In an effort to recapture the market lead it lost to Apple's iPod, Sony has launched two new Network Walkman models in Europe - the first devices from the company to support MP3 playback. Instead of following the recent trend of hard drive-based audio players, Sony has opted for conventional flash memory and offers 512MB and 1GB capacities.

Apple is rumored to be working on a flash-based audio player of its own to shore up its customer base, but the company has refused to comment on the speculation.

Slated to reach store shelves by the end of November, Sony has priced the 512MB NW-E95 at $255 USD and the 1GB NW-E99 at $300 USD. In addition, owners of previous Walkman models will be able to download a software update that enables direct MP3 playback, without converting to Sony's ATRAC3plus format.

"Sony has done right by supporting MP3 on its newer devices, rather than compelling ATRAC conversion," Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox told BetaNews. "And the new flash-based players meet the criteria that consumers say they look for most in portable music players. But another important issue is perceived value, as in how much more is the Sony brand compared to lower-price players with greater capacity."

Apple's iPod mini with 4GB space and the 5GB Rio Carbon both sell for $249 USD, while the new Dell Pocket DJ packs in 5GB for $199 USD.

Sony balances this capacity gap with an immense battery life, touting 70 hours of playback for the new Walkman models. Rivals including Apple seem willing to sacrifice battery for design; the iPod mini lasts eight hours and Dell recently slimmed down the size and battery life of its DJ.

"Generally speaking, Jupiter Research sees eight hours of battery as adequate for most music players," said Wilcox. "Battery time beyond eight hours is a 'nice to have' feature that isn't necessary for most people."