For instance, their M75HD and M95HD will both support minidiscs. And all three players will continue to support their now phased-out ATRAC service. It's a move to support backwards compatibility that companies like Microsoft ignore (just look at Plays4Sure and the Zune).

Of course, the systems also support the new Walkman players, along with the ability to sync music tracks. While the verdict is still out on how these low wattage systems will actually sound, I'm digging the open platform and decent-looking design. I just wish they were around a few years before iWent so iCrazy with my music collection. [electonista]

The Rolly is motion-controlled, having sensors that know which way is up. You can fiddle with the volume by turning the player clockwise or anti-clockwise, and you can skip or repeat tracks by either rolling the player forwards or backwards, or shaking it. You can download dance moves to the Rolly, but there will also be software available to allow you to make up your own Rolly moves on your computer.

At $351, the Rolly is around three times cheaper than the Miuro, and it gives you the lumi re to go with the son, but there's something a bit pedestrian about Sony's design, IMHO. Other "Mmmmmm... No!" features include a titchy 1GB memory, although you can hook it up via Bluetooth to play tunes from your computer. Incidentally, you get five hours of battery time using the internal memory, and four and a half if you use Bluetooth.

To add insult to injury, Sony is selling the carrying case and charging cradle separately, for $17.50 and $35 respectively. I can't decide whether I think that Sony will roll this product out worldwide or not, but I would have thought it would sell well everywhere. [Impress through Google Translate]

Like its higher-end brother, Sony's touting 33 hours of music playback, though it gets 90 more minutes of video playback—9.5 hours. Its screen is a bit tinier as well (1.8-inch QVGA vs 2 inches) but it's similarly capable of 30 fps video. It comes in 2 ($120), 4 ($160) and 8GB ($210) capacities and four colors: black, sliver, pink and red. Both are available at Sony Style online today and will hit retailers in September. [Sony]

Sony to Release B100 Series Drag and Drop Walkman [ATRAC Life via Electronista]

Walkman fans will point to its 2.0-inch screen with 240x320 resolution screen as a bit of a saving grace, but my eyes very quickly tire of watching watching tiny video. No word on when it'll come out here, but I can't wait to walk right by it by it the store. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Sony UK via dapreview.net]

ATRACLife Colloquium [ATRACLife]