Walkman outsells iPod in Japan

Friday 04th September, 05:19 AM JST

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DarkKnightNine at 03:37 PM JST - 5th September

Sony has had a tough time in recent years in the face of the huge popularity of the iPod and other rival products such as Nintendo’s Wii

I fail to see how the Wii (A game console) is a competitor to the Walkman (portable media player). Who the heck writes these articles? They obviously know very little about tech gadgets.
DarkKnightNine at 04:11 PM JST - 5th September

I wonder if the people here commenting about "using the iPhone as a music player is for idiots" actually use or own an iPhone. I have owned every iPod since it's debut and I can tell you that even though the 32GB on the iPhone may seem paltry, it really isn't. I have several movies, podcasts, audio books, TV shows, music videos and decent amount of music etc... on my iPhone. Not to mention emails with attachments, all of my contacts, my schedule etc... and I'm still amazed that I have room left over. I mean really how much media do you need to carry around with you in your pocket at any given time? Unless your daily commute is from Okinawa to Hokkaido, the iPhone's 32GB will serve you just fine. It should be also noted that because of the large number of people buying iPods and iPhones, it has driven down the price of Flash based memory which has opened the market for SSD harddrives in Notebook and Netbook PCs, Flash memory for video cameras and DSLRs and eventually desktop PCs. Thanks Apple. What has Sony done besides try to be another Microsoft by trying to tie the industry into their own proprietary formats like the stupid and ill-fated ATRAC introduced with the first digital Walkman. Thank god that wasn't a hit. Poor Audio quality in an extremely compressed data format, No thanks. And speaking of file formats, all of the aforementioned music on my iPhone is in Apple's Lossless data format (NOT MP3) given me sonically lossless sound indistinguishable from the original. Although it's file size is larger than standard MP3s, I'm still able to get a lot of music onto my paltry 32GB iPhone. Way to go Apple. Nuff said!
DarkKnightNine at 04:32 PM JST - 5th September

Oooops I forgot to mention a few games and a lot of useful apps as well.

I didn't find any good use of the Apple stuff, yet.

Really "Jaegger" it seems like you're the idiot! No use for Apple stuff? Almost everything useful that has evolved in media entertainment in the past decade is a result of Apple's involvement.

Where would digital animation be without Pixar? Where would digital media download be with Apple's iTunes Store? Where would open standard formats like H.264, AAC, MP3 and Blu-Ray (which is based on H.264), HDMI etc... be without Apple's push for open media standards rather than closed proprietary formats like some companies with their own agenda?

If you own a high end video camera, more than likely you attach it to your computer by a Firewire cable (another Apple invention). Oh and even your beloved USB port on your computer. Apple didn't invent it, but they were the first to include it on a computer and push for it's acceptance as a standard.

Interfacing with a computer with a keyboard and mouse? Apple again. Touchscreen on a portable digital device? Wow! Apple again! Apple has always pushed for standards that make using electronic and digital gadgets easier to use.

"No good use of Apple stuff?" Dude you must have slept through the past five years or just don't know much about technology.
Ranger_Miffy at 05:34 PM JST - 5th September

I love my new iPhone. Both my iPods are not working. Taking them to Ginza Apple Care to see if they can be revived. Disappointed in the iPod's swan songs, but as for the iPhone, I totally agree with DarkKnightNine.
spudman at 07:59 PM JST - 5th September

Good luck buying an iphone from softbank, they now require payment by credit card only by foreigners. Other phones regular contracts are fine. Japanese can buy iphones on regular contracts. Softbank's discrimination based on nationality sucks. Hope Apple goes belly up when Steve Jobs does after their crap treatment of foreigners in Japan. Go Go Go Sony and Docomo and AU.
DarkKnightNine at 03:02 PM JST - 6th September

Good luck buying an iphone from softbank, they now require payment by credit card only by foreigners. Other phones regular contracts are fine. Japanese can buy iphones on regular contracts. Softbank's discrimination based on nationality sucks. Hope Apple goes belly up when Steve Jobs does after their crap treatment of foreigners in Japan. Go Go Go Sony and Docomo and AU.

spudman, I totally understand your frustration with Softbank, I had to get my girlfriend's mother to get my iPhone because I don't have a credit card (by choice, I hate them) and because my girlfriend already has an iPhone and apparently you're not allowed to buy more than one (also a stupid rule). Imagine the hell we had to go through to convince my future mother-in-law to sign off on that because of Softbank's discrimination. I can't for the life of me figure out why Apple went with Softbank for the launch of iPhone in Japan, they have the absolute worse service of all the carriers. AU and DoCoMo are leagues ahead as far as service and customer care is concerned. But I suspect Apple just wanted to get the iPhone into this market and created a following first, so they went with the carrier that had the easiest terms for THEM! Now that they are here, I suspect sometime in the future we will see this being tied to one carrier business model dissolve. If not, you can forget about the iPhone's future in Japan or the U.S. for that matter because ATT is just as bad as Softbank.

