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Sony to Compete with iPod

Tuesday November 4, 2003 10:25 pm PST by Arnold Kim
On Tuesday, Sony announced that in 2004 they would introduce versions of a music player for as low as $60 aimed at unseating the popular Apple iPod. With no details, it's unclear how competitive this low end player would be.



Of further interest, Sony detailed plans for upcoming Playstation Portable (PSP) devices which Sony claims "will be the Walkman of the future."



The upcoming portable gaming platform due by the end of 2004 will be multifunctional devices featuring games, music, videos, and communication abilities.



One recent Wired opinion column called for Sony to leapfrog the portable music player and embrace portable video players after having let Apple dominate the portable digital music player market. This initiative may partially fulfill that author's wishes.



Sony is felt to have been slow to embrace the digital audio market due to internal conflicts with their Music Division and concerns of losing revenue to digital piracy.



Update: Apple-X.net consolidates reported specs and a concept photo for the PSP device. The device will feature a 16:9 ratio screen, MPEG4 decoder, AAC, ATRAC3 and MP3 support. (No WMA mentioned) The products based on this platform are said to feature a wide range of configurations as well as price points.

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Phil Of Mac
108 months ago
Dell DJ, Samsung Y43u2819412...that's nothing. Now, the fight is on.
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JohnGillilan
108 months ago
Up until the iPod, Sony dominated the portable music market. Frankly, I'm surprsied it has taken them so long to compete with Apple on this front. I'm confident that Sony will provide a great product, however, I am also confident in Apple's ability to remain competitive in a market that they virtually created. Bring it on Sony.
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tentimestwenty
108 months ago
If Apple would just make a 2GB $100 iPod they'd kill every possible competitor including portable CD players.
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JohnGillilan
108 months ago
Any thoughts as to how Sony could produce a rival product at such low cost?? How much storage do you suspect their device would have? Internal or removable storage?? Any word on a Sony sponsored download service? They co-founded PressPlay, which they sold to Roxio (now napster2). If they were to repartner with Napster, they would be competing with the Samsing player, which would be a serious conflict of interest. Any thoughts??
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wsteineker
108 months ago
I've noticed one dominant theme regarding this topic. Everytime an article is written regarding a new MP3 player, regardless of manufacturer or media outlet, it's always describd as some sort of "iPod killer". That is to say that the only model that any of them are compared to is the iPod itself. Where are the comparisons to the Dell DJ? Where are the comparisons to the Samsung Napster Player? These two models in particular were supposed to be iPod killers, and yet are rarely ever mentioned when HD based MP3 players are discussed. If the competition's so great, where is the mindshare (not to mention the marketshare)?
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reyesmac
108 months ago
Apple knew it would have competition when they launched the iPod. They should know that about any product they launch. So they better have something up their sleeve about price or features to maintain their sales.

Now, if the Playsation Portable can play mp3's and videos and games. I would rather buy that than an iPod if the two are the same price.

I hope Apple does not play catch-up with their iPod someday.
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ITR 81
108 months ago
Correct they would.

TechTv did a roundup of all the new MP3 players out there and still declared the iPod the champ.

I hoping gives out some good news in the direction the iPod is heading.

Thing is we all know Jobs has talked about the $100-$200 dollar iPod before...now it seems like the time to make it reality.
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neutrino23
108 months ago
Interesting. In their minds what constitutes a competitive product? Will it sync with iTunes? Will it play nice with Apple's DRM? Will it sync with iCal and Address Book?

There are already a number of cheaper players on the market. It will take more than a low price to unseat the iPod.

Moreover, Apple will not be sitting still. By next summer we may see at least one and perhaps two revisions to the iPod.

That's what makes it so hard to play catchup.

Sony will sell a player as low as $60? I think that is about what I paid for my son's iPod (we took advantage of the special offer to buy it together with a PB).

If price is important Apple is in a good position to adjust price to special markets.

They already have the education discount for students. That could be increased in short spurts. They could offer coupons worth 100 songs. They could offer more bundles like the one recently ended. Buy a Mac and get an iPod for $50 if you are a student.
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sethypoo
108 months ago
The Sony PSP seems to confusing, not to mention the fact it is so cheap could mean it's flimsy, aka low quality. It is weird how every new MP3 player that comes out is labeled as an 'iPod killer.'

Most amusing.
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Potus
108 months ago
Will the Sony also have a corkscrew?
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