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Review: I bought the Sony MZ-NH1 Silver Hi-MiniDisc Walkman about 2 weeks ago, and since then I've been spending half my waking hours recording music from my computer and CDs onto this wonderful-looking new contraption by Sony. Despite the fact that the NH1 was plugged as being a worthy rival to the iPod (said endorsement made me hold out 'til its release) it is simply too different to compare: Pros:
*Easy recording from CD to device.
*Ultra-light and easy to carry.
*When all tracks are in Atrac3(plus) mode, it is very easy and very quick to exchange files from PC - MD.
*Remote control is very well designed. Controls are easy to use, as is the display.
*When used for recording from a Hifi/optical cable/microphone it is just as easy to use as its predecessors.
*You can still play and record on old MiniDiscs. Cons:
*Sonic Stage software is temperamental - on numerous occasions it has either frozen or shut down on me.
*If you record media onto the HI-MD from one computer, you cannot upload it to a different computer, even if it has 'Sonic Stage'.
*If you record media using the supplied 'MD Simple Burner' you cannot upload it onto 'Sonic Stage'.
*The cradle is the only way to charge the device.
*Unlike some of the older NetMD models there is no USB port on the cradle.
*The blank Hi-MD 1GB discs will not be on general release in the UK 'til December '04. In summary, if you are going to use the MZ-NH1 as an MP3 player; don't. Get an MP3 player. If, however, you want the flexibility that the MiniDisc range has always given (changeable discs, recording from microphone, recording from optical cable...) then go for it. | 
Audio HiFi
