SanDisk slotRadio player comes with jam-packed card: like NOW, but infinitely worse

Oh, heaven help us all. Just when we thought SanDisk had taken a hint and stopped promoting its slotMusic initiative entirely, in flies this. Quite honestly, we weren't aware that it could get any worse, but this friends, is worse. The Sansa slotRadio player includes a fairly intriguing 1.5-inch OLED display, a useful FM tuner and a slotRadio card with 1,000 hits that were "handpicked from the Billboard charts." Oh, and we hope you dig 'em (all of 'em), because there's no way to remove or alter them. For real. The device itself is expected to ship to three or four suckers early this year for $99.99, and additional 1,000 song, genre-specific slotRadio cards will be offered up separately at $39.99 apiece. And we thought the NOW That's What I Call Music! theme was a train wreck -- way to show 'em what a real disaster looks like, SanDisk.

[Via OLED-Display]

[taylor @ Jan 7th 2009 4:24AM]

first! haha kidding, this aint the android market. i agree that this is terrible, but i do think to the side of america that doesnt know hardly anything about technology will find this exciting. as much as i would never buy this product, i think a lot of unknowing housewives will.

[SITEiNK @ Jan 7th 2009 4:26AM]

wow - as in stay a-way. they really need to try another idea.

[j.d.ripper @ Jan 7th 2009 4:27AM]

wow! this is exactly what I don't want !

[Rollins @ Jan 7th 2009 4:42AM]

Am I the only one who thinks selling 1,000 songs on a player for $99 isn't a terrible deal? I mean, the price per song is extremely low and it would give your average radio listener quite a decent selection. Believe it or not, some people really enjoy Billboard hits.

It's most certainly not for everyone (or anyone who visits this site). But if they'd just add some on-board memory so the user could put his/her own music on in addition to the cards, I think they'd quite possibly be onto something.

[greg @ Jan 7th 2009 6:23AM]

indeed. I enjoy a good amount of billboard music. I just wouldn't buy it because its a slot player.

[Ed @ Jan 7th 2009 6:38AM]

Indeed. I am viciously opposed to DRM and the purchasing of songs in this manner.

That being said however, if they are really offering Billboard songs for 3.9c a piece that is a hard deal to beat.

At this price I don't give a flying fuck if it really is impossible to delete off the card, media shift, whatever. Let's face it. 3.9c a piece is A GOOD DEAL.

That is if the music does not completely suck. They are offering genre specific cards for 39.99$ a piece as well.

So while I am pretty much opposed to ideas like this that lock up music and provide low value, if it really is 1/30th the cost of purchasing it elsewhere, I might consider it.

[Josh @ Jan 7th 2009 4:43AM]

While I realize the market is incredibly niche, this *is* useful for people who work in controlled workspaces. Media players are required to have completely unalterable storage, like CD players. This is a nice alternative.

[Wwhat @ Jan 7th 2009 7:15AM]

So those controlled workspaces won't trust people with real DAP but DO trust people that say it's a player with non-changeable content on their word? The same people they don't trust? And the boss will believe such a thing is produced? Weird

[insky60 @ Jan 7th 2009 5:26AM]

While I've always thought slotMusic was a bad idea you can't ignore the selling power this will have as a gift from grandma.

[WL @ Jan 7th 2009 7:53AM]

yeah this doesn't seem like it was thought out too well $15 cd vs $40 card hmm let me think...

[JRockDetroit @ Jan 7th 2009 8:33AM]

They definitely are not avoiding the Slotmusic initiative.... in fact my local Wal-mart just recieved a 4 foot kiosk in the electronics department dedicated to Sandisk's line of players and available albums. Personally, I own a Sansa View and the Slotmusic albums don't seem too out of the question for me... but they are all running at $13.99. Would they seem slightly more viable at $9.99, maybe, but for now I will stick to amazon mp3.

I will note that the standard albums do provide you will a 1gb micro sd card that can be used at your discretion once you've ripped your tracks. Something to keep in mind.

[JPN @ Jan 7th 2009 8:33AM]

I hate to say it but this might do okay. It's not at all my thing and I can't imagine why anyone would want this, but this crowd that reads this site has a different attitude towards this than a lot of other people. We're talking VCR using, road map atlas in the backseat, audio cassettes, confused by mp3s, old computer, etc. I mean it's a horrible idea for me and most of us, and I hate to say it but it's probably a good idea for a decent amount of people. $40 for 1,000 songs isn't bad at all, it just depends on what the songs are.

[CraziestGadgets.com @ Jan 7th 2009 8:40AM]

slotRADIO is a perfect name because it's just like radio- some corporate bigwig chooses the songs you hear. bravo on the name.

[Luke @ Jan 7th 2009 12:31PM]

Dude, I would totally buy this if...
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Meh, I can't come up with anything.

[Techbob @ Jan 7th 2009 2:17PM]

I have the 1st gen Slotmusic player and five of the slotmusic cards I got at BB. It's replaced my iPod shuffle as my work/workout player as its easier to change media and create new mixes with the slotmusic player. The music on the cards are DRM-free and quick, easy to import anywhere. They also sound good at 320 bps MP3. Not quite as good as ripping my CDs in a lossless format, but still very good to excellent. I'm definitely taking a look at the new player when its available.