Sony "miscalculated" with its line of Walkman-branded digital media devices, a line that failed to meet initial internal targets, according to Sony President Ryoji Chubachi. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Mr. Chubachi told reporters that Sony planned to introduce new devices that were more "Sony-like" than earlier offerings in its efforts to take market share from Apple's iPod.

"We want to come out with products that are Sony-like," he said. "Some parts may be similar [to the iPod], where that makes sense. But we want them to be products that are uniquely Sony."

To that effect, the Journal noted that Sony has introduced a variety of new flash memory-based devices in Japan that are small and can be plugged directly into the computer like an iPod shuffle, but with more colors, more memory, and batteries that can support as much as three hours of play with only three minutes of charging. Longer charges offer longer play times than the shuffle.

Mr. Chubachi claimed that those devices, which were introduced in Japan earlier in 2006, have exceeded the company's goals, but declined to offer details on when his company would release them outside of the U.S.

It's also notable that Mr. Chubachi said the Walkman line was intended to be a key product in Sony's efforts to rebuild itself after years of declines. To that end, it failed to win significant market share, leaving Apple as the kind of the digital media device market with the iPod.