slotRadio on Sansa Fuze!

I can’t tell what the data capacity of the card is, but I’m guessing it’s at least a 4GB card, maybe 8GB. The card is partitioned with the majority of the card in a proprietary format. I have not gotten out the Linux tools but Windows can’t see the hidden partition.

The quality of the music seems great, the data format is unknown.

Someday when I’m tired of the music I may reformat it and maybe I’ll find it was a 32GB :smileyvery-happy:

It’s probably a Hidden FAT32 partition. You can use linux’s fdisk to change the partition type without wiping the data, but nevertheless I’d do a full backup of the card using dd and work on the image file instead. Maybe there is DRM? I distinctly remember being told that there wouldn’t be DRM and it would be totally open so you could simply copy the music over to your collection if you wanted to.

Openness sells. Closed off stuff makes me regret buying it, and usually involves a trip back to return the item…

@mngrif wrote:

 . . . Maybe there is DRM? I distinctly remember being told that there wouldn’t be DRM and it would be totally open so you could simply copy the music over to your collection if you wanted to.

 

I believe this is the case with SlotMusic cards, but the SlotRadio cards are a different ball 'o wax. I don’t think you can copy these, or for that matter, manipulate them in any way. That’s why you can’t change the play order of the songs or anything.

@tapeworm wrote:


@mngrif wrote:

 . . . Maybe there is DRM? I distinctly remember being told that there wouldn’t be DRM and it would be totally open so you could simply copy the music over to your collection if you wanted to.

 


I believe this is the case with SlotMusic cards, but the SlotRadio cards are a different ball 'o wax. I don’t think you can copy these, or for that matter, manipulate them in any way. That’s why you can’t change the play order of the songs or anything.

That seems to be what I recall as well…not that I’m buying either of them.:stuck_out_tongue:

Here are three very different angles on slotradio -

http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/review-sandisk-slotradio-player-bundle-20090513/

http://www.ploomy.com/2009/05/06/sansa-slotradio-review/

http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2009/06/the-gear-junkie-scoop-sandisk-sansa-slotradio-player.html

Message Edited by Sansational on 06-20-2009 10:36 AM

I just bought a SlotRadio at Radio Shack & I love it!  If I want to hear Classical music I can even listen to Public Radio via the FM setting … However, I would rather be listening to a Classical Billboard chip!  It would also be nice to find blank chips I could load with my own MP3s via my Mac.  Advice? Info?

Terri H. 

I agree on the subject of “Spam.”  A brief clip is a nice indication that the recording has gone 'round once and is repeating – so you don’t think you’ve been rooked into 1000 recordings of less than 1000 songs.

Hey, Tapeworm, for those of us who haven’t bought music in decades, we never would have bought the songs we loved because we didn’t know aritists’ and titles’ names!  This is  GREAT deal!

@terrih wrote:

I just bought a SlotRadio at Radio Shack & I love it!  If I want to hear Classical music I can even listen to Public Radio via the FM setting … However, I would rather be listening to a Classical Billboard chip!   It would also be nice to find blank chips I could load with my own MP3s via my Mac.  Advice? Info?

 

Terri H. 

All you need is a microSD card, available almost anyplace that sells MP3 players or digital cameras, and a way to put music on it. Many modern PCs have memory card readers/writers built in, though you’ll need an adapter to make the microSD card fit the standard SD slot (microSD cards are often sold packaged with an adapter).

I am under the impression that SlotRadio does nothing but play these prepared cards. The SlotMusic cards may not even play in the SlotRadio.

Heads up Sansa! These products have really bad names and make a difficult concept worse!

How does one refer simply to the SlotRadio (card) distinctly from the SlotRadio (player)? What a mess.

Since I’m here posting again, I thought I would point out that the Fuze is displaying album art but I think the SlotRadio does not have that feature. The SlotRadio is apparently some afterthought while the Fuze is the real thing.

I was thinking a SlotRadio (card) with the classical genre would be nice, but I realize it would be boring. It would contain only the popular movements Pacelbel, of Vivaldi, the “best of Beethoven” and would be probably the performed by those cheap ex-Russia orchestras. I can do without that.  I might rather hear the 'best of radio comedy" or something like that.

Message Edited by shelded on 06-20-2009 03:46 PM

@tapeworm wrote:

I believe this is the case with SlotMusic cards, but the SlotRadio cards are a different ball 'o wax. I don’t think you can copy these, or for that matter, manipulate them in any way. That’s why you can’t change the play order of the songs or anything.

Gotcha :slight_smile:

Laaaaaaame :frowning:

@mngrif wrote:


@tapeworm wrote:

I believe this is the case with SlotMusic cards, but the SlotRadio cards are a different ball 'o wax. I don’t think you can copy these, or for that matter, manipulate them in any way. That’s why you can’t change the play order of the songs or anything.


Gotcha :slight_smile:

 

 

Laaaaaaame :frowning:

The restrictions they put on usage are the only way they can sell 1000 songs for $40.

One of the reviews linked above says the person loaded some music into the empty area of the card to play. And elsewhere two of the reviews speak in less detail of loading music to other cards to play. So it may work.

We need a buyer to report in, but those people are not likely to be the experiment-and-report type, which is why they bought the device. Maybe a relative will do it for us.

Just yesterday have seen the ad showing a gal with one of the SlotRadio. All other ads I have seen have no hands to show the scale. I had impression this thing was much larger than it is. It is very cute.

You can load about an album’s worth on the slotradio card’s free space. Works as advertised with MP3 and WMA.

and… it’s Pachelbel BTW…

So when will we get SlotRadio on the Clip?:wink:

Trying to incite responses?:smiley:

@yelped wrote:
Trying to incite responses?:smiley:

As the Governor of Alaska would say, “You betcha!”:smileyvery-happy:

You find the slot, I found the radio. Then maybe else someone will create the hacked firmware.

@shelded wrote:
You find the slot, I found the radio. Then maybe else someone will create the hacked firmware.

I was looking for a hint as to whether or not the Clip would ever get a slot.:wink:

@shelded wrote:

I am under the impression that SlotRadio does nothing but play these prepared cards. The SlotMusic cards may not even play in the SlotRadio.

 

(snip)

 

Since I’m here posting again, I thought I would point out that the Fuze is displaying album art but I think the SlotRadio does not have that feature. The SlotRadio is apparently some afterthought while the Fuze is the real thing.

The whole idea behind SlotRadio players is to produce a very very cheap MP3 player. In fact, last I heard, they won’t even have a proper screen, just control buttons. It’s for people that just want music to play, and they want it to play now. As in, it’s not for really any of us that would be posting on these forums.

The Fuze is the real deal, a SlotRadio player is just a player, nothing more. That’s also why it’s half the price of a Fuze.

As far as interoperability goes, Sansa would be making a massive mistake if the SlotRadio player only worked with SlotRadio cards, so I doubt that will be the case. They aren’t that stupid, we hope.