SanDisk Releases $20 slotMusic Player, Dozens of SD Card Albums

John Herrman — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:56:59 EDT

SanDisk's grand plan to revolutionize the music industry: selling individual albums preloaded onto SD cards, made by them, to be played on SD card players, made by them. The concept is definitely attractive in some ways. The tracks are 320Kbps, DRM-free MP3 files, the SD cards are reusable and the screenless slotMusic players costs next to nothing. Major label albums are priced at a competitive $15, and can be played without the need for transfer from a computer, though you can load other SD cards with up to 16GB of music and play them, too.

The problem with this set of advantages, though, is that they're shared with virtually every other physical format. You know, the ones that that have been careening towards extinction since high-capacity MP3 players made it big? That said, if it comes down to buying an album on a CD or a reusable SD card, the choice is clear. In either case the music is likely to be copied to a computer or iPod rather than lugged around on its own individual piece of plastic, but why not get a perfectly usable 1GB SD card out of it? If you're keeping your Discman spinning on account of scary sync software and the high price of overladen MP3 players, maybe SanDisk's minimalist $20 unit is right for you. Check below for the (respectable) artist release list. [SanDisk]

* ABBA
* Chris Brown
* Coldplay
* Connie Talbot
* Daughtry
* Don’t Quit Fitness Bundle
* Elvis Presley
* Five Finger Death Punch
* Jimi Hendrix
* Jimmy Buffet
* Katy Perry
* Keane
* Kelly Clarkson
* Kiss
* Leona Lewis
* Lynyrd Skynyrd
* Metro Station
* MIA
* Nelly
* New Kids On the Block
* Ne-Yo
* Nickelback
* Pussycat Dolls
* Rihanna
* Rise Against
* Robin Thicke
* Saving Abel
* Shwayze
* Solange
* Sugarland
* Tim McGraw
* Toby Keith
* Usher
* Weezer
* Young Jeezy

Sandisk Replaces CDs With SlotMusic MicroSDs With Big-Name MP3 Albums Aboard

Kit Eaton — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:56:00 EDT

Sandisk's slotMusic cards are not much more than tweaked 1GB microSD cards with a logo and a special USB-compatible sled: but the fact that they'll carry albums from big names like BMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group makes them interesting. They'll also be DRM free too, which is a pleasant surprise. It's an attempt to change the way some people buy MP3s—you'll get a card you can slot into your cellphone or PC with high-quality MP3s (up to 320kbps), artwork, videos and such, which you can also reuse as a 1GB memory card later, and that's kinda handy.

It's impossible to say how these'll work in the market where instant and convenient downloads are a click away, since you'll have to either buy one in a physical store, or purchase them online and wait for them to come in the mail.

But you can guess that downloading market is why the music biz is trying to grab back control of at least some of their music sales. There's no official data on pricing, but word is it'll compare to existing CD albums, and a list of titles will hit in time for the holiday season. [SlotMusic]

Gizmodo: sandisk slotmusic sd-card albums

SanDisk Releases $20 slotMusic Player, Dozens of SD Card Albums

Sandisk Replaces CDs With SlotMusic MicroSDs With Big-Name MP3 Albums Aboard