Price Paid:  $150.00 from ebay

Summary:
Sony blew it again, minidisc doesn't record anymore shortly after one year after purchase, just in time for the warranty to expire! It's a common hardware problem with Sony portable minidiscs which they're well aware of, yet they won't fix. Sony even shut down the forum where users where complaining about this. You guessed it, Sony sucks!
Buyers beware: DON'T BUY!

Strengths:
Sturdier than my two previous Sony mz 70, which were utter pices of c-r-a-p, played and recorded fine for 1 year and a few days.

Weaknesses:
No line out!!! Will not record anymore, everything seems to go fine during the recording process but after that there's a "blank disk" message.

Similar Products Used:
Sony mz 70.

Price Paid:  $190.00 from zellers

Summary:
Not for any sports that I like.

Strengths:
Good sound,(with good headphones of your own), durable, fast file transfer rates. Nice size, but who cares if you can't control it.

Weaknesses:
Hard to use software; have to use their playlist system, can't sort by file name, can't transfer directly from folders, can't record digitily straight from cd.
The little joystick thing is useless. No remote available, and therefore can't use it with: mountain biking, paragliding, snowboarding,motorcycling anything but running and walking. What does "sport" mean to sony?

Similar Products Used:
Sony discman. Very thin, with a remote, but not durable.

Price Paid:  $150.00 from circuit city

Summary:
This producthas found a great nich with the athletic market. I'm training for a marathon and i needed something that would let me listen to what i want and would give me some time without repeating songs.

Strengths:
where to start? it lasts forever on one double a battery. literally 50 hours! I was shopping for mp3 players and found out that even the most flexible and expensive 128mb players only came with 2 hours playing time per shot. Sony mini disk can store more than 5 hours on a cheap 2 dollar disk. very easy to use. quick burn at 32* and Im out. I love it

Weaknesses:
the only weakness i can figure out is that its heavier than an mp3 player. but i gladly trade that weight for the durability. Ive dropped the unit ona hard floor only to see the song still playing. very durable.

Similar Products Used:
i tried the rio mp3 64mb player. big mistake. great quality, but only holds 70 minutes of music?

Price Paid:  $160.00

Summary:
This portable MD player is a cool little item. Since it is the sports version it has the same hard casing and rubber seals as every other Sports Walkman. This is a brand new medium for me and so far I'm sold. The sound isn't quite what I thought it would be, but the head phones aren't particularily expensive either. You would have to play with a nice set of headphones to make a good judgement. The unit comes w/extra stuff like software for downloading from yr computer, etc.

Strengths:
The real strength I find is the editing ability. You can move tracks around or delete them w/out a problem. It's got a menu driven system to where you just pick what you want to do. It's remarkably flexible is it's recording. You do have to buy more cables if you want to record from yr stereo in analogue. You have to get a 2 to one RCA cable that fits into a stereo minijack. The line analogue is on the bottom of the unit. Sony is trying to emphasize recording off the WEB, but I think this a great tool for recording from yr own collection. I actually have been recording my favoite stuff from vinyl w/good results. I admit is it a little akward at first, but then I got used to it. You do get some cracks and pops, but that can be fixed if you are patient. CD recording is a breeze. Nothing to think about except labling each track as you go along. I haven't encountered any real need to make and manual gain adjustments. The unit automatically does it to an acceptable degree.

Weaknesses:
The unit is mainly controlled by a thumb control thing. It is not particularily accurate and takes some getting used to. It's like a little joystick for yr thumb that is on top of the unit so you can hold it perpendicular to the ground for running. Whatever. I don't think it works very well.

Also, there is no input for a MIC. So this may not be the best bootleg option.

The rubber flaps that cover the Line IN, AC adapter, and head phone jack are remarkbly flimsy and I am waiting for them to come off soon.

The orange backlite is rather annoying in that it only stays on for seconds. You need it on continuously because the screen is very small. However, there may be a way to keep it on that I don't know about yet.

Similar Products Used:
None.