Product review - Slacker G2 personal radio
Welcome to my review of the Slacker G2 personal radio. The Slacker G2 is the second version of a portable Wi-Fi enabled music player from Slacker. The first part of this review is about the Slacker service itself, if you want to read about their new player, scroll down a bit.
Slacker is available through the web or their desktop player. With Slacker, you get access to over 100 channels of music, as well as the ability to create your own personal music channel, with artists and songs you select. In addition to listening to the Slacker service on your computer, you can also bring your favorite music along with you on the Slacker G2 portable player.
The Slacker G2 player is a Wi-Fi enabled music player that can download 25 or 40 Slacker channels directly to the device, ready for you to listen on the road. The player has 4 or 8GB of storage, depending on the version, which is more than enough for days of music for each channel. Think of it as a portable radio, with nothing but the music you want to listen to.
Once you have selected the music channels you like, using either the desktop or web based Slacker player, you simply let the Slacker G2 connect to a Wi-Fi network. Depending on how fresh the collection is on the device, you'll have a brand new lineup of songs in about 5 minutes.
On my Slacker G2, I picked 15 Slacker stations, and added 2 of my own custom stations. The predefined Slacker stations are some of the best I've come across; they cover everything from the usual 60's, 70's and 80's, to comedy, toddler music and several stations with hits from around the world. Unlike some online stations, where the music is picked by a big computer, Slacker actually employs real DJ's to help tweak the music lineup, and add the newest performers. In total, Slacker has over 2 million tracks in their collection.
The ability to create a custom radio station is fantastic; you build the new channel by selecting your favorite artists and/or songs; then you let Slacker add more music by fine-tuning the music you want to hear. You can have Slacker add more songs based on popularity of the track, the year and by including DJ picks. The end result is a radio station that plays nothing but the stuff you like. If by any chance you do end up hearing a song you don't like, you simply ban it, or if it is a track you like a lot, you can set it as a favorite and save it to your library.
The Slacker service is free in its most basic version, but to get access to the best features, you'll have to subscribe to their premium radio service.
Once you subscribe to premium radio, you'll be able to skip tracks as many times as you want (this is limited to 6 times per hour/per channel on the basic player). The premium version also removes the commercials and adds the ability to request an unlimited amount of songs to your custom radio stations. And finally; the premium version also allows you to save songs you hear on a radio channel to your Slacker library.
The Slacker premium radio service costs $7.50/month on an annual subscription, $8.33/month with a 6 month subscription or $9.99/month with a 3 month commitment. Each option comes with a free 7 day trial.
The Slacker G2 hardware
Included in the Slacker G2 box is of course the player itself, as well as a pair of premium noise isolating headphones with 3 sizes of ear pieces. Also in the box is a quick start guide, Slacker sticker, USB charger, a Mini-USB charging/sync cable and a rubber case with belt clip. All the parts are pretty high quality, and come with some nice little touches, like a Slacker logo on the USB cable.
The player looks quite stunning; the front is made of glossy plastic, so it'll of course become a fingerprint magnet. The sides are made of rubberized plastic, and the back is made of metal, with a raised Slacker logo.
The player has a 2.5 inch (240x320) color display, which takes up most of the front of the unit. Above the screen are the ban and favorite buttons, and below the screen you'll find the play/pause/power, skip and rewind buttons. I have to point out that you can not go back to a previous track if your are listening to one of the Slacker music channels, the back button only works with music coming from your saved library (this is a licensing issue).
On the top of the player is the volume control and the headphone jack. On the left is the mini-USB connector, and on the right is the scrollwheel, home button and a hold switch, for locking the buttons.
On the bottom of the Slacker G2 is a wide connector, not unlike that found on some other music players. The connector is for adding accessories which may be added in the future. I know what you are thinking, and no; it is not compatible with iPod accessories.
The portable player is always in perfect sync with the desktop and web players; if you add a new station, you can send it to the portable player, and the next time you connect, you'll receive it on your device. The same method works the other way around; if you are listening to a song on the train and press the favorite button, that song will appear in your desktop library next time you connect.
