Dell prepping a SideShow-enabled MP3 player?

If Microsoft has its way, you won't be able to pick up a digital thermometer next year that's not powered by its widget-tastic SideShow middleware. Therefore, even though Dell dropped out of the portable audio game this past summer, rumors that the company is working with Redmond on a SideShow-enabled MP3 player do in fact seem fairly plausible. According to Cnet's Jasmine France, the buzz around Microsoft headquarters during the final week of December was focused on just such a device, which is said to sport media capabilities along with wireless connectivity. If these rumblings do end up panning out, Dell would have a somewhat unique product on its hands -- one which would differentiate itself from the iPods, Zunes, and Sansas of the world by offering access to the nearly limitless types of data and infoswag that the SideShow platform is capable of displaying. Again, deets here are about as slim as can be, so just keep this one on your radar for the time being.

[McUgly @ Jan 5th 2007 4:09PM]

NEXTTTTTT!!!!!!!

[Spencer @ Jan 5th 2007 4:16PM]

Honestly I love Dell and use their PCs at work and home but that is a homely looking device.

[Brian @ Jan 5th 2007 4:22PM]

Microsoft would be crazy to *not* include sideshow on the Zune. It's got that wonder 320x240, 3" display... and it's a microsoft (team xbox) product!

[disciple83 @ Jan 5th 2007 4:36PM]

I'll keep my ZVM in all its Sideshow-free splendor, tyvm. And what's wrong with Dell going after another mp3 player? I thought the first one did well considering it's timeframe and what it offered. It only lacked a color screen, which was quite new when the DJ30 was hitting the streets. And from what I remember, there weren't any types of bugs plaguing it like other players, it was just bad timing. The same holds true for my dearly departed ZenTouch 30GB. I wish Dell good luck this time around. Their computers sell amazingly well for up and coming tech newbs and business types, so to have an mp3 player that plays nice and is part of a package deal with the PC would be less hassle on the consumer.

[markbeale @ Jan 5th 2007 4:37PM]

It looks like a can opener.

[Josh Bishop @ Jan 5th 2007 4:49PM]

that's not really what it would look like. that's an old Dell player with a photochop job on the screen.

[brad @ Jan 5th 2007 4:53PM]

i thought they were getting out of the mp3 line?

[Joel @ Jan 5th 2007 6:04PM]

Dell didn't drop out of the music game, rather, they dropped Creative. The Dell branded DJ was a Creative media player based on the Zen. If you order a computer from Dell now they offer a Zune as an accessory.

[Ace T'Ken @ Jan 5th 2007 6:27PM]

Considering their total lack of support for their previous Jukeboxes (One of which I owned), what makes them think that people would want this? They were terrifically broken and had a complete lack of updates.

[hoohoo @ Jan 5th 2007 6:49PM]

if anything this will be a device that is removable from a laptop, like i think it was asus recently showed. sideshow will definately appear on the zune as well. anyone remember spot? at a glance info broadcast over fm? the watches failed, it will be a big hit with the zune.

[CLE @ Jan 5th 2007 9:04PM]

@Joel, Dell did not drop Creative. They sell the zen vision:m and zen v alongside the zune, as well as sandisk, iriver, samsung, and sony players. They do not, however, sell the dell digital jukebox any longer, so if that's the definition of "dropping" a player, then they most certainly "dropped" the dell DJ.

I actually got the 5GB Pocket DJ back in mid-2005, and it still works great today. I was actually disappointed when Dell stopped selling the DJ, and was considering the 3G DJ, until they killed it in Jan. '06.....

[DJ @ Jan 8th 2007 9:13PM]

i think people are getting this wrong. Sure the device may be able to play mp3 (What cant these days?) The story is dell is working on a standalone sideshow device. Which is super interesting considering the widgetization of everything.

Gasp are Dell and MSFT being 'innovative' ???