I don't know if I would characterize it as a misstep.
People are buying these new HiDef, portable players. All these companies (not just Sony) wouldn't be jumping into this if the buyers didn't exist.
If they make money selling this stuff, all the power to them is my motto.
That said, I personally demo'd the
NW-ZX1 for a few days. Solid unit, fantastic playback of the FLAC format and built like a beast.
Problem is, I'm not all that demanding of my digital sources - my LG G3 has 128 GB microSD with all the music I want to carry.
And my phone plays FLAC too and does it with a way newer - and upgradeable - Android version.
Even at $600 bucks, these Sony's or the Neil Young Pono Player, are too expensive in my book. But that hardly makes them junk or stupid.