Another advantage of Wi-Fi syncing, is that Slacker pushes new firmware updates using the wireless connection, unlike other players where you have to connect the player to your PC and download an update file.
The player can be connected to your computer using the included USB cable, but that is only necessary for adding your own music which can be done with the Slacker desktop player, or with Windows Media Player.
The desktop player is only available for PC's. Mac users can of course still use the web player to select music and add music stations to their player.
The user interface on the Slacker G2 is nice and clean; there are no 5 levels of confusing menu's, nor does the device offer anything other than music; there are no games, no personal organizer and no video support. As soon as you turn the player on, you are in the main play screen; this screen displays the album art of the selected song, as well as the artist name, album and next artist in the current channel.
By scrolling down, you can select any of these items; selecting the album art displays any available information about the album including reviews and the release date.
Selecting the album name shows a list of the 4 previous songs, and allows you to go back and either ban or favorite/save that song. Selecting the artist name displays an artist biography provided by All Music Guide. These bio's can be pretty long for some of the more popular artists. Scrolling down below the current song information pulls up the Slacker menu, where you can select stations, the library, user playlists, the settings menu and the connect screen.
In the settings menu, you'll find the usual portable player stuff like the backlight timer, brightness, volume normalization and an equalizer with 10 presets.
Slacker / Devicescape
Slacker have teamed up with Devicescape to bring a Wi-Fi hotspot login service to the player. Since the Slacker G2 does not come with a full keyboard or web browser, many wireless hotspots would normally be inaccessible to the device. The Devicescape client bypasses the entire login process, and does all the work for you. Devicescape is currently compatible with hotspots from Wayport and AT&T. With this support, you'll be able to wirelessly sync the Slacker G2 player at your local McDonalds, Starbucks or other Wayport or AT&T hotspot location.
Pricing and availability
The Slacker G2 costs $199 for the 25 station/4GB version, and $249 for the 40 station/8GB version. You'll be able to find it at Slacker.com, Amazon.com and Buy.com and it will be on shelves at your local Best Buy later this month. When you order a player directly from Slacker, you'll be able to provide them with an existing Slacker account name, and you'll receive the player personalized for use, preloaded with stations from your own Slacker account!
Slacker for travelers
Since many of you are frequent travelers, I'll list some of the reasons I think the Slacker G2 is a perfect choice for you:
Final thoughts
It is hard to describe how impressed I am with the Slacker G2 without coming across as an idiot. The player and accompanying service have totally changed the way I think of collecting music. With my iPod, I had gathered thousands of songs, put together from CD rips of my own collection, purchased tracks and "other sources". This entire collection has now been replaced by Slacker.
Their service streams all the music I like, directly to my desktop (or web browser), and I can take any of that music with me. The few songs I like that Slacker did not have in their collection can still be synced to the player using any MP3, WMA and AAC file I already own.
In addition to not having to own any music, I can also get instant access to any new music, plus I no longer have to waste hours sorting my songs and correcting file names, tags and album art.
At $199 (or $249), the player is more expensive than most other players in the market, but knowing that I'll never have to buy another CD again makes it worthwhile. There are other players on the market with a similar "all you can eat" format (like the Microsoft Zune and Zune Pass), but at $7.50/month, the Slacker service is cheaper and offers more features. The $90 for an annual subscription is what I used to pay every month for new CD's.
The Microsoft Zune is probably the only player worthy of being compared to the Slacker G2; it also offers Wi-Fi (though no wireless syncing outside the house until the upcoming firmware update). The differences between the Slacker G2 and the Zune are the price of the monthly service ($14.99 for Zune Pass), and that Slacker offers a far more integrated service (web, desktop, portable player). Slacker also builds their offering more around their music channels and custom channels, instead of just asking you to pick random music.
I'm no audiophile, but I found that the sound quality of the music on the Slacker G2 was much better than any other player I have owned in the past. Slacker clearly put some effort into the quality of the files they use, and the audio hardware in the device.
The device has a few quirks; when it is being charged, it always turns on, and stays on until it is done charging, and the desktop Slacker player can be a little finicky when you try and sync to the player over USB.
