I have to side with others that have already stated that this MD unit does not have any of the features that the most popular HD MP3 players have today. Not that the HiMD should be like a HD Mp3 player, but look at what the consumers are purchasing.
I would like for my HiMD player to have: playlist on the fly, delete on the fly,
some sort of Gapless/Crossfeed function, M3U Playlisting, and use technology that they already have: EQ, Optical Out, AM/FM tuner from remote, etc.
I know Sony is not going to go the way of developing a player that is detected as a Universal Mass Storage Device, but IMO I would like to see MY HiMD function WITHOUT ITUNES and/or Sonic Stage.
"Its a win win situation as the MP3 market becomes more of a commodity in the next few years." And lets not forget about "USB ON THE GO!" You could connect the next generation HiMD players to other HD, Flash, HiMD, PCs, PDAs, Digital Cameras, Digital Portable Media Players, and maybe even Smart Phones!!!!
I am also so used to my 20GIG storage space on my HD MP3 player. But carrying around multiple 1 GIG HiMD discs is not a pain or a bother. And from the MD/HiMD Sony technology you gain LONG battery life, good sound, portable size, good recording capabilites, etc. I wouldn't mind going to HiMD MP3 playback over HD and Flash (if some company could produce a product with the functionalities that most consumers want.)
Well it shows Sony's Progression.