Sony VAIO VGF-WA1/W Wireless Digital Music Streamer

A) Three great features that make it worth it - I'm satisfied
- The setup is very easy with the USB Cable. Found the networks without any problem
- Good design overall : battery, look and feel, ease of use
- GREAT sound

B) Two big misses ( disappointed , but forgiving given A!):
- NO CLICK-WHEEL nor ANY way of picking music in a long list ( unless you call pushing the "down arrow" 499 timesa way of selecting a track, which seemingly Sony does). They should upgrade the Firmware and allow a new remote to do it. THIS IS SURPRISING. So I use it with playlists made on the computer.
- Limited radio access... so it cannot be called fully an Internet Radio

C) Recommendations for Sony for next version
- Check the compatibility with many UPnP servers... works fine with Windows Media Player, but not with a Linux UPnP server that is on my NAS. Cannot read playlists then.
- Add a website for the device to configure remotely, change the name, etc. See Roku's Soundbridge as an example
- Think of a large display on the front... so you CAN use the remote and see the titles
- Display should show title + artist, not filename!
- Selection by Notation (x star and above )would be g

Good quality music streamer out of the box, but with limitations. Excellent device when updated to firmware version 1.2 that allows connection to networks with no SSID broadcast (with the original firmware I had to change my access point settings to SSID broadcast each time I wanted to use the WA1, even with the SSID entered manually in the device settings), and also allows to create your own list of web radios using the companion software WA1 Enhanced Settings tool(installed on a computer on the network and transmitting infos to the WA1 thru wifi). You're no longer limited to built-in services.
Strangely, Sony does not offer the firmware revision on the US site. You have to download it from the Japanese site. Look for a file named SOFOTH-01589600-UN.exe and follow instructions.

In about 20 phone calls to Sony I was only able to find one person who knew whether the Sony VAIO VGF-WA1/W is able to receive streaming from Rhapsody and he gave me the wrong answer: he incorrectly stated that it can stream Rhapsody. It's a fine item but don't try to get information from Sony.

One week in, I'm satisfied with my Vaio digital music streamer. I was intrigued by the product when it first came out but scared away by the cost; recent price reductions made me snap it up as the perfect sound system for the bedroom and this summer's outdoor entertaining. Setup was simple enough; had it up and running within a half hour through my 2Wire router/Windows XP SP2 setup playing nothing but MP3s that I've ripped or downloaded myself. Sound is more than adequate; very nice to have the EQ, bass boost and other options. The radio through Live 365 and onboard storage capability are both more like toys than robust features, but I didn't buy this unit for these abilities. Biggest negative for me is the inability to scroll through folders more rapidly; would be nice to have a "skip 10/skip 100" feature or something along those lines so I wouldn't feel limited to playing music from playlists or artists that begin with an "A." But in all, this unit does what I want it to do -- play my music anywhere in my home or yard, without leaving me paranoid that my precious iPod will get misplaced or broken while we're entertaining. Hope to see Sony refine this product in a future iteration.

We bought this item thinking it'd be easy to set-up but that was far from the truth. After installing the server software I have been unable to get the Sony box to connect to anything on my network. I have pulled my hair out looking at Windows Vista (our OSes on our PCs) networking, WLAN security (802.1x WEP) and more and have yet to find a solution. I tried Sony help for 45 minutes but they also failed to assist me so I have been redirected to another phone # that I have to call. Ugh!!!!