Apparently it came out a couple of months ago, but I just ran across “SlotMusic” in stores a couple of days ago… and have to wonder why Sandisk and the major labels have invested in yet another format that doesn’t seem to answer pressing consumer needs.
In brief, the “SlotMusic” format is a prerecorded 1 gig microSD card, which can be played in Sandisk “SlotMusic” players, most phones and mp3 players with microSD slots, and computers (through (micro-)SD media slot or by USB adaptor). It’s not a novel idea-- Disney has released several albums on MMC card, and released special players that specifically handled those cards, and there have been prerecorded USB thumb drives here and there-- but it’s the first time I’ve seen one of these concepts marketed as a cross-label universal format.
Pros:
[ul]
[li]The mp3s stored on the card are DRM-free, which makes for easy ripping.[/li][li]The pocket players are cheap ($20), and play normal microSD cards, which makes me want to pick one up to use as a cheap mp3 player, since I have a few unused high-capacity microSD cards laying around already.[/li][li]The media format already has wide penetration; the first thing I thought when I saw the cards was “huh, my phone could play that.” (Second thing I thought: “This reminds me of PlayTape.”) [/li][/ul]
Cons:
[ul]
[li]Each album is ~$15, more than the CD version in most cases, and more than digital downloads.[/li][li]The mp3s are lossy, despite the fact that the card on which the album is stored has enough room for lossless versions; the cheaper CD has higher sound quality.[/li][li]The cards themselves are only 1 gig-- Sandisk is touting the fact that each card is reusable, and has room for the user’s own files even if you don’t erase the original music, but 1 gig is relatively small as far as solid-state memory devices go anymore.[/li][li]While their small size allows a modicum of portability, they’re so small that they are easily lost-- one of the nice things of normal mp3 players is that you can store all of your music in one unit, without teeny bits of removable media to misplace, leave in pockets and accidentally launder, accidentally vacuum up, etc.[/li][li]The standards as to what is to be included on each card are lax… they tout that the cards can contain cover art, liner notes, videos, etc., but there is no guarantee that they will have anything besides the basic mp3 tracks.[/li][/ul]
Overall, the format seems to be aimed at folks who use want to use mp3s, but don’t have access to the internet to download (legally or otherwise) their tracks of choice. That already seems a little limiting, and then looking at the current small roster of artists on the format, it seems to be targeting younger people-- current R&B, dance, etc.-- who as a whole tend to be even less likely to be members of that want-mp3s-and-no-internet demographic.
Anyone here seen these, have thoughts on them, or know people who like the idea?