A small detail in this rather pedantic story caught my eye: Sony will tightly integrate its devices with its upcoming download service, Sony Connect. Some of its newest players will allow users to electronically mark songs or artists that they like, said Jay Samit, general manager of Connect. When the unit is plugged into the computer it will send that information to the Connect site, which will then make further recommendations based on your current tastes, he said.

I hope that’s an optional thing…I may not want to connect to Sony Connect, even if I buy one of its MP3 players…