Here's a bizarre o­ne from Logitec: the "LAT-SD100MP3" has 8, count 'em, 8, SD card slots. Don't ask me why, but unless you've got a crapload of SD cards just sitting around your house (and happen to want to have them ALL inserted into the player at the same time), I think this is completely useless. At least it's cheap; o­nly 11,800 yen.

Logitec Corporation will release the "LAT-SD100MP3," an in-car MP3 audio player with 8 SD card slots and an FM transmitter, in early February. Open price, but estimated at 11,800 yen.

The LAT-SD100MP3 has been dubbed the "Dialive." This name was supposedly coined from "digital device that fills life full of energy."

On the front of the unit are 8 SD memory card/MMC slots. When using 8 1GB SD cards, this allows for up to 8GB of storage. It also has an audio input jack, and can thus be connected to audio players such as the iPod.

On the upper part of the panel are different operating buttons, such as play and stop. Supported audio formats are limited to MP3, from 64 to 320kbps. It suppots ID3Tag Ver.1.1, and can display this information o­n the front LCD panel (but cannot display Japanese). Furthermore, not o­nly is the LCD itself backlit, but the buttons are as well.

Logitec has confirmed operation of the device with SD memory cards up to 1GB in side, and the player can recognize as many tracks as the memory cards can hold. However, because management of song title information is somewhat difficult o­n a 2-line LCD, the company suggests a limitation of 99 songs.

It is equipped with 6 preset equalizer settings: classic, jazz, rock, club, pop, and soft. Other functions include rewind, fast-forward, single-song repeat, all repeat, and so forth; it also has a resume feature that will resume playback from the same point at which it was playing when the power was turned off.

The player can connect with car audio equipment either via the FM transmitter or by an MP3 changer's output jack. The FM transmitter offers up the following frequencies: 87.7, 87.9, 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, 88.7, and 88.9MHz. The company has said that using the audio output jack allows for higher quality playback. The external dimensions are 133 x 51 x 51.5mm (W x H x D), and it weighs roughly 185. A cigarette lighter power cable, AC adapter and such are included.



Inspired by:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20050202/logitec.htm

Press Release:
http://www.logitec.co.jp/press/2005/0202_01.html