I think in some ways the new firmware and mp3 support has made the VP worse.
Granted its cool they fixed the gaps between tracks but that should have not been a problem in the first place (NW-HD1 never did it).
Thus I now have the IRiver H340.
It is not perfect but battery life seems good, nice display, no silly touch buttons, plays videos with stereo sound (with latest firmware 10fps limit I think), has playlists, FM radio built in, can record from mic or FM radio direct into mp3 format, has upstream usb1.1 to upload from some cameras, inline remote (LCD version an option), comes with external battery case (takes 4xaa), carry case and just appears as a drive in windows. index's 9,800 tracks in about three minutes (you need to reindex when you add more music), various sound modes, sleep timer (countdown to power off, max 90mins), line in (to record), line out and a very bright display.
Negatives.
1. Takes a minute to boot up before you can play music (with 9,800 tracks loaded).
2. Mains adapter moulded into 13amp plug.
3. Line out level changes with volume level set on unit.
4. Playlists have to be created in winamp, musicmatch etc or in new redchair special manager program (future firmware update is supposed to add playlist edit / create on player).
Mr Sony, you may wish to buy one to get a few ideas.
Automan.
