Hello,

My name is Christopher MacManus and I am the founder of ATRACLife. Years ago when I started this blog I never dreamed that we would come this far. To think back on everything that ATRACLife has accomplished is staggering. Broke news stories about unreleased MP3 players way before anyone else. Had some of the best coverage of Sony’s audio during CES 2006. This blog truly changed Sony’s audio division forever through your feedback (yes you, the consumer); we defeated Connect Player and gave the final budge to get Sony to release MP3 players that have little restriction.

Unfortunately, attrition came in the form of phasing out ATRAC, which this blog was all about. I told you before that I would create Sony Insider, and I have. It’s not done yet (about 75% there) but we are nearly there. I apologize for closing news postings at ATRACLife (the forums will still remain however), but we will continue to cover the same content (along with everything else Sony) at the new site.

So please visit us now at Sony Insider, and thank you for being a part of an amazing community and experience. I will never forget it.

 

Hey guys,

I think I’ve had enough time exploring Sony Rolly at this point and I realize that I need to update those of you who were interested in this type of sonic entertainment.

Since the Rolly I purchased was a Japanese creation or so to say for a Japanese market, I also acquired Sony Rolly SEP-30BT meant for the US. It was finally released in the US on May 20th in two colors: white and black.

There are a few minor differences between the two. First of all, packaging of JP Rolly is simpler and has a nice plush nest for the eGg (aka Rolly), the US Rolly had a more complicated box and was left without any soft blanky. The internal memory of the US Rolly is bumped to 2 GB (I thought Sony could have done better with the internal storage since a number of MP3 players come with 8 and 16 GB of flash memory nowadays). As far as music management, I mentioned before in comments the JP Rolly inherited the tried and true ATRAC format as well as MP3, therefore supplied with SonicStage 4.4 software and for creating Motion files Sony supplied Motion Editor software that will only install on Japanese OS (however there are ways to install it on English OS as well). Getting the US version of Rolly was sort of a relief, because I was not ready to deal with Japanese Motion Editor anyways and since the Sony Audio division in the US has annihilated the SonicStage and its ATRAC child, you will notice that the US Rolly music management is as simple as drag and drop your MP3s and AAC files in the the MUSIC folder of the player’s internal storage like on any of the newer Sony Walkman NWZ series. The motion creation is done by Rolly Choreographer software which I found to be pretty intuitive and for version 1.0 not buggy! So those were the differences between the two eGgs (sorry I had to make the word “egg” look a bit cooler, as it does not sit well with me for it to be an MP3 player with tons of cool technology infused in it). Mind you though, the JP Rolly is not compatible with the US version of Rolly Choreographer and visa versa (the software simply does not recognize that Rolly is connected via USB).

OK, now the fun part is Rolly does a great job in the sound department, even though its little caps (or ears) during motion close and open the sound still remains to be pretty consistent and pure. I guess if Rolly was a mere bluetooth speaker as you can sit it in its cradle and have music streamed to it via bluetooth enabled phone or your Sony Walkman, it would not be not as exciting if it did not groove! I was pretty amazed by the demo tracks that Sony preloaded with motion files already in tact and by simply hitting the top button twice (you will find only one button on this device), Rolly made the music enjoyment even more fun. The lights, ever changing its colors make it attractive even more especially in a dim environment. Like I mentioned before this device can roll around and flap its ears either via streamed music or from its internal storage. I must say that one has to check its abilities in person, as when I heard about it at first I did not really think it would be that exciting to see something spin around to music; however I was pleasantly surprised when I actually witnessed it do its intuitive moves - it’s quite a joy!

For those of you who are still not sure about its motion functions, read on. What happens is, you load an MP3 file to your Rolly (via the supplied white USB cable) and you have two options: create your own motions and assign your own lighting to that particular song or find an already created motion file from Sony recently added Motion Park library where users are free to upload their own creations and browse and see what others have done. Both the US and Japanese communities are available online of course and are compatible. The motion file is usually around 400-500 kb that is just assigned to your MP3 like your art and song information. If you are thinking about creating your own motion files, I’d say you should prepare to spend some significant time as it involves some creative imagination on your part and using the Rolly Choreographer extensive options to make your Rolly really dance, and when I say extensive, I really mean it as the software provides you with multiple ways of assigning various kinds of motions and lights and you may always preview it and tweak on the spot.

