Sony plans to challenge iPod

Sony has announced a new line of handheld digital music players that it is hoping will reclaim it's lead from the Apple iPod.

Sony,who made handheld music players popular in the 80s with it's cassette-driven 'Walkman' line of music players, introduced it's new digital music players at a press conference in Tokyo yesterday. These new players are expected to retail for between 22,000 yen ($199.00) and 35,000 yen. This new line of handheld music players will feature easier to use controls, including an easier search function, and artificial intelligence that can actually 'suggest' songs to you.

The Apple iPod has taken the lead for handheld music players in recent years, since the introduction of the first generation Apple iPod music player October 23, 2001. The iPod was simple, sleek, and stylish, and played the mp3 music format that was rising in popularity. The Apple iPod music player quickly became a new standard for the sophisticated music lover.

Sony, the world's second largest consumer electronics manufacturer, built it's fortune primarily from its Walkman music players in the 80s, and with its 'Trinitron' television tube technology in the 90s. With HDTV and plasma TV technologies emerging, Sony's TV sales have suffered considerably in the past couple years, so they are looking to the new line of handheld music players to take back the lead in digital handheld music players from the Apple iPod.