Of course, coming from an iPod will also mean no easy access to the thousands of accessories designed just for that player, I'm hopeful that companies will start designing products around the Slacker G2 pretty soon.
All in all, I can only say that this is my new portable music player. I haven't touched my iPod since I got my hands on the Slacker G2, and in the time I have been using the device, I have come across 100's of great new songs I had not heard before, and about as many songs I had forgotten about, and never managed to add to my collection.
If you like music, and would love to find new artists, I can highly recommend visiting Slacker and playing around with their web player, before you know it, you'll be dying to take that music on the road with you, on your own Slacker G2 player.
Once you subscribe to premium radio, you'll be able to skip tracks as many times as you want (this is limited to 6 times per hour/per channel on the basic player). The premium version also removes the commercials and adds the ability to request an unlimited amount of songs to your custom radio stations. And finally; the premium version also allows you to save songs you hear on a radio channel to your Slacker library.
The Slacker premium radio service costs $7.50/month on an annual subscription, $8.33/month with a 6 month subscription or $9.99/month with a 3 month commitment. Each option comes with a free 7 day trial.
The Slacker G2 hardware
Included in the Slacker G2 box is of course the player itself, as well as a pair of premium noise isolating headphones with 3 sizes of ear pieces. Also in the box is a quick start guide, Slacker sticker, USB charger, a Mini-USB charging/sync cable and a rubber case with belt clip. All the parts are pretty high quality, and come with some nice little touches, like a Slacker logo on the USB cable.The player looks quite stunning; the front is made of glossy plastic, so it'll of course become a fingerprint magnet. The sides are made of rubberized plastic, and the back is made of metal, with a raised Slacker logo.
The player has a 2.5 inch (240x320) color display, which takes up most of the front of the unit. Above the screen are the ban and favorite buttons, and below the screen you'll find the play/pause/power, skip and rewind buttons. I have to point out that you can not go back to a previous track if your are listening to one of the Slacker music channels, the back button only works with music coming from your saved library (this is a licensing issue).
On the top of the player is the volume control and the headphone jack. On the left is the mini-USB connector, and on the right is the scrollwheel, home button and a hold switch, for locking the buttons.
On the bottom of the Slacker G2 is a wide connector, not unlike that found on some other music players. The connector is for adding accessories which may be added in the future. I know what you are thinking, and no; it is not compatible with iPod accessories.
The portable player is always in perfect sync with the desktop and web players; if you add a new station, you can send it to the portable player, and the next time you connect, you'll receive it on your device. The same method works the other way around; if you are listening to a song on the train and press the favorite button, that song will appear in your desktop library next time you connect.
Another advantage of Wi-Fi syncing, is that Slacker pushes new firmware updates using the wireless connection, unlike other players where you have to connect the player to your PC and download an update file.The player can be connected to your computer using the included USB cable, but that is only necessary for adding your own music which can be done with the Slacker desktop player, or with Windows Media Player.
The desktop player is only available for PC's. Mac users can of course still use the web player to select music and add music stations to their player.
The user interface on the Slacker G2 is nice and clean; there are no 5 levels of confusing menu's, nor does the device offer anything other than music; there are no games, no personal organizer and no video support. As soon as you turn the player on, you are in the main play screen; this screen displays the album art of the selected song, as well as the artist name, album and next artist in the current channel.
By scrolling down, you can select any of these items; selecting the album art displays any available information about the album including reviews and the release date.
Selecting the album name shows a list of the 4 previous songs, and allows you to go back and either ban or favorite/save that song. Selecting the artist name displays an artist biography provided by All Music Guide. These bio's can be pretty long for some of the more popular artists. Scrolling down below the current song information pulls up the Slacker menu, where you can select stations, the library, user playlists, the settings menu and the connect screen.
In the settings menu, you'll find the usual portable player stuff like the backlight timer, brightness, volume normalization and an equalizer with 10 presets.
Slacker / Devicescape
Slacker have teamed up with Devicescape to bring a Wi-Fi hotspot login service to the player. Since the Slacker G2 does not come with a full keyboard or web browser, many wireless hotspots would normally be inaccessible to the device. The Devicescape client bypasses the entire login process, and does all the work for you. Devicescape is currently compatible with hotspots from Wayport and AT&T. With this support, you'll be able to wirelessly sync the Slacker G2 player at your local McDonalds, Starbucks or other Wayport or AT&T hotspot location.
