
Since the iPod became a culture-changing phenomenon, Apple’s rivals have been desperate to discover the recipe for an iPod beater.
SanDisk has just released its latest answer: the Sansa Connect
The ingredients are:
1 black, shiny, softly rounded plastic case, the size of a closed cellphone;
1 click wheel, like the iPod’s but made of black rubber;
7 small jacks and buttons on the edges: volume keys, earbud jack, proprietary charger and USB connector, On/Off and Hold buttons, memory-card slot;
1 antenna;
The stubby little antenna, of course, is the secret sauce. It makes the Connect the most exciting advance in music players, at least in concept, since the iPod Nano.
Now, this Sansa is not the first wireless music player. Microsoft’s Zune, for one, preceded it.
But the Zune’s Wi-Fi is wasted. It can’t sync with a computer wirelessly or download music wirelessly. All it can do is beam a song to another Zune owner, if there is such a thing. The song self-destructs after three days or three plays….
Continue reading The latest challenger to iPod (IHT)
Related link: Hands-on with the Sandisk Sansa Connect (Engadget)