DISQUS

David Scott Lewis · 2 years ago

They should buy Pandora and use their recommendation engine.

Michael Mahemoff · 2 years ago

Podcatcher? It would be a shame not to.

Martin Belam · 2 years ago

So basically it is the same as the Vodafone RadioDJ 3G streaming personalised radio stations, except that I have to carry an extra device around with me as well as my phone?

Pranav · 2 years ago

Ever since I lost my ipod, I've been listening to last.fm on the PC - which is really cool, but I have nothing to listen to while away from the PC - slacker seems to solve this. really cool new gadget.

I don't think this will "replace" the ipod or something like that.

It's more of a 2.0 of satellite radio. So of you like listening to radio, you'll use slacker, and for the times you don't want to listen to the radio - you still have an ipod. Besides, from what I read here, this won't allow you to "own" music, you will still be restricted to listen to what is being streamed, albeit, as per your tastes.

IMO, even if this device makes it, it may not quite affect ipod sales.

Here's an Idea for the slacker people - let users "Buy" songs and store them right at your servers, let users select which songs they want to hear to, and stream them via the satellites - now THAT would be a total iPod killer.

zuneone · 2 years ago

Sounds like a good idea. I am definately a slacker and am not interested actually owning music.

I would be very content to be fed a stream of music I like without having to bother managing it.

Brian Dear · 2 years ago

How is Slacker supposed to survive with the new royalty rates for web streaming radio, recently announced by that copyright board? Seems like they're going to need to have ads all over the place just to break even.

mrshl · 2 years ago

brian: slacker has probably negotiated with rights holders separately, which the law allows you to do. pandora can do the same. i don't think pandora's going anywhere.

it's the small webcasters and hobbyists that are going to get killed by the new royalty rates. and i think that's the point. it sucks, but i don't think it's going to cripple the larger services. because musicians and their labels can see the obvious benefit to being streamed on services like last.fm, pandora, and now slacker.

Harshal Vaidya · 2 years ago

Will Slacker work in India?

Matt Marshall · 2 years ago

That's right. Slacker told me that they have negotiated rights, which means they won't be affected by the royalty problem that Pandora is facing.

Matt Marshall · 2 years ago

Harshal, yes, they plan world-wide distribution. Don't know what their timing is, but that's definitely something they want to do.

Steve Shaw · 2 years ago

As Martin points out, this is something that is going to be in mobile phones.

New ultra-wide band codecs which are coming to phones will dramatically increase the fidelity of streaming audio to a mobile.

Imagine you make a "call" to (800) PAN-DORA to get your music. EDGE or GPRS can provide the simple data updates required for display. And if you get another call, you simply put PAN-DORA on hold and take the other line.

It's a slam dunk.

Ashley · 2 years ago

Sounds easy and cool. I'll get one!

Adam · 2 years ago

Good concept, but awful execution. The design of the portable device is overly complicated and will scare away a mass audience. This looks like a niche product thats going nowhere, despite the hype. Anyone still talking about the zune?

Ernie · 2 years ago

I don’t expect this to be an iPod killer, or even a Zune killer. But i really think the Slacker portable is really just touching upon a different segment of the market. I have been using the slacker web player since it’s release in March and have to say if the hardware is upto par with the software then they will have a great combo. Also noted that if they can get the third party support then i think they will have a good following. Slacker also stated that it would not be affected by the recent internet radio royalty price hikes (for now). A couple more weeks, and we’ll let the reviews come rolling in. Also check out http://www.slackersocial.com Seems to be a good start to a social backing. I’ll try to post an unboxing and complete review as soon as it arrives.

Neville · 1 year ago

I dislike anything to do with Ipods, and Slacker is pretty decent, though I prefer Lastfm and MeeMix..

Sid · 1 year ago

Delayed again on 2/2/08 (see below)

Do you really think it would be all that hard for Apple to augment an iPhone or iPod touch (which already have WiFi) to include a radio type service? I doubt Apple will be caught by the Slacker, Zune, (Still)Last.fm, etc. The bottom line is they are great products even if you don't use iTunes...my 72 year old father loves his iPod and even that interface took him some time to learn.

_______SNIP_________
Thanks again for your purchase of a Slacker Portable. We have begun to ship Slacker Portables based on the order they were purchased. We are working to ship them as fast as possible, but due to the number of pre-orders it may take up to 10 business days to receive your unit.

We know everyone is excited to get their Slacker Portable and we apologize for the delay in shipping. We are doing everything possible to ship all of the pre-ordered players as fast as possible. Therefore we are providing expedited shipping to all orders received on or before January 31st free of charge. You will be notified by email once your order has been shipped.

If you have any questions, please contact Slacker Support at support@slacker.com or call 858-943-5000 extension 3 between 8am-5pm (Pacific Time) Monday through Friday.

Sincerely,

Slacker Support

iPod Music Downloads · 1 year ago

But the slacker looks huge. iPod still looks "cooler", so are its music downloads.

Rose · 1 year ago

LOVE SLACKER. ipod is so done! Nothing comes close! Everyone will prefer using slacker if they only give it a try. My music tastes change over time and I can customize the slacker to change with me. Best part is I don't have to go broke buying new music! Buy one you wont be dissapointed!

Pete · 1 year ago

Has anyone seen a good (and apparently objective) review of Padora-Slacker-Last.FM-other radio services. I haven't found one. I'm especially interested in the relative depth of the music available on each (artists,songs,etc), frequency of repeats...things like that...it's fine when it's free... I really like Slacker but I don't know whether to buy the premium functionality which would make it that much nicer . Any ideas?