Rating: 
Summary: Everything I'd Hoped For
Review: I have a large CD collection as well as quite a few MP3s on my computer. This player lets me directly rip CDs to a minidisk, or upload them to my pc and rip them (along with MP3s) in half the time. You'd think it would be inconvenient having to flip through that much music, but the players group and bookmark functions make it easy to find the songs I'm looking for. Some of the software is a little complicated, but it's nothing anyone with moderate tech abilities couldn't figure out. The player also works with RealOne Player, which is extremely easy to use and doesn't require you to "check-out" MP3s. It also has very good battery life, fits easily into my pocket/purse, and sounds excellent. Definitely everything I'd hoped for.
Rating:
Summary: This is a GREAT MD player!!
Review: I have been thinking of getting an mp3 player for a long time. I...so I looked into Sony Net MD players. WOW! They were really cool, and inexpensive. Unlike hard drive based mp3 players minidisc players can never run out of memory. All you have to do is buy more minidiscs at about [$$$] for 1. The 610 comes with a great remote that lets you control the player while it's in your pocket. The remote also has an LCD so you can see what song your playing, battery life etc. Also, alot of people talk about the software that comes with the Net MDs, well it's been fixed, kinda. Instead of using Open MG, it comes with Sonic Stage software. It's much better but it still makes you check in/check out your music. Its not too much of a hassle though. There are plenty of different model Net MD players, but I chose the 610 because it looked good, had a remote and a fm/am radio. All around it's pretty easy to use if you know your basics about computers and you know how to read. Also the transfers are really fast. I transfered 14 mp3s in about 3 or 4 minutes.
If your looking for a good inexpensive way to carry around your music collection this is it! I love it!
Rating:
Summary: Solutions
Review: I haven't had trouble transferring MP3s more than three times using Sony software because, well...shhhh: (all you have to do is rename the MP3 file). This would be a pain if I were mass producing hundreds of minidiscs, but if you wanted to give away a few extra copies to friends, renaming the MP3 file with a _01 suffix is straightforward.The Sony software takes about a week to get used to. It has glitches but it works on my machine; it's awkward using it because it has too many different ways to view files. I've read about people having trouble on older PC hardware/OSes, so check the net reviews before you buy. The file conversion problem the reviewer preceding me describes is due to seek/scan/write error by the disc player. This unit weighs almost nothing. If you examine this unit the extremely sexy metal shell is not stiff enough to fully protect the internal mechanism from deformation stress. I learned this from my previous MD player when it started to skip around from track to track. This was after I carried it in my jeans back pocket for two months. My previous player lasted a year of harsh physical abuse. The shear stress on the lid caused misalignment of the lens. To prevent this problem, carry the player in a rigid box like those boxes for 3.5-inch diskettes. It doesn't increase the form factor much. I've been using this method for the past 10 months and my current player works fine. The unit does fine resisting "normal" vibration as with jogging or walking. You really can't damage this unit by dropping it, as you might with an Ipod, but you can "squeeze it broke" if you sit on it. Note that the TV receiver only pulls in channels 2 to 13, so you won't get the full range like you might with regular TV-radios. At first I thought the attached remote would be a pain, but it actually makes using the unit convenient. The included headphones are schlocky. If you get a high end Sennheiser headphone set, sound quality is excellent. The real attraction of these units is they allow you to copy at full CD quality. The minidiscs can hold up to 1.5 CDs of music at CD quality. With track editing software, you can load up to 24 of your favorite CD tracks per minidisc at full quality which is much much better than MP3. I don't think you can do this with MP3 players.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Purchase
Review: I heard about Minidiscs a few years ago, but was put off by the real time recording and expensive prices. This player/recorder however, is part of a new generation of Minidisc players called "NetMD". NetMD allows you to download music files from your computer to the MD Player with a USB cable. To transfer one song, it takes literally seconds, while a whole album can be transferred in a minute or two. When I purchased this player in July/August, I had also considered purchasing the Creative MUVO or an Appple Ipod. I chose MD for a few reasons. The MUVO wasn't upgradeable in terms of storage capacity. Other MP3 players are, but simply upgrading 64 or 128 MB is very costly. You'll get more music for your money with MD. You can get a blank MD for about $2 and then put either 80, 160, or 320 (I think) minutes of music depending on the compression you use. I have been told that the LP2 compression is similar to a 128 kps mp3; with LP2 compression, you get about 160 minutes of music, which is enough to store 2 albums easily. As far as the Ipod is concerned, the NF610 is much cheaper. Also, the 300 dollar Ipod lacks many accessories that the 400 dollar one includes, so if you look at it that way, the NF610 is half the price. I originally thought I would buy this player and only use one Minidisc. Since then, I have about 10. I use the NF610 to record my cds onto MDS. I like having several albums of one artist on one MD. It's also nice to carry an additional MD when traveling/walking/etc. Some people have also complained about the OpenMG/Sonic Stage software. It is true that it is somewhat confusing (and annoying, given the weird check-in/check-out system). I have recently started using RealOne Player, which supports Sony Music Devices (including NetMD!). RealOne is free for download. I use RealOne to copy all my CDS to high-quality MP3 on my computer. Then RealOne allows me to select tracks and write them onto Minidisc. It's a breeze, fun, and very simple. As far as the unit itself, I really like the blue color that the NF610 has. The remote is not as big as other reviews make it. It's small enough to where I can put it on my belt loop and thumb through my music; it's not easily noticeable with a shirt over it. I would say it may be big compared to other LCD remotes, but not by much. The radio is nice and can get good reception. I would say the unit is solidly built and after a few months use, still looks brand new.