Pricing and availability
The Slacker G2 costs $199 for the 25 station/4GB version, and $249 for the 40 station/8GB version. You'll be able to find it at Slacker.com, Amazon.com and Buy.com and it will be on shelves at your local Best Buy later this month. When you order a player directly from Slacker, you'll be able to provide them with an existing Slacker account name, and you'll receive the player personalized for use, preloaded with stations from your own Slacker account!
Slacker for travelers
Since many of you are frequent travelers, I'll list some of the reasons I think the Slacker G2 is a perfect choice for you:
- No need to carry a laptop to update the player - to refresh the music on your Slacker G2, you simply connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot.
- 15 hours of music playback - enough for a longhaul flight
- Player charges using a regular mini-USB charger - same charger used for many mobile phones
- No need to install software on your laptop - you can add new music and channels to the player and listen to that same music directly through your browser.
- All music provided by the service is legal - no worries if you use it on your corporate laptop!
- Player comes with premium noise isolating headphones
Final thoughts
It is hard to describe how impressed I am with the Slacker G2 without coming across as an idiot. The player and accompanying service have totally changed the way I think of collecting music. With my iPod, I had gathered thousands of songs, put together from CD rips of my own collection, purchased tracks and "other sources". This entire collection has now been replaced by Slacker. Their service streams all the music I like, directly to my desktop (or web browser), and I can take any of that music with me. The few songs I like that Slacker did not have in their collection can still be synced to the player using any MP3, WMA and AAC file I already own.
In addition to not having to own any music, I can also get instant access to any new music, plus I no longer have to waste hours sorting my songs and correcting file names, tags and album art.
At $199 (or $249), the player is more expensive than most other players in the market, but knowing that I'll never have to buy another CD again makes it worthwhile. There are other players on the market with a similar "all you can eat" format (like the Microsoft Zune and Zune Pass), but at $7.50/month, the Slacker service is cheaper and offers more features. The $90 for an annual subscription is what I used to pay every month for new CD's.
The Microsoft Zune is probably the only player worthy of being compared to the Slacker G2; it also offers Wi-Fi (though no wireless syncing outside the house until the upcoming firmware update). The differences between the Slacker G2 and the Zune are the price of the monthly service ($14.99 for Zune Pass), and that Slacker offers a far more integrated service (web, desktop, portable player). Slacker also builds their offering more around their music channels and custom channels, instead of just asking you to pick random music.
I'm no audiophile, but I found that the sound quality of the music on the Slacker G2 was much better than any other player I have owned in the past. Slacker clearly put some effort into the quality of the files they use, and the audio hardware in the device.
The device has a few quirks; when it is being charged, it always turns on, and stays on until it is done charging, and the desktop Slacker player can be a little finicky when you try and sync to the player over USB.
Of course, coming from an iPod will also mean no easy access to the thousands of accessories designed just for that player, I'm hopeful that companies will start designing products around the Slacker G2 pretty soon.
All in all, I can only say that this is my new portable music player. I haven't touched my iPod since I got my hands on the Slacker G2, and in the time I have been using the device, I have come across 100's of great new songs I had not heard before, and about as many songs I had forgotten about, and never managed to add to my collection.
If you like music, and would love to find new artists, I can highly recommend visiting Slacker and playing around with their web player, before you know it, you'll be dying to take that music on the road with you, on your own Slacker G2 player.
Gallery: Slacker G2 Personal Radio
Filed under: Gadling Gear Review
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bob S. Sep 16th 2008 4:10PM
I liked the review, but I'm left with a lot of questions about real-life usage.
How does the 15-hour claim for battery life claim hold up in real usage? Can Wi-Fi be turned off? If so, how does that help the battery?
