In a portable music market currently dominated by the Apple iPod, other companies are scrambling for something that will differentiate their product from the one coming out of Cupertino, California. Not only do they want their players to be special in some way, but these devices have to be different in a good way. The Sansa slotMusic Player, for instance, has a completely different philosophy when it comes to enjoying music on the go.
Instead of trying to jam as many expensive features as possible, the people at SanDisk decided to take a simpler and more streamlined approach with the slotMusic Player. It’s meant to be versatile and easy-to-use, while still appealing to people who prefer to buy their music in a physical form. It’s certainly different than other MP3 players out there.
Sansa slotMusic’s Approach to Portable Music
Part of the reason why the iPod has become so popular is that it is so heavily integrated with the iTunes Music Store. Users can plug their iPods into their computers, connect to iTunes, and purchase their songs a couple bucks at a time. That’s all well and good, but there are still people who prefer the experience of having something physical in their hands to represent their purchase.
The Sansa slotMusic Player acts as a sort of intermediary between the age of the compact disc and the age of the digital download. Instead of buying something directly from the Internet and having it automatically load onto the player, the slotMusic Player gets you to go to a store and buy the slotMusic cards. Kind of like how people used to go into the store to buy their music on CDs.
These microSD memory cards come preloaded with an album of your choosing. When you want to listen to those tunes, you simply insert the chosen microSD card into your slotMusic player, just like how you’d load a compact disc into your old Sony Discman. The memory cards do contain additional memory so if you need to carry a few photos or other data, you are welcome to use the rest of the space for that.
Introducing the ABBA slotMusic Bundle
For the purposes of this review, Futurelooks was provided with the ABBA slotMusic bundle. With this bundle, you get the slotMusic player itself, a special ABBA-themed shell (yes…ABBA…), regular earbud-style headphones, a single AAA alkaline battery, the ABBA slotMusic microSD card, and a slotMusic microSD card reader.
If you’re not really into the Dancing Queen scene, SanDisk Sansa also has bundles available with Akon, Connie Talbot, Don’t Quit, and Robin Thicke. In the future, I’d imagine that there will be more to choose from as well. If none of these appeal to you, the slotMusic Player is also available for purchase on its own.
Despite its somewhat inexpensive appearance, the Sansa slotMusic Player actually feels very solid and robust in the hand. Especially after you install the AAA battery, you can really get a sense of weight. Speaking of the battery, since standard issue AAAs are the power source, it is easy to find extra juice while on the go, at any corner store in the world.
The build quality appears to be quite good, but you have to realize that this is meant to be a very, very simple player. Set that expectation bar pretty low, because that’s mostly what you get.
User Controls and Interface
There are a total of five buttons on the Sansa slotMusic. Along the longest side are the rubberized buttons for controlling your track play. There are the buttons for forward and back, and then there is the play/pause button in the center. This play/pause button, when held, also acts as the power button. Next to the forward button is a small LED indicator light.
On the short edge next to the 3.5mm headphone jack are two more rubberized buttons for controlling the volume. As there is no external display on this player, the only way you can know the current track or volume level is to listen to the song. This is the same scenario that you’d get with something like the iPod shuffle.
On the other end is the exposed slot for the microSD memory card. It is spring-loaded and will accept non-slotMusic microSD cards as well, though there does not appear to be any support for microSDHC cards.
The entire shell easily slides off to reveal the internal guts of the Sansa slotMusic player. It is here that you install the provided AAA battery. This gives off quite the raw appearance when open, but it helps to provide a cleaner look when the protective shell is reinstalled.
You will also notice that there is no way to connect the slotMusic player directly to your computer nor is there a jack for inserting a wall charger. This is said to add to the player’s simplicity, but it does take us back a couple of steps in terms of the level of technology involved.
The Purple Haze of New Tunes
Getting tired of listening to ABBA? Just as you would go to the store to buy a CD, you can go to a store to buy a slotMusic memory card. The example shown here is an album with the best of Jimi Hendrix. This kind of transaction appeals to people who prefer physical media over a digital download, but it is far from being the greenest solution.
The only point of real interest is the fingernail-sized microSD card in the corner. The rest of the plastic packaging, meant to provide the same physical dimensions as a CD, is ultimately useless. You also get an extra USB microSD card reader in the package.
On the bright side, all the MP3 files contained on the memory card are DRM-free, so you can use them in non-slotMusic products as well. Further still, each memory card (about $15) is 1GB, so any extra room beyond the preinstalled album can be used for storing more tunes or documents as well. If you’re going to buy a microSD card anyway, getting the “free” music is a nice bonus, even if you don’t have a slotMusic player. The microSD card can be used with a BlackBerry and other smartphones, for example.
Keeping Organized with the Wallet
To accompany your ABBA or Hendrix shelled Sansa Slot Player, the Sansa Card Wallet comes in handy for storing your microSD albums while on the go. This wallet is separate from the player itself, but it provides room for up to six more albums. When you purchase a slotMusic card with music, it comes with a small memory card holder (about the same size as a standard SD card case) that features the album art.
By placing your memory cards into these slightly larger cases, you not only gain a little extra protection (and lessen the possibility of losing them), but you can more easily identify which card contains what tunes.
Accessorizing with Player Shells
Want to let that personality come shining through? The SanDisk Sansa slotMusic Player can also be outfitted with a series of custom player shells. This replaces that ABBA shell that came with the aforementioned bundle, just in case you’re self conscious about what team people think you play for. One package includes two such shells, one with a funky design and the other with special protected slots for three more memory cards.
The latter obviously adds some bulk to the player, but it’s quite useful when you want to have more than one album going at a time. The unfortunate downside (which is also advantageous depending on your perspective) is that none of the slotMusic microSD cards are marked. You’re left relying on your memory to determine which album has been saved onto which card. If you think about it, it’s kind of like a manual shuffle. What you’re listening to today, nobody knows.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
The Sansa line of MP3 players from SanDisk have always been reasonably reliable and competitively priced, but they were never all that sexy or revolutionary in their approach. In trying to compete directly with the iPod, SanDisk was setting itself up for a whole lot of disappointment.
The Sansa slotMusic player is a distinctly different entity, because it appeals to the technophobes among us. There are people out there who want to get MP3 players, but they are intimidated by the software or they don’t want to trouble themselves with digital downloads. Purchasing physical media is more intuitive to them and that’s where the slotMusic line will ultimately win a few customers.
You want simple? This is simple. There is no display and there are no superfluous features. You won’t find a charging cable or any complicated software. The build quality is better than a lot of the cheap knockoffs on the market, but you are still getting a remarkably basic MP3 player. I wouldn’t get one myself, preferring to live on the bleeding edge of technology, but slotMusic could be a viable alternative for less gadget-inclined or those looking to replace an iPod shuffle.
Pros
- Good transitional product from conventional tape and CD players
- Interchangeable player shells
- slotMusic microSD albums are very reasonably priced
- Remarkably easy to use
- Simple microSD expansion
Cons
- No internal memory whatsoever
- No external display for track name, battery level, etc.
- No rechargeable battery
- Removal of player shell reveals crude interior
Overall Rating: 7.0 / 10.0
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