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Summary: Cant Wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I just ordered this miny disc player the other day and am so excited for when it will get here. I cant wait from all of the hours and hours of research of countless products this miny disc2me is the best for the price and not only that the best you can buy. I am also glad that this is a sony minydisc cus of the fact that i own many sony products and i have not had any complaints WUTSOEVER .
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but only for little while
Review: I liked this for a while, but suddenly the software stopped working and I cannot seem to fix it. I had a different MD player also from Sony and it broke, but I always had pretty good luck with Sony stuff so I bought this one. As of yet I have heard nothing from Sony on what the fix might be.
Rating:
Summary: I Love This player!!!!!!!!!
Review: I ordered this player about a week ago and just got today.... and already i have all my favorite songs transfered to this player. Its si easy the soft ware is so simple that even i can use it. Well cant talk anymore i got to download some more songs and put them all on a disc.
Rating:
Summary: Remote guaranteed to break
Review: I purchased the MZ-NF610 in Sept. '03, and loved it when I got it. It's a great combination of MD player and radio, which is great for people like me who like to switch back and forth without having to carry two units. My opinion changed dramatically this week, however. The radio function on the remote stopped working completely, and unfortunately that is the only way to control the radio. I lost a major portion of the unit's funcationality. I called Sony to see what could be done. Just a short 60 minutes later (note the sarcasm), they wanted to charge me $93 in labor to "fix" (e.g. send me a new one) the remote since it is no longer under the labor portion of the warranty. That's over half the cost for a brand new whole unit (including the base!). I asked what the price for a new/replacement remote would be and found out it's $109! These guys must be kidding! I've been pretty brand loyal to Sony over the years but no more. I saw another review on Amazon detailing the same problem with the remote, which leads me to believe that this is a systemic quality issue. Yet Sony refuses to stand behind their product. If you're considering buying this product, please take this as a warning. You'll be happy with it at first, but there is a large probability the remote will break on you. Sony used to stand for unquestionable quality and customer service in my mind, but not anymore. Apparantly, they're no longer concerned about the consumer once they make the sale. Spend your money on a more reliable product.
Rating:
Summary: A Fine Device
Review: I received my 610 for my bithday back in early July of 2003. Ever since, it's been a favorite electronic device of mine, averaging about 1-2 hours of listening each day for these past 8+ months. First of all, the cons. The most immediate negative aspect is the headphones, which are stiff, and they pinch your hair. They are merely nothing more than "stock" headphones just included with the product. Fortunately, good earphones and headphones are easy and cheap to buy these days. Also, the remote control is a nice sleek little gadget, but the weatherband and tv rarely get signals, and the FM radio too often have trouble getting clear receptions. The software that comes with this seems to have too much enhancing features. They would be much better off if they'd just focus on getting the job done. Finally, if you're buying this to record stuff and then transfer onto a computer, don't. While you can record onto minidiscs with a digital mic, federal law prohibits transfering these files onto computers out of fear for music piracy, so the sony-610 doesn't have this function. Now, the Pros. The Sony 610, as you would expect, plays smooth and with an impressively good sound. It is easy to use and certainly very attractive to the eye. The transfering of files onto minisdiscs are rather easy and though contrasting what I've previously stated about the software, can be a quick process even on more slow computers. Though my review focuses on many negative points, this still gets a rating of 4/5.
Rating:
Summary: gets the job done
Review: i recently owned a creative labs nomad jukebox zen. the mz - nf610 is a much lighter and battery effifient product. I have owned it for about 1 month and recharged 2 (never fully run out of batteries yet) the discs dont hold as much an mp3 but are easy to switch and can hold about 3 full cds at basically cd quality (LP2) Lacks a backlit lcd but has not been a problem yet. For almost $200 less than the zen, ipods and other similar products, the mz nf610 or other minidisc players are fully worth it.
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