Sony preps drag-and-drop Walkman
updated 08:55 am EDT, Thu April 26, 2007
Sony B100 Walkman Leak
Sony is ready to abandon some of its most cherished habits for the sake of a new digital music player, according to an anonymous tipster. The B100 line will be the first Walkman to use drag-and-drop song transfer, avoiding use of Sony's preferred SonicStage for synchronizing music. The company is also set to shock by dropping its jealously guarded ATRAC format, according to the source, rendering it incompatible with Sony's Connect online store and other proprietary software. Support will be limited to MP3, unprotected WMA, and potentially AAC as well, the source claims. An FM tuner with recording should be part of the design.
Although prices haven't been disclosed with the leak, the player should be available in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB versions at prices at or below the cost of the entry-level E00 (and future E01) when Sony announces the device sometime within the next month. [via ATRAClife]
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2001
It's a no-brainer...
After all, Sony Ericsson's walkman phones have never (as far as I know) played ATRAC, and also play AAC.
I think Sny looked at the sales of the walkman phones, looked at the sales of their proprietary music players, and finally realized that no one wants proprietary music formats.