[Ashleyj]

Firstly sorry for the length of the post but I read this in a magazine and there was no link to refer to.

SanDisk has stuck a deal with the big four music labels to distribute albums in the MicroSD memory format.
Dubbed SlotMusic, the initiative is yet another bid to combat the declining CD sales. The SlotMusic albums will be DRM-free, with music encoded at 320Kb/s in the mp3 format.
The 1Gb cards will leave plenty of space for additional extras , such as videos, album artwork or other features that the labels choose to ship with the cards.
The memory will be sold with a “USB sleeve” that will allow owners to plug them into any PC. The companies also hope to introduce the format into car stereos.
Sony BMG, Universal, EMI and Warner have all agreed to relase albums in the SlotMusic format: artist line-up and pricing have yet to be announced. The labels claim targeting the mobile phone market offers much more scope than MP3 players alone, with 1.2 billion phones shipping globally last year, outstripping portable media player sales “by nearly an order of magnitude”, according to research firm IDC.
SlotMusic albums should go on sale in the US before Christmas with Europe to follow.

Good to see that they will be DRM-free.

[Nightfly]

Originally Posted by Ashleyj

Firstly sorry for the length of the post but I read this in a magazine and there was no link to refer to.



Good to see that they will be DRM-free.

This is something I can get behind,I am always buying SD cards anyways
to make up different genre cards,they are so cheap these days.As long
as these albums are reasonably priced.It just might be a good thing for the
consumer they have their hit album and they can add their own content
if so desired by deleting unneeded media.

[Ashleyj]

Originally Posted by Nightfly

This is something I can get behind,I am always buying SD cards anyways
to make up different genre cards,they are so cheap these days.As long
as these albums are reasonably priced.It just might be a good thing for the
consumer they have their hit album and they can add their own content
if so desired by deleting unneeded media.

Hopefully they will be priced reasonably otherwise it will probably not take off.

As you say memory cards are so cheap these days that their cost can be lost in the price of the content.
It would appear that you will be getting them before us so perhaps you could keep a look out for them and let us know the outcome.

[Nightfly]

Originally Posted by Ashleyj

Hopefully they will be priced reasonably otherwise it will probably not take off.

As you say memory cards are so cheap these days that their cost can be lost in the price of the content.
It would appear that you will be getting them before us so perhaps you could keep a look out for them and let us know the outcome.

I will be looking for these Album Cards like a curious kid.I love new
media, that might work and may be fun.

[GHERDEZ]

Originally Posted by Ashleyj

Firstly sorry for the length of the post but I read this in a magazine and there was no link to refer to.



Good to see that they will be DRM-free.

Hello Ashleyj,

Thanks for transcribing this article. I have never been really exited of the ability to play mp3 music on my cell phone because the acoustics are of inferior quality than other mp3 players. But, for a while I have wondered if "if my car stereo had a USB slot, I could just use one of those thumb drives, instead of CDs". Sony makes some of their mp3 players with a USB end that plugs into a USB slot in their car stereos. But I think the idea of using SD cards might be just as good or better. And now that I know, I am going to hold off on the purchase of a new car stereo, until I find out more details.

Thanks for sharing....

GHERDEZ

[Ashleyj]

Originally Posted by GHERDEZ

Hello Ashleyj,

Thanks for transcribing this article. I have never been really exited of the ability to play mp3 music on my cell phone because the acoustics are of inferior quality than other mp3 players. But, for a while I have wondered if "if my car stereo had a USB slot, I could just use one of those thumb drives, instead of CDs". Sony makes some of their mp3 players with a USB end that plugs into a USB slot in their car stereos. But I think the idea of using SD cards might be just as good or better. And now that I know, I am going to hold off on the purchase of a new car stereo, until I find out more details.

Thanks for sharing....

GHERDEZ

Glad to have been of help.

Let us know what the outcome is as it may well influence others who may be considering the purchase of a new car stereo.

Unfortunately in my Toyota the CD changer will not even play mp3s and the radio/CD is integrated with the Sat Nav system so it's not particularly easy to upgrade. I use one of those FM transmitters to connect my mp3 player to the system, not wonderful quality but acceptable.

[GHERDEZ]

Originally Posted by Ashleyj

Glad to have been of help.

Let us know what the outcome is as it may well influence others who may be considering the purchase of a new car stereo.

Unfortunately in my Toyota the CD changer will not even play mp3s and the radio/CD is integrated with the Sat Nav system so it's not particularly easy to upgrade. I use one of those FM transmitters to connect my mp3 player to the system, not wonderful quality but acceptable.

Hello Ashley,

You mentioned that you use a FM transmitter to “connect” your mp3 player to your car stereo system. I tried this option with a Belkin accessory (with 4 preset FM frequencies) that I bought from Wal-Mart a long time ago. I really didn’t like it, since it always seemed to be competing with other FM stations, and its performance was highly dependent on how close it was from the radio. However, I have had a good experience playing music in my computer with a Bluetooth adapter, and wireless headphones set. Now they make adapter kits that can be wired to car stereo in such a way that music can be streamed from an mp3 player with a Bluetooth transmitter directly to a receiver. The only obstacle is that some of these adapters are brand specific and you have to look for an option that will work for you. But, that would help you to skip the FM noise altogether. With that in mind I found an illustrative review that can better explain some of these details:

http://www.crutchfield.com/Learn/lea...th/in_car.html

I do not endorse any store, but at least its searching tool can help you to look into other options (you have to enter your car make, year model, type of current system, etc):

Bluetooth Kits for Aftermarket Stereos

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/a...50%26tp%3d158&

You can also reach the link above from my referenced article under the picture right next to “option 2”.

Let me know how it works out….

GHERDEZ

[Ashleyj]

Originally Posted by GHERDEZ

Hello Ashley,

You mentioned that you use a FM transmitter to “connect” your mp3 player to your car stereo system. I tried this option with a Belkin accessory (with 4 preset FM frequencies) that I bought from Wal-Mart a long time ago. I really didn’t like it, since it always seemed to be competing with other FM stations, and its performance was highly dependent on how close it was from the radio. However, I have had a good experience playing music in my computer with a Bluetooth adapter, and wireless headphones set. Now they make adapter kits that can be wired to car stereo in such a way that music can be streamed from an mp3 player with a Bluetooth transmitter directly to a receiver. The only obstacle is that some of these adapters are brand specific and you have to look for an option that will work for you. But, that would help you to skip the FM noise altogether. With that in mind I found an illustrative review that can better explain some of these details:

http://www.crutchfield.com/Learn/lea...th/in_car.html

I do not endorse any store, but at least its searching tool can help you to look into other options (you have to enter your car make, year model, type of current system, etc):

Bluetooth Kits for Aftermarket Stereos

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/a...50%26tp%3d158&

You can also reach the link above from my referenced article under the picture right next to “option 2”.

Let me know how it works out….

GHERDEZ

As you say it does tend to swamp the other frequencies. Obviously for something that is pretty basic (and cheap) the transmitter discretion is not that good, but it works reasonably well for what it is.

I tried to have a look at the Bluetooth kits you linked to but all I get is 'access denied'

[gluteus maximus]

Originally Posted by Ashleyj

I tried to have a look at the Bluetooth kits you linked to but all I get is 'access denied'

Strange - for me both links work in FF, but the second one fails with IE6-based browsers

gm

[Ashleyj]

Originally Posted by gluteus maximus

Strange - for me both links work in FF, but the second one fails with IE6-based browsers

gm

Hmm!
I use FF but I use the NoScript and Cookie Safe add-ons so it might be something to do with that.
I will try them again with these turned off and see if that works.