Milpitas, Calif.
– SanDisk released a second series of MP3
players that play prerecorded music stored on MicroSD cards in both the
SlotRadio and SlotMusic formats.
The company’s
three Clip+ models, all certified as Windows 7 compatible, also accept MicroSD
cards that store up to 16GB of music side-loaded from a PC. Clip+ models also
come with embedded flash memory: 2GB at a suggested $39.99, 4GB at $49.99 and
8GB at $69.99.
SlotRadio cards, launched earlier this
year for time-pressed consumers, come preloaded with 1,000 protected MP3
songs at $39.99 and $49.99. The preloaded songs are locked to their cards and
cannot be played back on any device other than a dedicated SlotRadio player or
compatible MicroSD-equipped Sansa Fuze A/V players and Sansa Clip+ music
players. The songs can be played
only in sequence, though songs can be skipped. The songs also can’t be rewound
or rearranged in a new order.
SlotMusic cards, starting at a suggested
$14.99, feature prerecorded songs in unrestricted MP3-format from the big four
music companies. The songs are playable on a dedicated slotMusic player or on any
MicroSD-equipped MP3 player, including the new Clip+ players. The songs can
also be copied for playback on MP3 players that lack MicroSD slots.
The Sansa Clip+
MP3 player was expected to be available today at SanDisk.com and BestBuy.com and at other retailers
nationwide on Sept. 13.
Other Clip+
features include FM tuner with 40 presets, voice recorder, rechargeable lithium-ion
battery with up to 15 hours of battery life, and playback of the following
music formats: MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and Audible files (for audio
books) in unprotected and protected files.
SanDisk
currently offers eight SlotRadio cars in such genres as country, 80s, 90s, DailyMix,
rock, hip hop/R&B, oldies and SlotRadio mix. The company offers 36 SlotMusic
cards, with 15 more due soon, the company said. All cards are available online
at SanDisk.com and in the brick-and-mortar and online stores of RadioShack and
Best Buy.