How broad are the 2 million tracks? Is this going to satisfy mostly mainstream users? If I create a channel based on, say, Cannonball Adderley, or Merle Travis, or Spike Jones... well, will it even let me? If so, do the other artists and tracks that Slacker adds to the channel make sense? Will I hear the same tracks over and over? Can I create stations by listing multiple artists or songs, and if so, does that help refine their selections? That's a big failing of Pandora for me; I chose one artist, not very mainstream but certainly a popular folkie with many albums on second-tier labels, and Pandora failed to suggest any other artists.
From the gallery, the controls look slick, curved, and gathered around the edges of the unit... are they hard to use; is there any fumbling? Can you operate the unit without looking at it? How about when it's in that belt clip?
It doesn't sound like this expensive music player includes a subscription to the premium option, but I'm unsure from your review. (I think it should, given the high price of the player and the low price of the subscription.) But if it doesn't, how many commercials are there? Are they after every X songs, or X times per hour, or something else? Are they annoying (do they make you reach for the volume control)? Can you skip them? What's being advertised? Was any ad inappropriate (and I don't mean "pornographic," just "out of context for the channel" -- say, is a mass retailer advertising Metallica CDs on a country channel)? On my XM inno, when I record a show, I can go into the playlist before listening and delete all the commercials. That isn't an option here?
How easy is the G2 to connect to my stereo? I assume it would be through a minijack-to-RCA connector bought separately (which is fine; my apartment is littered with them), but are the volume levels reasonable, and is any distortion apparent?
I apologize -- I'm not a regular Gadling reader (I followed the Engadget link), so I don't really know the site's context. But this reads more like a preview to me -- there doesn't seem to be a lot of real-world usage information. I'm bored with my iPod myself, for the very reason you mention -- it can't introduce me to new music -- and that's why I'm interested in XM and Slacker. Thanks for any additional insights you might provide.
Scott Carmichael Sep 16th 2008 4:20PM
Bob, Welcome!
I'll answer as much as I can!
1) The 15 hours battery life is something I certainly found with real life use. Of course, the battery life will decrease if you connect often. The Wi-Fi is turned off until you initiate a connection, so it does not use any battery power unless you want it to.
2) I created a new station based off music from Cannonball Adderley. The first 10 artists it thinks are similar are:
Grant Green, Gene Ammons, Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Ike Quebec, Stanley Turretine, Eddie Harris, Jimmy Forrest,Big John Patton, Richard "Groove" Holmes.
Sadly I know nothing about those artists, so I can't say whether the results will satisfy you. They have 91 tracks by Cannonball Adderley in their collection.
Whether you hear the same artist over and over again depends on how you tweaked the station. I've created several custom stations that have played nothing but unique songs for over a week.
3)It is pretty simple to operate the player without looking at it, as long as you keep to the play/pause,ban/favorite buttons. If you need to change a station, you'll have to look at the screen. All controls are perfectly accessible when the player is in the case.
4) I agree that a 30 day (or longer) trial of the premium service would be nice to include with the player. Sadly that isn't the case. When I played with the non-premium version, I only heard an ad once or twice an hour, and I only ever heard ad's for Slacker Premium so I can't comment on other commercials.
5) It is simple to connect the player to your stereo, I did the same at home (and in the car) and as long as you keep the volume to a reasonable level, there is no distortion at all.
Hope this helps a little, I'd suggest checking out the web player at slacker.com (free) and seeing whether their music collection suits your needs. It certainly did with me.
Please feel free to comment more if you have any other questions!
John Hancock Sep 17th 2008 11:24AM
Please add me to your mailing list. I am primarily intersted in music technology both the on-line music service and player capabilities. I will have more to say soon about Slacker after reading this review that I saw on Sept. 17.
Thanks
Bob S. Sep 17th 2008 11:28AM
Hey, Scott, thanks very much for the additional info (and for the welcome!). I kind of glossed over the whole Slacker deal originally because their first player got such awful reviews, but I think you're right -- it looks like it's time to check it out. (It sounds like we share the trait of having bought stacks of CDs every week back in the day and then slowly burned out. Thanks to XM, I've started checking out new artists again, so if Slacker can one-up them and include better sound quality to boot it just might be a viable option. Thanks again! (And I'm looking forward to checking out the rest of the site. I'm in a position to travel more than I have the last few years, so this might be a serendipitous discovery all around.)
