...
According to my calculations, each four minute song would have to have 39.385 Kbps quality. Or, each 128Kbps song would have to last 1 min and 38.462 seconds. So, technically, it's not lying, but deceiving.

And, now, the Viao-bashing begins...
 
King Cobra said:
According to my calculations, each four minute song would have to have 39.385 Kbps quality. Or, each 128Kbps song would have to last 1 min and 38.462 seconds. So, technically, it's not lying, but deceiving.

And, now, the Viao-bashing begins...
Click to expand...

To me it's lying, everybody (I think) uses a 4 minute song at 128 kbps (mp3/AAC/WMA).

Viao-bashing, I'll go first - Down with the Viao! and Sony.
 
musicpyrite said:
Viao-bashing, I'll go first - Down with the Viao!
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medea beatcha to it, sharpshooter.
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and Sony.
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Yeah, right.
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25 buttons and the UI!?!?! OI VEY!
and that battery? its a brick in your pocket!

<Bash>DOWN WITH VAIO</Bash>
 
this can't be iPod killer, surely the others who came before were the iPod killers, i mean CNET et al sure crowned em in a jiffy :rolleyes:

glad the Japanese are quarantining this one :p
 
que the "Dude you can get like a 40 gig iPod for only $35 more" arguement.

Thing looks pretty cool, although I couldn't really see the thickness. That's important. Anyways, they still don't have iTunes, so who knows where it will end up.

I like the color screen though. Can a color screen be used with out backlight like the normal iPods?

Anyways, hPod should be out soon. Should be interesting to see those.
 
Counterfit said:
Maybe that's 13.000 songs in the ATRAC3 format... :confused:
Click to expand...

You are right.
Viao pocket converts MP3,WAV, and WMA, to ATRAC3plus or ATRAC3.
It can play only ATRAC3plus or ATRAC3 files.
 
The "VAIO pocket" can be connected to a digital camera and display photos on a 2.2-inch colour liquid crystal display (LCD) screen.

Obviously for people whose digital cameras don't have an LCD screen.
 
I don't think Sony's attempt to muscle into the digital music market should be dismissed out of hand.

Their one of the few PC companies out there that can offer a complete digital music solution.

First, they have their new Connect site with the significant muscle of Sony music behind it.

Second, they already have a range of Connect-compatible devices, ranging from minidiscs, to their netwalkmans and now the sony pocket with all the price points fairly well covered. And now they're also releasing Hi-MD, which allows the minidisc to act like a removable flash disk coupled with the long battery life of minidisc portables.

Third, they're a manufacturer of hi-fi equipment and have in the past 3-4 years have been putting out models that allow linking of PCs and portables with hi fi systems.

Fourth, they've been preloading Sonicstage onto their PCs for quite a few years now. And although by no way nearly as good as iTunes, there has been a group of PCs users that have familiarised themselves with it.

This of course doesn't mean they're going to upstage Apple or Steve Jobs. However, this represents the most serious challenge to Apple's dominance to date. For us Mac users lets hope that Sony doesn't come up trumps since they have a very poor record of providing support for the Mac e.g. NetMDs, CLIEs etc
 
why it sucks

it converts everything to ATRAC-3

which means your mp3's, which are already lossy, lose some more when converted to ATRAC-3, which is also lossy

and who cares if you can stare at album art while you play?

I would like to see the ipod get a color screen, and display some sort of visualizer.. and have high-tech games.. or be able to play movies.. or something.. but that stuff barely matters when you have a music player.

moo
 
Sony may be the only other company to offer an integrated solution, but they're using a completely proprietary format that hasn't seen a whole bunch of adoption. And they're attempting to enter a market already split between two major formats. ATRAC and its devices just don't have enough marketshare to be any more than a niche.
 
What do you do with 25 buttons? How do you change songs while it is in your pocket? Even the Dell DJ (I hate to say it) is more simple than this.

Aj
 
Ajmbc said:
How do you change songs while it is in your pocket?
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You'd have to have a HUGE set of pockets for that P.O.S., big guy. That little video screen is 2.2 inches, and those 25 buttons at one end of the device span about double that.
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King Cobra said:
You'd have to have a HUGE set of pockets for that P.O.S., big guy. That little video screen is 2.2 inches, and those 25 buttons at one end of the device span about double that.
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Click to expand...

I don't know where sony came up with this design- they usually have well-designed products. Do you punch in codes with these buttons, or what?

Aj
 
Ajmbc said:
Link to an interface flash

aj
Click to expand...

Ouch! I just had a look at that flash simulation. It looks so complicated. Anybody else notice that they only scrolled a screen worth of albums in that demo? How do you scroll through thousands of song? slide you thumb from top to bottom, lift thumb, move thumb back to top, repat a few hundred times? I'm sure they thought of a way but it sures look more complicated (and more painfull) than with the iPod.

The color screen looks nice tough.

I've heard that the long battery life is supplied by a powerpack on your belt. Anyone can confrim or deny that rumor? If true, I'm sure they did not add that extra weight/volume in the advertised specs.
 
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