So folks, what's the bigger story? That Sony Connect has just closed down, or that Sony Connect hadn't closed down years ago? Yes, this just in, Sony Connect were still operational last week. This also just in, it isn't any more. That's right, Sony have announced it is closing down its Connect download store, bringing to an end the electronics giant's ambitions of having a slice of the download market, and also its bid to persuade us that the Atrac format might be something we want to store our music in.
Atrac, of course, was Sony's proprietary digital audio codec, used by its own digital music players and, erm, no one else. Users could buy music in that format via Connect, or convert their existing music into the format using a bit of Sony software. However, neither the codec nor the download platform ever proved popular with consumers, despite the strength of the Walkman brand on the back of which both were marketed.
The consensus is that Sony were simply too late to market with Connect, and that user-friendliness issues with Atrac and the company's Atrac conversion software at the outset further hindered their attempts to take on the already booming Apple iTunes and their other Microsoft powered rivals.
Following Connect's demise, new digital Walkmans from Sony will utilise Microsoft's codec making them compatible with any MP3 or Windows Media based download platforms although not, of course, Apple's iTunes, nor any music previously bought via Connect. In an email to Connect customers, Sony say they will now provide "the best possible guidance on how to successfully transfer your [Atrac] music library to an MP3 or Windows Media-compatible format". So, that's nice.