John Hancock Sep 18th 2008 8:55AM
Subject: Slacker & Long Playing Songs & Storage
I am working on a music research project to eventually build a music library to compliment my existing 200 CD collection.
Using a public library book, I entered the names of over 800 rock musicians for the period covering 1958 -2002 on an Excel spreadsheet. I then listened to thousands of songs on the free version of Napster creating a "buy list."
Once completed, I anticpate the buy list will in the neighborhood of 4,000 songs. My original plan to become a Napster subscriber, download the songs onto my computer and purchase an MP3 player so that the songs could be heard at home or in the car.
Then I learned that if you don't purchase each song for $0.99, what I wanted to do was not achievable. I can't justify a $4,000 expenditure given the extreme chaos occuring in the investment world.
Recently, I tuned in to Slacker. One aspect of it that I have not seen discussed is how to get them to play the longer playing instrumental versions of rock music?
I consistently hear the top 40 version of many songs not the longer combined vocal/instrumental versions that I favor.
Based on my research the number of songs dictates needing a playback unit 80GB, or better, as my musical interests tend toward the longer playing tracks. I have the additional 2,000 songs on the 200 CD collection presently owned to contend with making the total collection some 6,000 songs.
Your review indicates the largest unit available Slacker unit is 8GB. In view of my requirements for a sizeable library how do you utilize Slacker or an altrnative service to achieve the objective of a 6,000 song, 80GB unit and not have to pay $4,000 for the songs themselves?
I am also wondering once the "buy list" is more complete whether sending it to Slacker in an attempt to see how many of these songs are in their library would convince me this is the route to go?
Diane G Sep 19th 2008 2:37AM
Scott:
Thanks for your review.
It's one of about a dozen I've read this week on the G2 since the first Slacker got less than stellar reviews regarding syncing with the PC for Vista users and spotty coverage and very long download times of station preferences with WiFi.
(I've been an XM customer (car radio only) since they began and was interested in their XM INNO2 when it came out. But the reviews were mixed concerning sound quality and spotty coverage.)
So, once again I've read mixed reviews on the G2, in addition to the original Slacker portable, specifically regarding the download times if you do so without using the PC. Also, again, some said the sound quality was not even as good as the INNO, which is questionable, and the other issue is having Wi-Fi acccess only for Wayport or AT&T compatible hot spots.
And most importantly to me is whether the Vista compatibility problems were worked out, which required a Safe Mode reconfiguration of your PC with Vista in order to be able to download the desktop player stations via USB to the original portable Slacker.
Ideally, I had hoped Pandora was going to make good on their promise to realease a portable, but they went with a deal for the iPhone instead.
So, if the G2 software has not made much forward progress, several reviewers said to keep waiting as it's still not ready for prime time.
Since it has the exact features I want, except that if you want to go back and listen to saved artists on demand you still need a subscription, I would appreciate any other feedback you have.
Much obliged.
Brandon H. Sep 22nd 2008 7:12PM
Diane G - I just received my G2 and I think the sound quality is great! I have no idea what these reviewers are talking about when they complain about sound quality unless they are super picky audiophiles.
I love music and have a CD collection that is over 2000 and counting. But, I can't tell you the last time I pulled one down and put it in a CD player. Slacker is my new source for music...period. I discover new stuff on the web service and I love the variety of stations to choose from.
I also appreciate good sound quality and the Slacker G2 puts FM and satellite to shame. It's as close to CD quality as I've ever heard save for huge MP3 or WAV files. I've since dumped my XM subscription (no more monthy fee).
I believe they have a 30-day money back guarantee, so, if you think it might be what you want, maybe buy it and give it a try. If you don't like it, just return it.
Diane G Sep 23rd 2008 8:52PM
Thanks Brandon. I appreciate the feedback. Let me know if the downloads via WiFi is an issue.
Diane
Brandon H. Sep 24th 2008 3:24PM
I'm not sure what you mean by downloads via Wi-Fi, but are you asking about the updating of stations via Wi-Fi?
