Sony's New Hard Drive and Flash-Based Network Walkman Players Offer More Ways to Download

"The Sony Walkman® player was born out of a pure love of music and the understanding that people want to listen on their own terms," said Todd Schrader, a vice president at Sony Electronics in the U.S. "That's why we are introducing a hard drive player and a flash media-based device with the kind of durability and long battery life that people have come to expect from a Walkman product.

"Both these players will soon join our extensive line of more than 20 portable digital music players, offering the largest variety of ways to listen to downloaded music."

Designed to work with the Connect™ online music store and personal computer, a 20 GB hard drive digital music player and a 256 MB flash-based device join Hi-MD™ Walkman digital music players, Net MD™ Walkman recorders, and ATRAC® CD Walkman players. As a result, consumers have both a variety of hardware options along with an end-to-end system for downloading, managing and taking music with them.

"We understand that one size does not fit all," Schrader noted. "We've created the line of Walkman digital music players that offer something for every music fan. From accessing legal downloads through a CD Walkman player that costs about $60 to collecting up to 13,000 tracks on a credit card-sized hard-drive device, Sony is the only company in a position to provide such a wide breadth of products and services for a complete digital music experience."

NW-HD1 Network Walkman Digital Music Player

The epitome of elegant design, the silver NW-HD1 model weighs less than 4 ounces making it the world's smallest portable audio device built with a 1.8-inch, 20GB hard drive. Music lovers will be able to store up to 13,000 four-minute songs recorded at 48 kilobits per seconds (kbps) on this sexy little player that fits right in the palm of your hand.

The new hard-drive player lives up to the Walkman legacy for stability and endurance. It houses an internal rechargeable battery that provides up to 30 hours of continuous playback. G-Sensor™ shock protection offers an advantage over traditional hard drives by safeguarding the player's internal mechanisms to protect against impact and help prevent a loss of data. Sony's skip-free G-Protection™ technology is also incorporated to help eliminate skipping during active uses, as well as to provide quick recovery from both horizontal and vertical shock.

The new hard-drive device connects to a compatible computer via a USB 2.0 digital interface for high-speed music transfers. It comes bundled with SonicStage® version 2.1 software, which makes it easy to import, manage and transfer music collections. With SonicStage software, playlists or track information created in the jukebox can be automatically transferred to the device.

Additionally, SonicStage jukebox supports and seamlessly converts many Internet audio formats, including MP3, WMA and WAV files.

Accessing music on the Network Walkman player is as easy as a click of a thumb. Sony's Jog Dial® navigation lets you quickly retrieve tracks and playlists on the seven-line backlit LCD display. Four different display modes offer the flexibility to navigate through track numbers, bit rates, song titles, artist names and more.

The NW-HD1 Network Walkman digital music player will also come supplied with a USB charging cradle and carrying pouch. It will be available in mid-August for less than $400.

NW-E75 Network Walkman Digital Music Player

Measuring a little more than an inch and weighing about 1.5 ounces (without battery), the sassy NW-E75 model is small enough to fit on a key chain, yet is home to 256 MB of built-in memory that stores up to 170 four-minute songs at 48 kbps. This tiny, tune-token is also huge on battery life, achieving up to 70 hours of continuous playback on one AAA battery. And since there are no moving parts, users can enjoy uninterrupted playback even during serious activity.

The flash-based player connects directly to a PC's USB port for quick transfers and comes bundled with SonicStage version 2.0 music management software. It has a backlit LCD display with four modes to show track numbers, play modes, artist names, song titles and more. The group/folder function allows for easy navigation between multiple folders transferred from playlists.

The NW-E75 Network Walkman digital music player will be available in mid-July for less than $200.

Connect Music Store

Connect Music Store currently offers consumers more than 600,000 music tracks from major label and independent artists, as well as the ability to enjoy that content on a wide range of digital music devices that are priced to suit any lifestyle. Connect Music Store version 1.5 will launch in the fall, and will include new features such as Internet radio, and news and reviews.

   Contacts:
   Rachel Branch
   Sony Electronics Inc.
   858-942-7595
   Rachel.branch@am.sony.com

   Yona Spiegelglass
   Burson-Marsteller
   619-542-7812
   yona_spiegelglass@sdg.bm.com

SOURCE: Sony Electronics, Inc.

CONTACT: Rachel Branch of Sony Electronics Inc., +1-858-942-7595,
Rachel.branch@am.sony.com; or Yona Spiegelglass of Burson-Marsteller,
+1-619-542-7812, yona_spiegelglass@sdg.bm.com, for Sony Electronics, Inc.

Web site: http://www.sony.com/news