IEEE Spectrum Online has posted an article regarding It's all about the algorithm—but which 1 will win? Here's a snip.

Powerful alliances are being formed. & unlike many previous technology-related business battles, technology may actually be a significant factor in this 1. Consider Sony Corp.'s slick new music player, the NW-HD1. Praised for its compact size, long battery life, & clever touch-sensitive controller, the device nevertheless has been widely & bitterly criticized for its choice of compression algorithm: ATRAC3, a proprietary system used by Sony alone.

Would you like to know more? (http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/sep04/0904audio.html) Good, long read.