Sony Unveils Hard Drive Based VAIO for Music, Video
Sony Japan is taking aim at the iPod with a new extension to its VAIO product line. The VAIO Pocket VGF-AP1 sports a 20GB hard drive, competitive with the market's invoked set of high-end music players. Sony's adoption of large capacity storage marks a sea change from its heavy reliance on Walkman minidisc recorders.
The player is capable of displaying digital photos through its 2.2 inch 320x256 color LCD display, making a competitive play towards rival Microsoft's upcoming Portable Media Center class of devices that also support digital imagery. Digital cameras may connect via USB to the player's cradle to transfer images.
With its body of features, the Sony VAIO Pocket VGF-AP1 weighs in at 195g with a USB 2.0 interface. Sony claims maximum of 20 hours of battery life.
Sony has developed a unique input button grid dubbed "G-Sense." G-Sense offers up touchpad navigation where users scroll through a list of files simply by gesturing their finger toward their selection. The selected song is played by the click of a button.
The VAIO synchronizes with PCs and allows users to shop for music using Sony's SonicStage 2 application. Another application called Music Move also helps transfer files. Future builds of the software will be more flexible, allowing access by devices produced by other manufacturers.
Along with a broad range of Walkman products, the VAIO Pocket is compatible with Sony's Connect Online Music Store, which launched this past Tuesday. The Sony music store contains a library of more than 500,000 downloads encoded in Sony's proprietary ATRAC 3 format. The VAIO Pocket VGF-AP1 is capable of playing MP3, WMA and WAV audio, but first converts the formats to ATRAC 3.
To kick off the Connect Online Music Store, Sony has partnered with United Airlines to establish the Mileage Plus frequent flyer program. Customers may redeem their miles at Mileageplusmusic.com.
Sony offers Connect enabled portable music players ranging in price from $60 to $400 USD. Sony claims that it has sold in excess of 2.5 million devices capable of accessing the store in the US alone.
The VAIO Pocket VGF-AP1 goes on sale in Japan in June. Sony has not announced the dates of an international rollout.