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Lexar joins the MP3 party with new player
Last modified: October 27, 2003, 12:51 PM PST
By Ed Frauenheim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Lexar Media on Monday joined the crowded field of companies selling MP3 players, but it is pitching its product as a data-storage device first and a music player second.
Lexar, which makes a variety of silicon-chip-based flash memory products, said its flash-based JumpDrive Music device will be available at retail locations nationwide in November.
The gadget connects to computers through a universal serial bus (USB) connection and has a capacity of either 128MB or 256MB. That's room enough to store about two to four hours of music, or the data equivalent of 88 or 176 floppy disks, respectively, according to the company. The 128MB product is slated to cost $89.99 and the 256MB version is expected to sell for $159.99.
But don't expect to find the JumpDrive Music device in the portable music player section of Circuit City. "We are encouraging our retailers to put it in the storage section rather than the MP3 section," Lexar spokeswoman Kim Evans said.
Evans said Lexar is aiming the device at "young, on-the-go consumers" such as students, who might use it to transport documents back and forth to school, but listen to music en route.
Lexar joins a growing number of companies offering portable digital music players. These include computer makers that are trying to break into the consumer electronics market. Apple has the disk-drive-based iPod, and Dell on Monday launched a disk-drive-based portable music player. Gateway also has MP3 players for sale.
Lexar is not the only competitor to say that its device can do more than just hold music files. Dell says its "Dell DJ" product also serves as a digital voice recorder or a way to back up critical data. Gateway's 256MB and 128MB digital music players also offer digital voice recording and data storage.
Dell's 15GB MP3 player will sell for $249, while a 20GB version will sell for $329, according to the company. Gateway's 256MB player lists for $169.99 on the Gateway Web site, while its 128MB player lists for $129.99.
And..... Dell unveils MP3 player
http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5097266.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent
Dell unveils MP3 player
Last modified: October 27, 2003, 6:49 AM PST
By Ed Frauenheim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
update Continuing its push into consumer electronics, Dell on Monday announced a disk drive-based MP3 player and details of a partnership with music download company Musicmatch.
The Dell Digital Jukebox music player, or "Dell DJ," and accompanying software will be available through Dell's online music store starting Tuesday, according to the company. Dell says that the device, which comes with a capacity of either 15GB or 20GB, can play music continually for up to 16 hours.
The software, called "Dell Jukebox software powered by Musicmatch," provides a graphical interface between a computer and the Dell DJ device, as well as access to Musicmatch Downloads, a service selling songs for 99 cents.
Dell's 15GB MP3 player will sell for $249, while the 20GB version will sell for $329, according to the company.
The product is entering a crowded market. Consumers have a choice of a wide range of portable digital music players, which use data storage technologies including silicon chip-based flash memory. Also on Monday, Flash-maker Lexar Media announced a flash-based MP3 player called JumpDrive Music.
Meanwhile, Apple Computer has been working with a variety of other companies to boost the number of add-ons that attach to its iPod player. A version of the iPod sells with 40GB and has a 10,000 song capacity.
In announcing its device, Dell seemed to take a swipe at Apple. "Carrying around thousands of songs on one small device is a nifty idea, but not if you have to recharge it every few hours," said John Hamlin, senior vice president and general manager of Round Rock, Texas-based Dell's U.S. consumer business.
According to Apple's Web site, the iPod can play for eight hours when fully charged.
The Dell DJ is part of a broader effort by computer makers to succeed in the consumer-electronics market. Dell also plans to start selling LCD TVs.
The Dell MP3 device also shows the growing role disk drives are playing in portable music players and in consumer electronics more generally. Hitachi Global Storage Technologies is supplying the 1.8-inch diameter drives in the Dell DJ, marking a major customer win for Hitachi. Hitachi announced the 1.8-inch drive earlier this year and began shipping it to customers in July.
"Dell is our most significant and earliest customer to adopt this (drive) in high volumes," said Bill Healy, Hitachi's senior vice president of consumer and commercial hard-disk drives.