BenQ's new MusiQ has sights on shuffle crown

While apparently this BenQ MusiQ player has been making the rounds in China for a little while now, it's the first we heard of it, and we're definitely impressed. While the diminutive player might not be quite as tiny as the iPod shuffle, not to mention the fact that Apple is about the only company that seems to be able to get away with producing a screen-less player anymore, the addition of a microSD slot sure is quite the feat. We're also kind of digging the neck chain headphone cord integration (peep the pictures after the break) -- even if it is a wee bit shiny. Unfortunately, the built-in memory is a mere 512MB, though microSD does alleviate that concern a bit. The player is currently available for 688 HKD, about $88.50 US. Click on for a bunch action shots.

[Via The MP3 Players]

[ANDRE R. @ Dec 1st 2006 4:01PM]

This thing is nice, the shuffle is also nice but I think I would buy this before the shuffle but seeing that its not rocking atleast 1gb ill have to pass, even with the micro sd addon feature...but im really filling the dog tag look. hopefully they'll bump the memory specs.

[Andrew @ Dec 1st 2006 4:04PM]

That's the World Trade Center wreckage in the background of that site -- to promote an MP3 player. I'm boycotting BenQ. That's disgusting.

[Christopher Phillips @ Dec 1st 2006 4:58PM]

HERE'S A BRIDGE, GET OVER IT!!

What a pathetic reason to "boycott" a product/company.

[Karl @ Dec 1st 2006 4:46PM]

woa! since when did the WTC have cathedral-like arches?

And I must have missed the alien spaceships searching the WTC wreckage. It seems CNN left out a pretty darn big part from their coverage. Together with the deep red sun.

[Variblex @ Dec 1st 2006 4:04PM]

music makes hope?....

must be something loss in translation or something..


cool though ..cool 'dog tag' idea

thought i would have to hack a shuffle for more mem but guess this would be way easier

[cjrenaud @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:36PM]

- music makes hope?....
- must be something loss in translation or something..

Kinda like "Welcome to the social"?

[nick @ Dec 1st 2006 4:10PM]

Yeah, China marketing really has to bump up their english translation. Even the dollar store item packages are a perennial joke segment because of its poor english.

"I belive"... I can't believe their marketing department didn't catch the wrong spelling...

But, I'm with Variblex on this one. It's definitely a cool look and I would definitely buy it.. just get it to 1GB and I'll be the first customer.

(nicholas)
http://www.tingog.com

[Matt @ Dec 1st 2006 4:36PM]

I belive music and you

I belive in Stilton and a fine Bordeaux, but I haven't taken a pair of compasses to my mp3 player to declare it.

[Dave Pevsner @ Dec 1st 2006 4:37PM]

the headphone extension in the chain is pretty cool. so is the brushed finish and memory expansion slot.

but the price is kinda outrageous for a half gigabyte of storage.

[Jose @ Dec 1st 2006 4:39PM]

I agree with Andrew. That's ridiculous to use that image for any type of marketing promotion. Engadget should remove the picture from the post.

[LJKelley @ Dec 1st 2006 4:42PM]

Nice, I would consider getting If I already didn't have an MP3 player. Should be 1GB though...

"I don't believe you know me,
Though you know my name.
I don't believe the faults I have
Are only mine to blame
I don't believe that magic,
Is only in the mind
I don't believe i'd love somebody
Just to pass the time..

But I believe in you
And I believe in you

I don't believe that beauty,
Will ever be replaced
I don't believe a masterpiece
Could ever match your face
The joker's always smiling
In every hand thats dealt
I dont believe that when you die
Your presence isnt felt

But I believe in you
And I believe in you
But I believe in you
And I believe in you

And if you ever have to go away
Nothing in my world could ever be the same
Nothing lasts for ever, but together til then
I'll give you everything I have again and again

'Cause I believe In you, I believe In,
I Believe in you, I Believe in,
I Believe in you, I believe in,
I believe in you, I Believe in.

'Cause I believe in you
And I believe in you
But I believe in you
And I believe in you

I believe in you, I Believe in
I believe in you, I Believe in
I believe in you, I Believe in
I believe in you, I Believe in

I believe, I believe, I believe in you...." - Kylie Minogue's "I Beleive In You"

[LJKelley @ Dec 1st 2006 4:51PM]

You didn't see it on CNN?? Well... I know it was on "Fair and Balanced"

What made anyone think it was the WTC? They just had to find an excuse to hate the product...

[Marc-O @ Dec 1st 2006 4:52PM]

Umm, Karl ? http://images.google.com/images?q=WTC%20ruins

[Jose @ Dec 1st 2006 4:55PM]

http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/canada-magazine/issue14/site/images/fromGroundZero_ruins-fr.jpg

It's not archs its the exoskeleton shell of the WTC.

