SonicStage

) of LISMO, the online music store provided by a Japanese mobile phone operator KDDI (au). There are some useful functions to using LISMO, but no values founded for non-LISMO users. The playable codecs are same as SonicStage Version 4.x, but encoding functions are only available for the ATRAC codecs.

As of March 2008, 8 au phones (manufactured by Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, Casio-Hitachi mobile communications and Sanyo) support LISMO's ATRAC service [cite web|accessdate=2008-03-14|url=http://www.au.kddi.com/cgi-bin/modellist/newList.cgi?ServiceID=155|title=「LISMO「オーディオ機器連携」」対応機種|publisher=KDDI] .

Alternatives

MP3 File Manager

Sony offers the MP3 File Manager for Network Walkmans as a very limited alternative to SonicStage. It only provides a simple drag-and-drop interface and is lacking many of the newer, more advanced features of SonicStage (such as the ability to transfer files back to your computer).

The application is intended to be installed on the Network Walkman itself.Although it can be run directly on the device, it is not truly a portable application because it requires that the driver [http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=NWE405&upd_id=1937&os_id=6,4,16,7,3] be installed on the computer.

The most recent version (2.0) can be downloaded from [http://www.sonydigital-link.com/DNA/downloads/downloads.asp?l=en&ct=NWF&f=MP3FM20 here] or [http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?template=&upd_id=1936&os_id=3,4,6,7,16&mdl=NWE405 here] .There is also an older version (1.2) for older Network Walkmans available [http://www.sonydigital-link.com/DNA/downloads/downloads.asp?l=en&ct=NWF&f=MP3FM12 here] .

VAIO Music Transfer

As mentioned this forum [http://ipastudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1385 post] , the [http://www.vaio-link.com/Vaiopocket/downloads/downloads.asp?l=en&f=VMTU VAIO Music Transfer software] allows files to be dragged and dropped onto the player. It may still require SonicStage to be installed.

It works with the NW-A700-series, NW-E00XF-series players as well as the NW-HD1 and NW-HD3.

Third party alternatives

* [http://www.drvoid.com/ voidMP3FM] file manager is free, and supports some features that the official MP3FM does not (e.g. ability to transfer files back to your computer). voidMP3FM currently works with NW-E002, NW-E003, NW-E005, NW-A608, and (unofficially) NW-E015F, allows transfer of tracks back to HD, and the compatibility is improved in each version (last release was 06 October 2006). It also works under WINE in Linux. There is a discussion thread about it [http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?showforum=25 here] .
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/symphonic/ Symphonic] is a piece of Open Source Java software that works on Linux, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X and can transfer MP3s to and from the Sony NW-E00x series and HDD NW-A series players. It is also a continuation of the [http://nwe00xmp3man.sourceforge.net NW-E00x Mp3 File Manager] project.
* [http://clientes.netvisao.pt/~sonygym/ Grab Your Music (GYM)] software allows to transfer (download) audio files back to your computer from your Walkman.
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/mlsony ML SONY] is a plugin for the popular multimedia player Winamp. It integrates with Winamp's Library and allows you to transfer MP3s between the PC and the Sony Walkman. It does not require SonicStage to be installed. There is an official discussion thread about it [http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1528 here] .

External links

* [http://www.sony.com Sony]
* [http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Music_Player_%28Device%29#Walkman_Tutorial A Linux Tutorial for the Walkman]

References