IFA 07 Sony will next year kill off its Connect digital music download service, Register Hardware has learned. Its Walkman products will instead use Windows Media technology, the consumer electronics giant told its customers today.

Sony's decision is a tacit admission that the company has failed to match the success enjoyed by Apple's iTunes Music Store, and marks the Japanese giant's second major climbdown in the digital music player business.

Just over three years ago, in June 2004, Sony caved in to consumer demand and began equipping its digital music players with MP3 support, having favoured only its own, ATRAC audio format up to that point. Connect, however, continued to offer songs for download using the proprietary Sony music encoding technology.

Not for much longer, though. The North American and European Connect online stores close their virtual doors sometime after March 2008, Sony said. March is the final month of the company's current financial year, and it probably wants to get that out of the way before knocking Connect on the head. Beyond that, it didn't say when exactly each region's service will close.

Register Hardware IFA 07 stories

• Sony confirms Son of Connect
• Magazines go online in iTunes-esque move
• Sony rolls out roll-along music player
• Walkman completes Sony conspiracy to hammer iTunes
• Archos guns for Apple with iPod Nano-sized video player
• Garmin adds Google capability to 700 series
• Casio demos 'world's fastest-shooting' digicam
• Sharp shows off TVs, iPod hi-fis, Blu-ray player
• Cowon strikes at Archos with Wi-Fi media player
• Sony breaks out 'mass market' Blu-ray players
• Acer backs Blu-ray
• Philips untangles power cable spaghetti
• Philips shines light on Aurea LCD
• TomTom roadmaps new satnav kit
• Sony strides onward with Walkman range
• Samsung quietly serenades 'super 3G' music phone
• Casio enhances top-of-the-line digicam
• Daewoo demos 'Blu-ray Disc 2.0' player
• Sony admits Connect Player 1.0 music software 'problems'
• Sony offers iTunes-like PSP media tool
• Samsung preps digital music download service
• Sony turns to video to boost music service
• Sony US music service an 'embarrassment'
• Sony opens US music download store

Connect - once described as an "embarrasment" by the Washington Post - was launched in the US in May 2004, a year after Apple opened the iTunes Music Store.

Today it warned Connect customers to use up any of the service's money-off vouchers by that date.

No specific reason was given for the move, stating only "the decision to embrace a more open platform will enable us to provide [users] with a better music enjoyment experience". Customers will be pointed to the "very wide range of third-party services" operating today.

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