Comments on: Sources: Sony considers music downloads for PSP

Entertainment conglomerate has spoken to label executives about offering music to PlayStation Portable owners, CNET News has learned.

[monkeyfun14]

Hmm your image has a windows dialogue box on it.

[vmlenigma]

WHY? its easy to load music into the memory stick and play already. They should use the money else where....Like BETTER GAMES, Ipods and Hmmmm Zune (well sort of)(Hardly anyone has one other than the Microsoft employees) are for Music, PSP and Nintendo Portable are for PORTABLE games that .....Keep it That Way!

[tkspyder]

You're probably the first person I have ever heard that wanted to keep their portable device restricted. I, for one, become more and more interested in the PSP as it becomes diversified and flexible.

[cvaldes1831]

Let's not forget that at least one of Stringer's underlings -- Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton -- "hates the Internet." Stringer's gonna have a harder time selling this if his own team isn't on board.

[Maccess]

Zzzz ZZZZ zzzz ZZZZZ zzzzz. Other than die hard PSP fans, no one really cares much anymore. This is eight years too late. Yet, Sony has a real chance to challenge the iPod in terms of a portable device that plays music.

I would have been a PSP fan if it weren't for the mechanical removable storage media. I might look at the new one without the UMD.

[maneeshpan1]

I remember the CONNECT music store but never really used it. From what I heard it sold digital tunes in ATRAC format to work with Sony's own proprietary handheld music players. It never caught on. Even Apple's iTunes/iPod ecosystem was more open by making it easier to rip music CDs to a computer running iTunes and copy to iPod, burn iTunes music playlists to CD etc, remember Apple's mantra rip, mix, burn.

Even before Apple began re-releasing music on iTunes Store as DRM free via iTunes Plus it was more open than Sony CONNECT and is now even more open than it was earlier. Now music bought on iTunes can be more easily copied to non iPod players and copied to Windows Media Player or other media playback apps that are compatible with unprotected AAC related files -- you can also convert a unprotected iTunes Plus music track easily to MP3 so it will work with all players even those that don't work with AAC.

iTunes Plus provides music at a higher audio quality and with no restrictions on usage (yeah for personal fair use!) and since iTunes 8.1 you can also copy your music CDs to iTunes at the same bitrate and quality as iTunes Plus.

[Synthmeister]

PSP is way too late to the party now. The iPod touch is sucking all the oxygen out of the room which PSP should have OWNED! But Sony figured out a way to make everything difficult and more expensive than it should have been, whether it was buying games, loading music or movies, not to mention the idea of WiFI internet, e-mail or IM.

In order to compete, Sony would have to get a new device out the door NOW, and set up an online store as simple and seamless as the iTunes/App store which means they would have to abandon proprietary physical media, one of their most holy, sacred cows.

[chrisdq82]

This is RETARDED!!!!! they haven't even taken advantage of their Playstation Network anyways! To be fare, neither has Nintendo taken full advantage of the Wii Shop Channel. I know for a fact there are MILLIONS of losers who would fork over cash to play "Final Fantasy VII International" on their PSP, and though Sony knows this they sit on their hands and don't release it. In the same vein there are games for Wii's Shop Channel that I've been waiting for a LONG TIME to be released *cough* Earthbound *cough* and while Japan gets all the good stuff and it would NOT be hard to port all of this stuff since they've already been translated to english back in the 90's, they have no excuses when they whine about "not making enough money". Wanna make a dollar Sony? Why don't you start releasing what your customers actually want then!?

You too Nintendo! You're on notice!