Lenovo Easy Cube M500 SD MP3 player

Sure, at first glance Lenovo's Easy Cube M500 MP3/WMA player looks a little like MobiBlu's infamous DAH-1500, but that's only before you check out the scale. While MobiBlu's offering still battles for the oft-contested crown of world's smallest digital audio player, the Easy Cube is a bit bulkier, at about 2.75-inches per side. That added bulk gives it room for an SD slot and speaker. There's no display or internal storage, and we can only imagine what kind of glorious sound emanates from that 2-inch speaker, but it's only $50, which is less than some other display-free SD-based players that don't have the Easy Cube's good looks or built-in speaker (though we're still not convinced there's a real need for any display-free SD players at any price).
[Via The MP3 Players]

[tekdemon @ Mar 21st 2006 11:20AM]

Err...how is this cheaper than the Delkin? The Delkin that's priced at $109 comes with a 1GB SD card, and the post you linked to also mentions the $50 Delkin that comes with a 256MB card...

So seeing as how I see no mention of this player coming with any SD card at all, I don't see where you're getting this "cheaper" claim from.

Come on engadget, you could at least read your own articles correctly.

[Marc Perton @ Mar 21st 2006 11:48AM]

This is cheaper than the Delkin models, none of which come with speakers (though they do come with SD cards). I really don't think any of these are such a great deal, but Delkin has four different models in its lineup, and this is cheaper than all of them -- albeit only marginally cheaper than the 256 MB model, which has an MSRP of $54.99, vs this one's $49.68 at current exchange rates.

[Matthew Smith @ Mar 21st 2006 12:39PM]

In theory, this could be a great example of the �cheap and innovative� marketplace that seems to be all-overlooked these days. Assuming this little guy could pump a similar level of audio that your average notebook could; I can foresee a great number of uses for it. A single 2� driver may not be �ideal� for music (and might actually be quite painful), but for audio books and pod casts, I can just see one of these sitting on my bedside table, or �out� and around in a world I may not trust to my $300 ipod. Look at it like a cheap pair of sunglasses � for a DAP, its semi-disposable, which means that you�re not all that hesitant about throwing it in a bag and taking it with you, or all that worried about getting sand and beer all over it.

Plus, I�m fairy sure Orwell wrote of a �small, white box emitting the musings of Ann Coulter�, which in practice could be brilliantly creepy.

Add a small clock/alarm to this thing, and you�ve got a winner here Lenovo.

[Morten @ Mar 21st 2006 1:06PM]

It's stupid to make an MP3 player cubic. I've had the mobiblu and it is TERRIBLE in the pocket of a pair of jeans. It definetely doesn't feel like one of the smallest mp3 player. I don't like the whole concept of "as long as it's different, we do not care about useability". AN MP3 PLAYER NEEDS TO BE FLAT.

[Luigi @ Mar 21st 2006 3:38PM]

How about learning the meaning of the word "infamous?"

[Jimtac @ Mar 23rd 2006 7:26AM]

This would be handy for people that use SD card based voice recorders, such as college students, or reporters. Since most SD based recorders don't have speakers, a little player like this would be great for voice quality playback that can just sit on your desk or next to your laptop, so you can type while listening.