Sony hopes public will stick with Walkman

Twenty years ago the Walkman revolutionised the way we listen to music. In one fell swoop Sony's funkiest technological development gave a massive boost to the music industry while simultaneously bringing relief to the anguished commuter.

To mark the anniversary of the launch of Sony's most popular product the company is now set to release the latest development in the Walkman concept next month in Japan - The MagicGate Memory Stick Walkman NW-MS7.

In keeping with Japanese micro-technology, the latest Walkman is about the same size as a cigarette lighter. But despite its diminutive nature the NWMS7 is likely to be at the vanguard of Sony's pursuit of the digital dream and its attempt to introduce a standardised product for digital storage. If Sony executives are to be believed, tapes, CDs and MDs and other music media will all shortly become antiques in a digital era to be ruled by PC, modem and its Memory Stick.

The Memory Stick, which slots into the new Walkman, is compatible with various digital Sony products and aims to capture the rapidly emerging market for Electronic Music Distribution (EMD) services over digital networks such as the Internet.

This market could become extremely profitable. A study by the research consultancy Market Tracking International (MTI) earlier this year estimated that digital downloading of music will be worth $3.9 billion (€3.7 billion) by 2004.

In the new digital order of things, music will be purchased online in virtual e-commerce websites rather than on the high street. The strength of Sony's new digital Walkman is that it enables the user to listen to electronically delivered digital music content in a portable form.

The digital music content, whether distributed electronically or copied from an audio CD, is stored on a PC's hard disk using audio compression technology. The compressed music data can then be transferred to the audio Memory Stick through a USB cable and adapter. Approximately 80 minutes of music can be stored in standard compression mode.

However, probably the most innovative feature of the Walkman's Memory Stick is that it will offer copyright protection to recording companies. Downloading music from the Internet has raised major concerns over the ability of high-tech pirates to undercut recording companies. But Sony has introduced one of the first authentication technology systems. This ensures only protected content is transferred between compliant devices and media.

The new Walkman due to debut on the Japanese market for Christmas will be available in the Republic next March when it will retail for around £300 (€381). Whether it will set up the Memory Stick as the standard digital storage device of the next century is anyone's guess. But linking it to the lucrative music industry is probably a shrewd move.