Amazon’s not the only one with new digital media hardware this holiday season, as internet radio provider Slacker is now taking pre-orders for their Portable Radio Player. And like the Kindle, no desktop computer is required:
Revolutionary DJ technology built into the device, and a new class of radio licenses, allow the Slacker Portable to play highly personalized radio stations even when not connected to Wi-Fi or any network. The portable players can automatically create perfect radio stations without the requirement of having to manage content or even a direct connection to a Mac or PC
What’s interesting about Slacker’s player is that they refer to the number of “stations” a device holds, rather than number of selections or disk size. However, it doesn’t appear to be live music streaming – rather a playlist of an undetermined song quantity is synced to the device via that USB or WiFi connection. On Pandora, I’m always skipping songs… so I wonder how frequently I’d need to re-sync the device for fresh music. However, it beats my XM Helix live radio which has no skip functionality and doesn’t work in airport lounges.
The sharp looking hardware starts at $199 (15 Stations) and can be used with the free Slacker service or new ad-free Premium Radio service ($7.50/mo) with unlimited skipping. Given the price of basic service (zero dollars), this is another compelling new model. However, they face some of the same challenges as Amazon: How do you reach the mass market with unique hardware and services, yet no physical retail presence?