Sony announced this week that its future digital music players will – get this – support MP3s. Until now, Sony’s devices stubbornly required that songs adhere to the company’s own ATRAC3 format.

What took Sony so long to get with the times?

It’s amazing how slow some of these companies are to respond to change. I remember getting a Sony MiniDisc player as a gift a few years ago and wondering how long that format would last in light of the tidal, MP3 wave. And now, thanks to the iPod’s ascension into pop legendary, Sony’s finally getting into the game. Will anyone care? My guess is that it’s too little too late. The iPod rose to power because, more than many other digital music players, it gave consumers what they wanted: sleek, versatile portability. And it’s going to be tough for any company, even Sony, to knock it from its perch.