(Reuters) – Sony Corp. said today it is developing a video-capable Walkman, playing catch-up with Apple Computer Inc.’s market-leading iPod.
Sony created the market for portable music players with its epoch-making Walkman more than a quarter of a century ago, but in recent years it has trailed far behind Apple, whose iPod holds more than half the global digital media player market.
“We are developing a product that handles images, but I cannot make any comment on specific plans,” Sony Senior Vice President Hiroshi Yoshioka told a news conference that unveiled upcoming Walkman models.
Apple launched a video-enabled iPod last October.
Yoshioka also said on the sidelines of the news conference that he aims to double Walkman’s share in the global portable digital music player market from the current 10 percent, without elaborating.
Sony and any other portable music player makers are expected to face a new and potentially formidable rival next month as Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, launches its Zune music player, further stoking competition.
Sony also said it will start rolling out five new models of a flash-memory-based Walkman, shaped like a perfume bottle, toward the end of the year at home and abroad.
A 4-gigabyte model with a noise-reduction function is expected to sell for around 29,000 yen ($240) in Japan, Sony said.
Just what we need: yet another machine with yet another standard. If we must have DRM, come up with something that can be used by all machines. Then the marketplace can decide who has the best music store seperately from the best player.
Don’t get me wrong: I like my ipod and iTunes, but why should I be stuck with that? If I were to jump on the Zune bandwagon, for instance, I’d have to buy my music all over again, unless I want to either subscribe to Zune’s monthly service or burn my music and re-rip my existing library. I don’t buy enough music to support option 1, and option 2 will not only take time, but cause me to lose sound quality.
There’s got to be a simpler solution that’s legal.
Being from Sony it will be DRMed to the hilt and probably with a Sony only based system that will fail miserably in the market.
I MIGHT be interested if it did not have DRM and supported podcasts, but I rather doubt that will happen.
Good point Mark.