New Panasonic 'iTunes-compatible' music players introduced

[MacBytes]

Category: News and Press Releases
Link: New Panasonic 'iTunes-compatible' music players introduced (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20050317140334)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

[1macker1]

Nice looking, i'd buy 1. I wonder when/if Apple is gonna let other use their AAC drm.

[narco]

I want one. Finally companies are putting effort into design -- this one actually looks nice AND it works with iTunes.

Fishes,
narco.

[JohnHummel]

Well, by "iTunes compatible" they don't mean the DRM - just AAC. And it works with "unprotected WMA" as well.

Sounds like a marketing gimmick, and if they *don't* play protected AAC files when they claim to be "iTunes compatible", they should make that pretty clear up front.

[AlmostThere]

My reading of iTunes compatible was that you could plug in it and use iTunes as your music management software (DRM exception taken for granted).

This one does look nice but I would prefer the whole thing to be one seamless obsidian block with the OLED display that shows up when it is on or when touched as the only thing visible.

No markings at all and just a mini-usb and headphone socket (any controls would only be on a remote) concealed on one face would be very, very cool.

[ibjoshua]

I have to disagree with the author. I think the orange and white one is easily as cool as the Shuffle, which to be honest looks like a stick of plastic.

i_b_joshua

[iB24]

Here's the Japanese website for those of you who wanted to see more pictures of the products and their commercials (featuring Ayumi Hamasaki). Both of them are really small!

http://panasonic.jp/d-audio/

[slipper]

wow thats really small, but the price point doesnt come close to the iPod shuffle. The SV-90 model without the voice recorder and FM tuner cost $130 without SD card :eek: i would still consider buying one though. If anyone finds out where we can get it in the US or shipped to the US please let me know.

http://panasonic.jp/d-audio/sd/img/sv_top_img1.jpg

[SPUY767]

This thing is not cheap. 134 for the player, and at the very minimum, another 65 bucks for a 1gig SD card, truth be told most peeps are gonna fork over 20$ on top of that at a major retailer to get an SD, and that makes the total price fo the palyer over 200$. Too rich for my blood when I can get a 4 gig iPod Mini for 249, that's diminishing returns there bro. Anyone well versed in math will realize that to get 4 gigs in SD, they'd need to pay 250$ plus. This thing is just another mediocre Mp3 player doomed to failure. Granted, panasonifc was smart with their iTunes compatibility, it would hard for ANYONE to make software that people were as comfortable with as iTunes, but price just doesn't do it for me.

[SPUY767]

When will people stop trying to make things so freaking small. I have HUGE hands! For the love of all that you hold sacred, make the controls big enough for the non-infant-handed to use! The shuffle is a dream to use, the buttons are big enough to press withot fumbling. Hell, my thumb alone is bigger than that whole Mp3 player. I imagine that it probably has some lame control stick that, in addition to being flimsy, is probably half the size of a pencil eraser and would thus be impossible for me to use.

[srobert]

Anybody else believes that there exist a frontier that once you go past, smaller isn't better anymore? Not saying that they crossed it with this player (I woukd have to try one) but I wonder how easy it is to manipulate.