AtracLife, the Sony blog dedicated exclusively to the devices that can play the ill-fated codec, has grabbed a scoop on what Sony’s next flash-based player looks like and how it differs from all of the past ones.

So far the biggest change with the player is the ability to simply drag and drop your music files onto it, which is something that to me feels “not-Sony like”. As if that weren’t shocking enough, Sony’s own music format, the ATRAC will not be supported by this device.

There will also be FM variations of the device, just like in the past, and it will allow you to record whatever you want from the FM station at any time.

I would like to end the article saying something like: “Sony may have finally opened their eyes”, but given their past track record of breaking promises and products I’d rather not say anything at all and simply observe if they have really changed their ways, or are just looking for new ways to profit more, temporarily.