OT: MS is getting more business from Sony..

apit34356 wrote on 8/31/2007, 1:50 AM

Ms and Sony trying to play together in Apple's sand box...............Oops, did we hear a moan from the HD DVD fanboys......
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Sony to unplug Connect digital music service
By Tony Smith in Berlin [More by this author]
30th August 2007 10:37 GMT

IFA 07 Sony will next year kill off its Connect digital music download service, Register Hardware has learned. Its Walkman products will instead use Windows Media technology, the consumer electronics giant told its customers today.

Sony's decision is a tacit admission that the company has failed to match the success enjoyed by Apple's iTunes Music Store, and marks the Japanese giant's second major climbdown in the digital music player business.

Just over three years ago, in June 2004, Sony caved in to consumer demand and began equipping its digital music players with MP3 support, having favoured only its own, ATRAC audio format up to that point. Connect, however, continued to offer songs for download using the proprietary Sony music encoding technology.

Not for much longer, though. The North American and European Connect online stores close their virtual doors sometime after March 2008, Sony said. March is the final month of the company's current financial year, and it probably wants to get that out of the way before knocking Connect on the head. Beyond that, it didn't say when exactly each region's service will close.
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Comments

DataMeister wrote on 8/31/2007, 3:20 AM

Maybe this tread should have instead been titled:

"Yet another proprietary format from Sony kicks the bucket"

When will they stop? It is almost like some big wig at Sony likes developing proprietary formats as a personal hobby.

blink3times wrote on 8/31/2007, 4:08 AM

Sony really has a nasty habit of shooting themselves in the foot with this stuff and I don't know why. They are truly unique from any other business in that they would rather LOSE money than adopt or support someone else's ideas/formats/electronics. With Sony it has ALWAYS been an "all or nothing" approach.

We're heading for yet another show down with AVCHD. Sony of course has it's own AVCHD format, and Canon has now sided with Panasonic which produces a slightly different AVCHD. All other editors that have taken on AVCHD edit have opened the doors to both versions. But Sony Vegas as we all know now will only do AVCHD from Sony cams. I have no idea which direction this will go but Sony has actively made the decision to LOSE money regardless to the circumstances. Sony Vegas could easily be picking up business from canon/Panasonic AVCHD cam owners right now.

There are times when I have no choice but to call it pigheaded silliness.

p@mast3rs wrote on 8/31/2007, 5:58 AM

"Ms and Sony trying to play together in Apple's sand box...............Oops, did we hear a moan from the HD DVD fanboys......"

Seriously what gives? Why the fanboy insults? Wouldnt that make you a fan boy of Blu Ray but because you prefer/endorse BD that makes it the better choice or at least the reason to flame those that dont prefer the same?

Im not trying to be a jerk here. Fanboys by definition are those that are blindly loyal regardless of the pros or cons of a product. For every "fanboy" of HD DVD, there is a "fanboy" of BD which neither has truly penetrated the market enough in pcs/macs to even warrant icon type status that "fanboys" are known to heap on their preferred product.

blink3times wrote on 8/31/2007, 6:07 AM

"Seriously what gives? Why the fanboy insults?"
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I would be inclined to agree.

What people in general don't seem to understand is that this is NOTHING but business as normal. Fox and Microsoft just for example are mortal enemies in the format war, but the best of friends in other areas. It's pure business to ALL of these Corporations... nothing more.

apit34356 wrote on 8/31/2007, 8:32 AM

P@mastrs, as usual, you way over react. If you noticed, I did not call anyone on this forum a fanboy in this posting.

But in general, most individuals view Sony and MS avoiding doing any new business. The long winded explanation from MS about the Paramount deal that MS did not write a check, but would not rule out payments to Paramount, has a little more meaning, seeing that they knew Sony was going to announce this.

MS wants a big piece of the downloaded music and so does all the cellphone providers. Sony could may easily sold this to any of the cellphone providers.

The question is, what did MS offer? Is the download music market more $$ value to MS than trying to expand the HD DVD market?---- questions the HD DVD fanboys probably are wondering about.

Secondary, I posted the article that clearly shows Sony was reversing itself on using another Sony format because of market ------------ something the anti Sony crowd will point to.