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