I use to love Sony DAP's to death...from discmans to minidisc to their earlier MP3 players, and as good as they sound now, I just really wish they would support FLAC. That or lower their pricing. I know, I know...it's a Sony. But this isn't the 80s or the 90s any more.
While their build quality is above average-excellent and they make very good sounding portables, their designs are often somewhat dated and generally less than ultra aesthetically pleasing compared to the premium price they command, further relegating them almost to a niche, audiophile like commodity. In this new environment or market sector, they need and should realize this and get with the times and support formats and features that audiophiles (likely their stronger, and probably current market base) will demand.
They have to realize that their aura or appeal as a fashionable or elite "show off" brand name is over. It's their reluctance to realize or probably more accurate, accept that they are no longer the premier name in consumer electronics, especially in the US, has definitely hurt them, as their economic records have shown quite recently and been in steady-drastic-steady decline over the last 10-15 years. Case in point, Samsung has leaped over them in the television market, Apple has all but American History X'ed Sony in the portable audio shower room, Microsoft said "what's up?" and then proceeded to steal the Playstation's hot supermodel girlfriend right in front of him, et cetera, et cetera...
Eh, end of rant. Sony, just design some better looking, innovative products to justify your prices... that or at least add the features your "new market" will desire, like multiple codec/FLAC support, unlimited uSD expansion, or eeek, dare I say it, lowering your market prices to keep with the economic scene and times... and I will be the first to pre-order your next ultra flagship DAP!
