Slacker’s new portable player is cool, but just too expensive for what it does. The 8GB model weighs in at $249 ($199 for the 4GB model). The 8GB Apple iPod Touch is $229! You can use the free Pandora app for a Slicker-like experience. Yeah, I understand the whole auto-sync feature, but I don’t see it as THAT big of a deal. What does the Slacker device have to compete with the Touch’s browser? Nothing IMHO. Too bad the Touch doesn’t support Flash. I’m still hoping it will someday.
Now that the new Touch has a built-in speaker, I am thinking more that I might get one. I want a portable device with speakers to play music streamed from my PC, Pandora, Rhapsody, etc. The Squeezebox Boom is close, but it’s not battery powered and too big.
Before someone accuses me of being an Apply fanboy, I’m not. I don’t even own one…well ok there is an unused Shuffle in a drawer that we got for free but that doesn’t really count.