Posted on Thursday, October 16 2008 @ 1:52 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
SanDisk debuts a cheap music player designed for the new
slotMusic cards - the Sansa slotMusic Player retails for just $19.99 and artist-branded versions are available for $34.99. It's cheap but doesn't really have many features.
The plug & play, portable music player was specially designed for use with the new slotMusic cards available today in the United States. In addition to the Sansa-branded player, SanDisk has created personalized, branded slotMusic players for popular artists such as Robin Thicke and ABBA. Both types of slotMusic Players are shipping to U.S. stores today – including Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
The Sansa slotMusic Player (MSRP $19.99) was made to play slotMusic card albums or a self-loaded microSD™ card full of music. The effortless player doesn’t require a PC, Internet or any time spent managing music. Consumers simply choose their slotMusic or music-filled microSD card, pop it into the device and will be enjoying their favorite tunes in seconds.
The unique, artist-branded slotMusic Player is a stylish, all-in-one package, which includes both the slotMusic card and a trendy player bearing their favorite artist’s name and image. The branded player comes pre-loaded with an album on a 1GB1slotMusic card. (Additional content on the card may include liner notes, album art and other one-of-a-kind content personally chosen by the artist.) Artist-branded slotMusic players will retail for a MSRP of $34.99.
Announced last month, slotMusic is a new format of high-fidelity, DRM-free MP3 music on a microSD card, which gives consumers the ability to easily listen to—and quickly swap—their favorite songs among a mobile phone, personal computer, and any MP3 player with a microSD slot. slotMusic cards available this month will feature nearly 40 of the biggest names in music from all four major music labels: EMI Music, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. Artists on slotMusic cards include Robin Thicke, Katy Perry and Coldplay. (Media note: see associated press release.)
“With no need for computers or cords, the Sansa slotMusic Player gives consumers more time to play, and less time to worry about managing or downloading their music,” said Daniel Schreiber, senior vice president and general manager for SanDisk. “SanDisk is all about building products that are easy for consumers to enjoy. Just insert your favorite artist’s slotMusic card into the Sansa slotMusic player and press play.”
Perfect for those on the go, the small device can easily be tucked in a pocket or purse, with a weight of a little over two ounces and dimensions of 2.75” W x 1.4375” H x 1.4375” D.
SanDisk has also developed a special line of Sansa slotMusic Player accessories, including a Sansa Card Wallet, an armband, and additional slotMusic player “shells” for customizing a player to one’s own tastes.
In addition to slotMusic cards, this convenient MP3 player can play songs from any microSD card with music encoded as MP3 and WMA (DRM-free only) files. The industry leader in flash memory cards, SanDisk is currently selling microSD cards in a range of capacity with up to an astounding 16GB of capacity. 16GB can hold up to 4,000 MP3 songs.
The Sansa-branded players ship with a customizable black shell, earphones and battery. The new Sansa slotMusic Player, both Sansa-branded (without cards) and artist-branded (including cards), is expected to be available from retailers in Europe and other regions of the world in 2009.
