Yahoo's Wireless MP3 Player to Challenge IPod

Sony, Microsoft and Samsung have all come up against iPod, Apple's groundbreaking MP3 player, and all have so far failed.

On Friday, April 13, 2007 (hoping that the Friday the 13th curse doesn't hold true), Yahoo and storage device maker SanDisk will release a new MP3 player called Sansa Connect. While other companies have failed in this market, the Sansa Connect player offers a brand new feature that the iPod and other MP3 players don't have: wireless music downloads!

Yes, a Sansa Connect user will no longer have to directly connect with a computer with Internet access in order to download music from online services. In fact, a user no longer has to be near a computer to download music from Yahoo's music service. If a Sansa Connect user is within range of a Wi-Fi network, they can effortlessly and wirelessly download music from Yahoo's music service through a variety of public Wi-Fi "hot spots including various cafes, coffee shops, hotel lobbies, libraries, etc.

Yahoo and SanDisk

Note than Yahoo's partner in this venture, SanDisk, is number two in the MP3 player market mostly because of its close affiliation with RealNetworks' popular Rhapsody music subscription service. However, SanDisk's number two ranking only means 9 percent in the Apple-dominated MP3 player market.

Sansa Connect vs. Microsoft's Zune

Also note that Sansa Connect isn't the first MP3 to have wireless capabilities. Microsoft's Zune MP3 player also has wireless capacities. However, this Zune feature is only for "sharing" music with nearby Zune users. Wireless downloads aren't a feature of the Zune player.

Other Sansa Connect features

Users with a Yahoo ID can listen wirelessly to LAUNCHcast Internet radio, can browse Flickr photo sets, and chat with friends via Yahoo's Instant Messenger.

Also, if a user is nowhere near a wireless network, he or she can connect the Samsa Connect to a PC, and its functions will behave like a traditional MP3 player.

SOURCES:

"A new wireless player hopes to challenge iPod", Nick Wingfield, Wall Street Journal, URL: (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117607850775963632-4VWBauIa7UEw5bhSOCOXp72U3Po_20080408.html?mod=blogs)

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/403332

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/2007-04-09-yahoo-sandisk_N.htm