Sony Readies MP3 Digital Walkman

Computergram International, Sept 20, 1999

Sony Corp is expected to bring its Digital Walkman MP3 player to market in time for Christmas, according to reports. As it revealed back in April, Sony plans to use its own Memory Stick plug-in memory line, currently limited to 16Mb capacity, although 32 and 64Mb versions have been promised for later this year.

The box will use an i.Link IEEE 1394 interface for 400Mbps file transfers, and use Sony's own security codec, the latest reports suggest. Sony has been one of the backers of the SDMI Secure Digital Music Initiative. It has also developed its own secure music digital format, MagicGate, and signed up with IBM Corp to support IBM's Electronic Music Management System. Sony has said it expects 23 million MP3 devices to be in use by 2003. The Digital Walkman is likely to be priced at around $150.