Hands on with a SlotMusic Card (with photos)

[jkj1962]

I know there are people that hate the SlotMusic Player, "It doesn't have a screen", "It doesn't have shuffle", "Support FLAC or no Sale", etc. Frankly, if you don't like it or already have a player, then the player isn't meant for you; ignore it and don't waste your (and our) time complaining about it. It is what it is, and that's all it'll ever be.

But since I do have one, I just had to get a card to go along with it. Jimmy Buffett, "Songs You Know By Heart". It was either that or ABBA.

Photo 1: The front of the box.
Photo 2: The back of the box.
Photo 3: The back of the box, opened, showing the cover for the jewel case and the insert. The insert is basically what you'd get in a CD; in fact it's the same size as a CD insert. The whole box is the size of a CD jewel case, which I suspect is on purpose.
Photo 4: The plastic carrier that is inside, front view.
Photo 5: Plastic carrier, rear view.

The USB reader is the same one that comes with the Mobile Ultra line of microSD cards, not the one that is pictured in the ABI review of the SlotMusic Player, which looks like it would be less expensive. I would have thought the one in the review only read microSD cards because that would probably be less expensive to make, whereas this one that I got reads micro SD and Memory Stick Micro. Best Buy gets $15.99 for this reader alone, the album was $14.99. The only difference is this one is gray where the the one on the Best Buy site is red. The plastic carrier looks like it was made for that cheaper USB reader, not this one. Maybe that was a mock-up, maybe they ran out of the cheaper USB readers. I actually was wanting one of the cheaper ones, I may have to figure how to tell which one is in the package before I buy it.

Anyways, the files are at a 320bps bit rate. They take up about 97MB of the 1GB card, so there is plenty of room to add files should one desire. They are in a folder named, "My_Music". They are named, "01 - [songname], 02 - [songname], etc" so that they play in the order printed on the insert. They are tagged properly with the appropriate information. They card works fine in a microSD-to-SD adapter in a PC, and in a Fuze.

And yes, I'll be getting the SlotRadio Player when it comes out, to add to the collection. And if I get a little more extra cash, I'll get the ABBA SlotMusic card/player bundle. Maybe it has the cheap USB adapter.

[CrowdAds]

[FreeZ5]

jkj:

Thank you for your comments and pictures. This looks like a fun, little, basic player. I am still considering getting one if a) they are ever sold in Canada, b) I'm still interested when I next get to the US (baseball season!). But it won't really replace my Clip or Fuze.

A couple of questions for you...

1) it looks like the sm card is not marked with album name. If this true? If you have a few, how do you tell them apart?

2) re the USB adapter, did you look at the slotmusic cards? The slotmusic.org site says "all slotmusic cards come with a free USB adapter". Perhaps this is the one that you thought you were getting.

3) can we hope for a slotmusic player plus (with shuffle)?

Steve

[samueljesusfreak]

It takes up 93MB, yet the diagram on the back of the box shows the album taking up about half of the card.

Must be some HUGE album art!

[jkj1962]

Originally Posted by FreeZ5

jkj:

Thank you for your comments and pictures. This looks like a fun, little, basic player. I am still considering getting one if a) they are ever sold in Canada, b) I'm still interested when I next get to the US (baseball season!). But it won't really replace my Clip or Fuze.

It doesn't come anywhere close to a Clip of Fuze (I own both), in functions or sound quality. It's OK, but definitely not audiophile grade. The only 2 things it has over the Clip are the microSD slot and maybe the replaceable battery; the only thing it has over the Fuze is maybe the replaceable battery. Well, those things, and that you wouldn't be as upset if it got lost/damaged.

A couple of questions for you...

1) it looks like the sm card is not marked with album name. If this true? If you have a few, how do you tell them apart?

Good question, I noticed that, too. They aren't marked externally. I suppose they assume you only have one out at a time or something. It could get a little difficult if you have several of them out of their cases at the same time and lose track of which is which.

2) re the USB adapter, did you look at the slotmusic cards? The slotmusic.org site says "all slotmusic cards come with a free USB adapter". Perhaps this is the one that you thought you were getting.

I did get a USB reader with it, just not the one I expected, the one that is in this picture:

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archi...-player-14.jpg

from Grahm's review of the player. What I got was the one that is bundled with the Mobile Ultra microSD cards. It's not that I'm disappointed in the reader per se, it is a good reader and all, and looks to be better than the one in that picture. I was just surprised because if I were to buy the reader I got seperately it would cost more than what I paid for the reader and the SlotMusic card together. I guess I was just wanting the other "cheaper looking" one for my collection. It's hard to explain.

3) can we hope for a slotmusic player plus (with shuffle)?

Steve

I doubt it, although you can never tell. Lack of shuffle would be the only thing that I can criticize about it, given what it's intended for.

[jkj1962]

Originally Posted by samueljesusfreak

It takes up 93MB, yet the diagram on the back of the box shows the album taking up about half of the card.

Must be some HUGE album art!

Nope, no album art. The graphic is obviously not intended to be an accurate representation of the space used/available, and on the flap it even says, "Extra storage space varies by album".

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by jkj1962

I did get a USB reader with it, just not the one I expected, the one that is in this picture:

I think you misunderstood my comment.

You bought a player and got a nice USD reader.

Graham's picture appears to show a card only with a lesser reader. If you want the lesser one try buying an ABBA card (without matching player), hopefully you'll get the reader for your collection.

Steve