If so, I've haven't had a single problem. I update my stations almost everyday, at home and at work, without issue. It's fairly speedy and the stations I play most often, get new music every time I update them.
Does that answer your question?
Diane G Sep 26th 2008 12:16AM
Yes, I am asking about updating stations both initially to get started and after that. I read several reviews which stated it took forever. But maybe they were using public hotspots. Since I don't have access to personal WiFi I would be using public WiFi and I guess the connections vary by where you are.
It kind of defeats the purpose to have to depend on a USB connection to update if you're buying a wireless player so that's why I wanted to know.
See the GizModo review and you'll see what I'm talking about:
http://gizmodo.com/5050327/lightning-review-slacker-g2-portable-radio
The other issue with the original player was that there were issues when updating via USB for Vista users but I don't know if that has been resolved.
Thanks again.
midloman Oct 9th 2008 4:13PM
Diane G, I was referring to the downloading of songs from Slacker, not my own music. I assumed that the songs would be downloaded to the g2 player when a wifi connection was detected. If you have to be in contact with a wifi connection for the g2 player to play songs from Slacker than the viability of this device is very limited.
midloman Sep 26th 2008 4:53PM
What is the size of the music file it downloads to the player? Does it just divide evenly between stations (and artist at every station) the number of songs until it runs out of space on the player? Can you save songs so the player won't overwrite on the next wi-fi download? The 40 station player says it holds 4000 songs. That seems like it would take a while to download. If I just have one station selected, will it download 4000 songs for that one station? As with the original ipod how long will the battery last (lifetime) and will I be able to replace it myself ? Thanks for the review.
Diane G Oct 6th 2008 10:00PM
If you check out the Gizmodo review I have linked above, they more specifically go into the updating of your stations, not downloads of songs. As I understand it, once your type of station preferences are done, you must subscribe to the service in order to save and make on-demand requests for artists or songs. You don't get a choice of songs other than the parameters of your stations.
The article refers to the length of time it takes to update your station preferences to download to the Slacker as opposed to the compuer desktop version. Downloading your own songs is possible too from your computer, but that is not the main purpose of the player. It's supposed to be a mobile jukebox or commercial free radio based upon your music preferences.
Diane G Oct 9th 2008 6:37PM
midloman:
If you state that the "viability of updating stations via WiFi is very limited" then that suggests that the whole idea of the player is not worth it. I thought the intent was to be able to play your stations when out in the field and to take advantage of WiFi in order to do so.
Therefore, I am not uncertain of what Slacker can realistically do well. If it is largely dependent upon a USB connection and if you don't pay for the subscription, which allows on-demand song selection, then what's the point of it's moblility?
I believe that a lot of the problem with many of these new devices, including cell phones with multi-media, is that you can't actually assess its operability until you after its purchase, and by then it's too late.
Thanks.
Diane G.
Daren Nov 9th 2008 2:00AM
You dont need a wifi connection to play songs download (from the service) to your device. The only time you would need to connect to wifi is if you want to update your stations.
As for picking a specific song, no you cant use the free service to play the song on demand, however if you own the song (more less what the premium service is) and transfer it to the player, than it works like a normal MP3 player and you can play whenever you want. What ive found thou' is that the reason i started using the service (and player) is because i didn't like listening to the same things over and over again. You could always place the artist into a station and hear the song indirectly, and if you "heart" it, it will play more often.
Jay Gabriel Nov 16th 2008 2:27PM
Slacker,
My name is Jay Gabriel and i own Dos'Ce Productions. We are signed to a digital distribution contract with ElectroFunk/Submerge Recording out of Detroit Michigan. I was forwarded a digital listing of where Submerge has placed our three (3) Hip-Hop Instrumental Volume releases with them and Slacker Radio was on the list as having our music available for listening through your digital radio format. I checked your site and did not find our listings. I was hoping that I could get some one in your organization to contact me or email me back with how I can speak directly with an appropriate person regarding my concerns and if you are not carrying our music how we can get it on your service. I can be contacted at 734-556-0488 or 703-489-6329 or by emai at dosceinfo@cavconindustries.com
Thank you,
Jay Gabriel.... also your radio is the sh_t !