Apple has made some awesome choices, but choosing Softbank as their exclusive carrier in Japan has got to be one of their worst ever!

Moderator: Back on topic please. The subject is the Walkman outselling the iPod.
DarkKnightNine at 07:28 PM JST - 6th September

I would have to agree with all of the posters here that although the iPod and iPhone rock as far as GUI and usability, the sound is atrocious! The supplied Apple earbuds are garbage at best. However, the iPhone becomes a different device when you pair it V-Moda earbuds. Awesome sound! I haven't heard the Walkman but Sony generally makes great sounding products, so I would assume that the Walkman sounds great. Before I bought my V-Moda earbuds, I used Sony's earbuds exclusively. And the sound on my PSP is awesome, although I wish Sony hadn't decided to limit the volume. If any Sony product could give the iPod a run for it's money, I would say it's the PSP. Freakin' awesome gadget and in many ways way better than the iPod. The only problem is once again, Sony screwed the pooch with it's proprietary format the UMD. When will Sony learn that trying to force closed media formats on the general public is just bad business? Until they learn that lesson, they will always lose to the likes of Apple.
Cos at 09:57 PM JST - 6th September

I have a recent Sony walkman. They made great offers (radio, good earplugs, good louspeaker include for 1/3 price of same memory size ipods), plus it can be plugged to my old (antique ?) CD-player and record my too-old-to-be-read-by-computer CDs. Even my grand-dad that has no computer could use it. I'm not suprised they sell well.

Of course, many people have the music on their phones/mini-computers, especially geeks. The walkman is for elderly, or an additional player you get to do sports, to occasionnaly lend to friends... so you don't cry if it gets damaged. I think mostly the first-price simple models will stay.
guuzendesu at 02:24 AM JST - 8th September

Personally I hope Bono and the dancing chicks from those initial ipod commercials all choke on an ipod. I'm tired of seeing so many accessories--heck even cars with built-in stuff--geared toward the ipod alone. Personally I refuse to ever invest in a product which is more expensive just because of a brand logo on it, let alone something which tries to have as many proprietary things about it as possible.

My mp3 player is a Sansa, and it works great just using drag-and-drop from my PC. It has NEVER told me "You need to upgrade to the latest version" of ANYTHING.
therealmusashi at 11:54 AM JST - 9th September

It's not so much about Apple trying to figure out what the Japanese like, as it is Sony, who needs to figure out what the rest of the world wants. Here's a clue - we don't need Big Brother to tell us what media we can and can't play. There's a start. The rest has been spelled out ad nauseum by tech pundits over the last couple of decades. Sony is a perfect representative of Japan; stubborn, and very slow to change.
blackbagger at 02:44 PM JST - 9th September

That walkmen are selling well recently doesn't surprise me. The X-Series ones are very cool - good sound, excellent youtube playback, great screen - but a bit overpriced. The other cheaper models are all pretty good, especially the ones that don't require Sonic Stage.

The problem with Sony right now is that they're trying to copy Apple too much by making slightly up-market versions of everything and then pasting on a Sony tax. Take the X-series walkmen, the Vaio type P, or the new PSP Go. They all have distinct looks and some neat features but carry a pricetag that's just not reasonable for what they actually do.
ultradodgy at 10:34 PM JST - 9th September

I'm a foreigner and I don't need to pay for my Softbank iPhone via credit card - sounds like you guys got hosed.
tigris at 10:53 AM JST - 10th September

Take the X-series walkmen, the Vaio type P, or the new PSP Go. They all have distinct looks and some neat features but carry a pricetag that's just not reasonable for what they actually do.

Exactly. I own an iPod Touch but rarely use it as a music player. Instead I use it for the job loaded with software specifically written for my professional needs. I also carry around data bases and presentations which I can connect to any digital projector. In addition I use it as a phone internationally - anywhere with WiFi - without worrying about telephone contracts and local standards.
RandomTask at 12:19 PM JST - 10th September

I've been using mp3 players around 10 years or so now, and never owned an iPod.

Let me change the battery! Let me copy files on and off my player at will. Let me use my own software to move files. It's far too restrictive.

Unfortunately there doesnt seem to be much choice in the market anymore, and I worry if my current player dies, I'll have to buy one.
Hotbox08 at 12:31 PM JST - 10th September

Here's a clue - we don't need Big Brother to tell us what media we can and can't play.

Exactly. It's the reason why I stopped owning an iPod. It was too restrictive as far as what kind of music I could listen to. Apple needs to realize that it can't impose its tastes on the public. But then again, Steve Jobs and Co. are indicative of Silicon valley: too stubborn and slow to change.