The Rolly also has a Timer function so you may use it to wake you up in the morning if you wish so. A number of accessories are also available now like different color caps, charging cradle in white and black and a carrying case.

All in all it is an appealing device for a certain group of people. The big minus of this toy is its price tag. I think that it cannot get truly justified though being a robotic toy, many will not be able to afford $399 MP3 player with 2 GB of storage and bluetooth functions (supported profiles are A2DP, AVRCP, SPP ver 2.0). I have warned Sony that this kind of pricing may harm this new product line and it may not live too long. I believe similar pricing back then for MD players that were going for $399 and up were also not accepted here in the US and only because of that, a small community of true enthusiasts were able to adopt that format. But I will not digress on Sony pricing as it is in itself a totally different subject…

Feel free to go and check the Rolly out at a nearby SonyStyle store if you are in the US and watch for it on eBay if you want to get a better deal.

Check out one of the unofficial Forums devoted to Rolly here: http://myrolly.net/

Also check out this video featuring Omarion and Rolly

Download available Motion files here and at the official Japanese Motion Park

Yours truly,

Stan M.

By this time we have all to come to know what Sony Rolly is all about. Sony Japan has done a great job by intriguing the public by running the teaser campaign and finally revealing a new category of products in sound entertainment. Rolly has had a good share of criticism and there are people out there still not comprehending the idea of a robotic music player. After having owed Aibo ERS-7M3/T model, and learning that Rolly has had Aibo engineers put their minds in creating Rolly, I was quite intrigued by this new concept and was lucky enough to obtain a Japanese version of Sony Rolly. I know that Sony USA is bringing this exciting product here as well (May 2008), but having waited for a while (since it was promised to be released in spring), I could not hold any longer….

I just wanted to share with you and sort of do my review in parts.

First impressions started with unpacking. Sony has always stood out in its packaging “art” (yes, they even employ designers that work on making sure your new Sony toy is packaged attractively in a box). The player sat beautifully in a cushioned nest, and indeed looked like a dinosaur egg waiting to be picked up and played with.

I will leave you with this for now (kinda late here right now), as more will be posted soon. So sit tight and feel free to post your comments/questions below…

Well today is the day when Connect service from Sony is no longer available. If you access their website you will be greeted with the following message:

“Thank you for being a customer of the CONNECTâ„¢ Music store.

Now that the music store is closed, you will not be able to purchase or download music, but you will be able to continue to use several features to maintain your library through the end of 2008.

For your convenience we are maintaining our servers to allow you to authorize new devices and computers to play back your purchased ATRAC content. We still recommend that you back up your music library and have provided instructions in the help section on how to do so.

Please click here for information concerning how to continue enjoying your existing ATRAC music library in SonicStage, or how to convert and transfer your existing ATRAC music library to another application.

If you own an ATRAC-based Walkman® device, you can continue using it to enjoy your ripped CDs and music purchases from a fast-growing number of DRM-free, MP3 download services.

Thank you for your patronage during the life of CONNECT.

Sincerely, the CONNECT team.”

I remember the time when they were about to open and there were a few beta invites to preview the service. The store had some good selection of music and frankly I had a number of free codes to use, so I never paid for the music. I guess SonicStage will stay at 4.3 version for the US and Europe, until it is finally forgotten and not supported by the forthcoming OSes. Sad, huh? However, the show must go on… Supposedly, according to AP, Sony BMG Music Entertainment “is developing an online music subscription service that would give users unlimited access to its music and be compatible with a host of digital music players.” We will see more and more services offering DRM-free music, something Sony has always been against and fought hard, but the users dictate the trends, and it is amazing to see Sony finally listen to its customers (though a bit too late frankly).

