Sony Set To Spring "iPod Killer' Into Competitive Music Player Market; Will Sell For Less Than $400; Consumer electronics giant could be biggest challenge to leader Apple Computer.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: PATRICK SEITZ

Apple Computer dominates the market for portable music players with its iPod devices. But it could face its toughest competition yet, and from consumer electronics giant Sony.

Sony is expected Thursday to unveil its answer to Apple's iPod. Like Apple, Sony will sell a palm-sized device that uses a small hard-disk drive to store thousands of songs.

Sony will sell its device under its Walkman brand. The product will be closely tied to Sony's Connect music download service, just as iPod is linked to Apple's iTunes service.

"Sony is a worthy competitor to anybody. You can't take them lightly," said Tim Bajarin, president of consulting firm Creative Strategies. But Sony has an uphill climb ahead. "It will take a lot to unseat the iPod," he said. "The iPod is by far the best system out there."

Apple has faced other formidable foes since it debuted iPod in November 2001. But none of them have been able to stop Apple's momentum in the digital music business. Apple has sold more than 3 million iPods. It launched its iTunes online music store in January 2001.

But Apple has a target on its back. Rivals such as Dell, iRiver, Microsoft, Toshiba and Samsung all have been touting "iPod killers." A Google search for "iPod killer" comes up with 22,000 matches from news stories and Web logs.