[Marc-O @ Dec 1st 2006 4:55PM]

LJKelley, before almost stopping short of calling people idiots... It's obviously this piece of the WTC ruins, only the picture is horizontally flipped. http://navyvets.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/thumb_010913-n-1350w-003.jpg

[Jose @ Dec 1st 2006 5:02PM]

I actually really liked the product and would have liked a 1GB version of it, but to use a picture of the WTC after the attacks its just ridiculous.

[Marc-O @ Dec 1st 2006 4:56PM]

(or actually more likely photographed from the other side)

[Murfo @ Dec 1st 2006 4:58PM]

Found some more pics of this player(actually players, because there are a women and a men's version of this one). Also from the in-ear headset which is included.

Posted the pics at my little website, so feel free to check them out at:

http://www.murfo.com/random/benq-musiq-mp3-player/

[BOYCOTT BENQ @ Dec 1st 2006 5:01PM]

The image IS of the World Trade Center bombing. BenQ should be ASHAMED.

Who ever thinks it's not, do some Googling first.

Engadget, remove the image and story at once. Don't post BenQ PR. Do the right thing for ONCE.

[Ben @ Dec 1st 2006 8:47PM]

"do the right thing for ONCE"

Wow, if you think engadget does the wrong thing so often why are you still reading the blog? Amazing.

[LJKelley @ Dec 1st 2006 5:03PM]

Not every ruins in the world is the WTC!! It could be alot of things, it could be a total photoshop made up image. I doubt BenQ would go out of their way to offend you (though I wouldn't mind). Those of you getting offended deserve to offended...

And, even if it is the WTC, the message is the MUSIC BRINGS HOPE. I couldn't agree more, when I'm down I listen to music and music can bring hope.

[Jose @ Dec 1st 2006 5:06PM]

@Christopher Phillips

2973 people died that day because of the attacks. To use an image that resulted from those attacks in a marketing campaign for an MP3 player is just obscene. If you had friends or family members die in the Holocaust or a war you wouldn't want thier image or images from the war used to sell anything.

[Christopher Phillips @ Dec 1st 2006 6:29PM]

It's *YOUR* choice if you want to be offended by such an image so don't try pawn your own hangups off on BenQ.

Yes it's horrible what happened, however are we all going to play the victim and cry "Woe is me, how could they offend me by using such a picture?!"

If you want to sit back and cry because you feel offended, go ahead but don't then blame it on someone else.

I personally prefer to draw strength from the past and use these examples as a reason to learn and grow not only as an individual but as a human being.

[CTG @ Dec 1st 2006 5:23PM]

I can't believe BenQ would attempt to rape our country in such a fashion.

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/

[NeoteriX @ Dec 1st 2006 5:26PM]

Just curious, is there actually any evidence this is a photo from 9/11?

[Marc-O @ Dec 1st 2006 5:41PM]

Neoterix, check out the picture I posted earlier... Same piece of the ruins, from another angle. It's obvious it's the same part.

[NuttyBars @ Dec 1st 2006 5:38PM]

Karl,
The base always had arches.

http://www.davidm.net/photo/images/wtc/wtcBase.jpg

They didn't stand out as prominently when they were below a pair of buildings.

[Andrew @ Dec 1st 2006 6:19PM]

It's the WTC site. It's being used to promote an MP3 player. I don't care what the messaging is -- the bottom line is that they're using the event to sell a product. Offensive.

But seeing as this is Engadget and not Gawker or something...

If I could manage to ignore the marketing -- and admittedly I can't -- the product's design alone is pretty sweet. But you could only pull that sort of fashion off if you were a 15-year-old Harajuku kid.

[jeff Foster @ Dec 1st 2006 6:47PM]

"I personally prefer to draw strength from the past and use these examples as a reason to learn and grow not only as an individual but as a human being."

and what exactly does selling cheap chinese mp3 players have to do with growing as a human being?

you're totally missing the point. I, at least, am not OFFENDED, but that doesn't mean it's not a tasteless and callous marketing move.

How about i kill your family, and then 6 weeks later try and sell you a toothbrush with a poster of your dead and dying family with the slogan "Your Family is Dead. Buy a Toothbrush!" - i know that's a little extreme, but that's the issue. not something you can simplify down to a bogus "you chose to get offended because you're a pussy" remark.

oh - and $20 says you didn't personally know anyone who died in the WTC.

[CTG @ Dec 1st 2006 6:39PM]

I've never felt so violated.

http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/

[jeff Foster @ Dec 1st 2006 6:50PM]

CTG: I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to do by adding the shuffle link below your half-assed comment... My guess is you're pretend to be an apple fanboy in a silly attempt to make apple fanboys look even more retatded than they already are...

whatever it is that you're doing, shut the fuck up, you're annoying.

