• The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, September 11, 2007 12:30 PM

Sony is introducing the palm-size Rolly digital-music player--a small egg-shaped player that spins, flashes lights and jiggles like a robot. It has two small speakers, but no outlet for headphones.

Rolly looks a little like an iPod-compatible device called Miuro, which was unveiled last year by Japanese robot company ZMP. But Sony's device--which will be priced at about $350--is lighter, more compact and less than half the cost. Its one big drawback may be that it isn't compatible with Apple computers or music downloaded from Apple's iTunes.

Sony has kept the Rolly under wraps. It took the unusual step of introducing a teaser campaign on the Internet to build buzz. A Japanese-language blog, run by Sony, featured mysterious video clips that emphasized the device's concepts such as dance, surprise and design.

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