Ironically, Engadget posted today a Hands on Review of the latest Bluetooth enabled Sony Walkman - NWZ-A829. It is a short one, but gives an idea of what to expect. I was surprised that it sounded pretty welcoming. Every year we are hoping and expecting Sony to release something really ground-breaking and cool, and I totally agree with one of the commenters there that said the following: “I feel that Sony has so much potential in this field, to put together a really stylish portable media player that has great functionality, user friendliness and features. yet time and time again they release something that is ok, but not something that is awesome. come on Sony you have it in you!”

However you never know with Sony, one of their bright engineers might come up with an innovative idea and bring to us a revolutionary device - Walkman was once before….

Have a good week guys!

Stan M.

Hey guys,

I have been playing with my recently bought new VAIO TZ that has an SSD (Solid State Drive) and wanted to see how it ranks and what reviews are out there, so I came across a site called Pocketables.net where I was surprised to see a couple of nice reviews posted by a fellow blogger Jenn on Sony Walkman A810 and S610. She also did a good job reviewing the Sony Walkman Cradle BCR-NWU3 and Mylo 2 Cradle. Nice pictures accompany her views and comparisons to other players as well. It is good to see a non-biased review once in a while. So check it out!

Walkman A810                   Walkman S610                Walkman Cradle

                                             

Hey guys,

Sorry it has been a while since the blog has been updated with some juicy news from Sony. I wanted to refresh it some as a lot of you got tired of seeing the post regarding Sony denying the sale of their chip operations, which I believe they ended up selling anyways…

Quite a few revolutionary things happened in the World of Sony, like abandoning Atrac format (at least for the most part, except Japan), introducing Walkman models with integrated Bluetooth, bringing Sony Rolly to the US (hopefully we’ll see it soon in SonyStyle stores), Blu-ray winning the HD format war and Phil Harrison leaving PS3 division. As for Atrac, are you guys keeping your libraries as is or already converted to MP3s? And for those who got the newest generation of Walkman, are you enjoying new ways of managing your music? By the way, just a reminder Sony Connect store will be closing at the end of this month, so if you have any coupons or credit left, get busy and pick up some music, and back up your existing DRMed music to a CD.

Anyways, I hope to update this blog from time to time and keep you informed on some new developments, as well as post some reviews. Thanks for sticking around and participating in the forums!

P.S. Check out the Download Section, a new PSP Demo game for Echochrome and Space Invaders Extreme

And if you have not tried Patapon Demo yet, shame on you!

As a follow up to the previous report regarding the planned sale of Sony’s chipmaking unit – the Japanese the company said Tuesday that it is still looking at ways to improve its chip operations and has reached no decision on whether to sell it; essentially denying Japanese media reports that it has struck a deal with Toshiba.

Toshiba Corp. spokesman Keisuke Omori also said no deal has been decided.

Japan’s top business daily, The Nikkei, reported Saturday that Sony has decided to sell its advanced computer chip production operations to Toshiba, which partnered with Sony and IBM Corp. in developing the “Cell” microprocessor. Cell powers Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console, some IBM servers and specialized, graphics-intensive hardware, but it has yet to emerge as a mainstream processor.

The speculation about the future of Sony’s chip operations comes amid a restructuring at Sony and intensifying competition among the world’s computer chip makers. In general, prices have been dropping not only on lower-end chips but all gadgets, making it harder for manufacturers to maintain profits.

“There’s probably two or three things going on in concert,” said Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT Research. “It’s very expensive not just to produce or develop but also to maintain a hardware platform. It’s not something that ends when the finished chip comes out.”

Sony shares fell 2.2 percent amid market expectations that the company will have to shoulder losses in selling its chip-making facilities to Toshiba. Toshiba shares dipped 0.6 percent.

Sony has been saying for months it’s exploring ways to streamline its chip business as it focuses on home entertainment devices. “But nothing concrete has been decided,” Sony spokesman Tomio Takizawa said.

In the weekend report, The Nikkei said Sony will sell its chip operations to Toshiba and then form a joint venture with Toshiba to use its products. IBM, which also produces Cell chips in East Fishkill, N.Y. — at a facility that got a $325 million investment from Sony in 2004 — declined to comment.

News source: Associated Press