The
latest release from SanDisk - The Sansa slot music player is a unique music
player. SanDisk has made its come back in the MP3 player game with its latest
offering, the Sansa slotMusic player. The uniqueness of the player is in the
manner it stores the music. Unlike other mp3 players which have an inbuilt
storage space, SanDisk Sansa mp3 player comes with micro SD cards. The slotMusic
Player plays microSD cards which you can fill yourself or you can purchase with
DRM-free albums pre-loaded. Thereby, the Sansa slotMusic player does not require
a computer in order to transfer music. You can just purchase the slotMusic
albums on MicroSD cards, pop them into the player and away you go.It is a unique
idea that combines the old-fashioned "buying a record or CD” with the new
iPod-like way of listening to music.
The player is cigarette lighter sized, with a plastic cover and aluminum body. On the long edge, you find the Play/Pause button (which doubles as a power toggle button when held down for several seconds), flanked by next and previous track buttons. A small status LED is also located on this side of the player. On the top, you’ll find the volume adjustment buttons and a standard sized stereo earbud jack. The fact that the player uses a single AAA battery is remarkable. So you can just buy a pair of rechargable batteries and swap them out as needed after about 15 hours of playback without worrying about having to buy an expensive proprietary battery.
When
it comes to performance, the player performs the same as other music players out
there. The buttons are easy to press and have good tactile feedback. The only
"problem” with this player should be obvious - it doesn’t have a display… That
may or may not be a concern for some people. The other issue is that there isn’t
a way to shuffle the music or find a specific track. For that fact, if you copy
more music to the card, you have to use the prev and next tracks to find
specific songs.
Sansa is finally making some good moves in a tough music player market. The player is a real revolution in the mp3 player world and is a twist in the mp3 player game. Europe and the rest of the world will have to wait until 2009 to see a shadow of the slotMusic Player.