Is The slotMusic Card The Future of Digital Music?
SanDisk's new portable device, the Sansa slotMusic Player, uses a new physical format that it hopes will prove to be a hit with music fans. Instead of using one of the many online digital music services to download music, consumers will be able to purchase slotMusic cards that have albums preloaded on them. This will obviously appeal to people who prefer to purchase music on physical media like the compact disc, but will it have mass appeal?
There's no question that it will generate great interest from technophobes due to the fact that no computer, or Internet connection is needed, but it remains to be seen if consumers who purchase their music online will migrate to a physical format.
The Sansa slotMusic Player, which retails for only $20, decodes either MP3 or DRM-free WMA files from MicroSD cards. The player sports a MicroSDHC expansion slot and so you can use up to a 16Gb MicroSDHC card to play your existing DRM-free music. The Sansa slotMusic Player doesn't have a built-in re-chargeable battery but can run for up to 15 hours on one AAA battery.
As worldwide CD sales continue to fall due to the uptake of digital music, the major record labels will surely be marketing the new slotMusic format as the future replacement for the ageing compact disc. However, the MP3 player market is awash with budget flash-based players that have built-in rechargeable batteries and so it will be interesting to see in time if there is a significant uptake in slotMusic-based players.
For more information, why not read our Sansa slotMusic Player review.
Comments
I actually think this is a great idea. It is initially cheap and you don’t have to jam up your computer or burn discs for others or any of that. I hope it catches on.
jh
I imagine this thing will go the way of the minidisc, but cool idea.
I actually have an MP3 player that I bought from a discount grocery store for $10 that uses a card. Plus it has it’s own charging unit. I’m happy with it.
This wont catch on. Maybe if it had come out before the iTunes revolution, but no chance today. People want to get what they want immediatley. iTunes and other online music providers make that possible.
This is basically a cd, except you cant play it in many places like your car or your stereo(without a special attachment), and it’s smaller. The bad outweighs the good.