[Dan @ Dec 1st 2006 7:00PM]

I agree with those who think that BenQ's use of photos of the remains of the WTC as a background is pretty poor taste. I don't want to do business with a company that is that far off track.

[Sergio @ Dec 1st 2006 7:24PM]

Oh please, come off it. You guys are looking way too much into the image.

All I see is "music brings hope" and there is ruins of a building which was probably photoshopped in, and the dude is listening to his mp3 player. Big ****ing deal.

[dlskier @ Dec 1st 2006 7:26PM]

They can't translate from Chinese to English yet you expect them to be able to identify a piece of stock photography as a portion of wreckage on a building 6000 miles away, who knows if they ever saw the full buildings let alone the wreckage with the amount of control the government has on their media. Get a grip.

[J. @ Dec 1st 2006 7:27PM]

Honestly, I could care less about the player featured...What amazes me is how completely appalled some of you are over the picture in the Ad for the thing when you DON'T EVEN KNOW what the f**king building looks like in the first place! Jesus christ, the AD even says "music brings HOPE"! Not "Haha, silly american dogs, your building falls because you not buy our electronics!"


Seriously, get over it. If not, try to know something about what you're "standing up" for.

[Mr. Picklesworth @ Dec 1st 2006 8:13PM]

Dangerous ad campaign or not, I think this MP3 player looks very ugly.

Maybe I've been biased by minimalistic designs, but I can't say I find an MP3 player very attractive when it is smothered in slogans and logos, and when it looks like a piece of pretentious jewellery. Wouldn't it have looked nicer had they just put on a nice metal case and left it at that?

I honestly would have been pretty interested in this little MP3 player had it not been for the 'ugly jewellery' style.

[jiggabyte @ Dec 1st 2006 9:14PM]

So... using WTC imagery is bad when you're selling an MP3 player, but it's fine when you're selling conservative politics?

[Ryan Capp @ Dec 1st 2006 9:39PM]

For those who are in doubt about the ruins in the background. It's a photograph from Ground Zero Ironworker Ira Sapir, although I can't find the unaltered image (even though I've seen it thousands of times). I don't really have time to go looking for it either. Therefore, maybe someone else could assist in doing so.

By the way, it looks like they took the image (probably without consent too) and mirrored/color balanced/leveled it, with some other miscellaneous crap added in.

Here's an art piece utilizing the image:

http://www.ca911memorial.org/test.jpg

[Jake @ Dec 2nd 2006 1:55AM]

wow I REALLY like the design and the low price cost, but if it was only 1GB I would buy it without a doubt im going to wait to see if they come out with a bigger model.

[Greyzzz @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:28AM]

You are right that is the WTC wreckage! WTF were they thinking. They need to take that ad down and fire who ever did that!

[Scott @ Dec 2nd 2006 10:37AM]

All of you that say get over it, or make other excuses claiming that it's not so bad to use the image are obviously not from the New York area, were not directly affected by the towers falling. If that is the case-take a second to think about the situation. Thousands died, Millions WERE directly affected. You have no idea what it's like to go through that sort of fear and loss - to see pictures of thousands of people taped everywhere from family and friends looking for their missing loved ones.
Also, the building in the photo IS absolutely from the WTC wreckage. Using human suffering on this scale to benifit financially is just cold - plenty of US companies did it too but I can't think of one as blatant as this. I'll never buy a BenQ product.

[chenry @ Dec 2nd 2006 11:11AM]

that's actually kind of a cool mp3 player.

[Alex @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:22PM]

It's just an ad, why do people feel entitled to be offended? I'm aware of the deaths and sorrow that this particular incident brought, but come on, you people have to accept it and not censor it.

There are far more important things to boycott you know, ever heard of cigarrettes?

[THEKorean @ Dec 4th 2006 10:11PM]

stop being a bunch of douche bags and post something useful like where i can buy or import one of these

[Junnyboiiiiii @ Dec 6th 2006 9:44PM]

what are u guys talking about the message is music brings HOPE how the hell are you people offended? I could not think of a better picture to depict hope than the WTC event. If theres anything that the WTC should be brought next to is hope. Think before you start bringing out statistics for no reason. They arent "using" the WTC as a marketing technique. They are simply following a theme and that theme,a theme which the WTC belongs in, is hope.

[ira @ May 14th 2007 4:44PM]

I took this picture the on Sept.14th,2001. I went in the night of the 11th and remained part of the effort for 10 days. I am not offended by the use because the message is relevant. But the photo was copyrighted and there is infringement.