“Gateway will finally ship its long-awaited own-brand digital music player on 15 November, more than a year after its first move on the market was planned to debut,” Tony Smith reports for The Register. “The Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox incorporates a 4GB hard drive and a 1.6in, 128 x 128 TFT colour display in its compact 96.4g, 9.6 x 5.9 x 1.7cm shell.”
“The device is pitched at Microsoft Windows Media 10-based music services – one month’s access to Napster’s Napster To Go offering is included… In addition to WMA and MP3, the unit also supports ACC, for which we think gateway means AAC, the format chosen by Apple for the iPod, though Gateway notes that its machine doesn’t support iTunes Music Store downloads,” Smith reports. “Picture support is limited to JPEG and BMP files, and can grab photos straight from a digital camera, via its USB 2.0 port. The MP3 Photo Player includes enough RAM – 32MB – for 16 minutes’ anti-skip playback and provides up to eight hours’ continuous music play thanks to an 820mAh battery… The MP3 Photo Player is set to ship on 15 November for $250.”
Full article here.
Gateway’s Press Release:
The new Gateway(TM) MP3 Photo Jukebox will give music lovers a new fun, affordable and very convenient way to take their favorite music and photos with them wherever they go.
The new Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox will make anyone currently on a waiting list for other mini-digital music players think twice. The new Gateway jukebox combines 4GB of storage in a small and lightweight 3.4-ounce design, with cool new features including a large color display, digital photo storage, and a removable and rechargeable battery.(1)
“This feature-rich digital music player is very small, sleek, easy to use and offers a combination of features that can’t be found anywhere else in the market,” said Ed Fisher, senior vice president of product planning for Gateway, Inc. “Combine its affordable price, unique features, music service
compatibility and out-of-the box Napster To Go Service, and you’ve got a great holiday gift for music lovers of all ages.”
The new device promotes a new way of enjoying digital music. Right out of the box, the jukebox comes ready to download music content directly from the new Napster To Go service, the world’s first portable subscription service. Available as a plug-in through the new free Windows Media Player 10, Napster To Go gives music lovers unlimited access to more than a million songs for one low monthly price. Rather than having to purchase individual songs a la carte, Gateway customers can use Napster To Go to get unlimited fill-ups of their MP3 Photo Jukebox. For a limited time, a prepaid month of Napster To Go is provided at no cost with the MP3 Photo Jukebox and customers who want to subscribe after the prepaid month pay only the $14.95 monthly fee.(2)
“Napster To Go offers an amazing value to consumers and the new Gateway MP3 Jukebox lets them experience this revolutionary portable subscription service on a smart, simple, affordable device full of features that are important to die-hard music fans and novices alike,” said Laura Goldberg, Napster’s COO. “We are extremely pleased that Gateway has developed a quality device that complements Napster’s service and will enable consumers to make the most of their digital music experience.”
Moving beyond the typical black-and-white displays available on most MP3 players, the Gateway jukebox boasts a large 1.6-inch, vibrant color display. The crisp and bright images give music lovers a better way to navigate their music library and view track information.
Unlike most other digital music players, the Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox can store and display digital photos. This unique feature is perfect for people traveling on vacation or business who find they’ve maxed out their camera’s capacity, or who simply want to carry a collection of photos along with their digital music. Transferring photos to the MP3 Photo Jukebox is easy; the jukebox can be connected directly to a digital camera with the included USB 2.0 cable. By simply connecting the two devices and following the prompts, the photos are quickly transferred. The Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox can be used to view digital photos one by one or in a slideshow format, giving the customer even more enjoyment out of the large color display.
The Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox is simple to use. The large 1.6 inch color display is easy to read, whether viewing photos, playlists or track information. The intuitive scroll navigation makes accessing and managing content quick and easy. Music can be browsed by album, artist, genre, track or playlist, and modes such as shuffle and repeat tailor the music mix. Plus, music lovers can personalize their listening experience with more than 20 different equalizer settings.
After filling their Gateway jukebox with music and other content, Gateway customers have maximum listening time ahead of them, since the battery delivers more than eight hours of play time on a single charge.(3) And unlike most other digital music players, the battery can be removed and recharged.
Comfortable to carry in a pocket or purse, the Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox is compact and sleek. It measures only 3.8in x 2.3in x 0.7in (L x W x D) and weighs just 3.4 ounces — less than most cell phones. And while the size is small, the sound quality is big. The Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox delivers clean, crisp high-fidelity sound. Its large 4GB of storage capacity can house up to 1,000 MP3 songs — so an entire collection of great music can always be on hand.
The Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox will include the new Windows Media Player 10, offering Gateway customers more music and more choices including built-in access to a broad range of digital music services. It also includes the new Auto Sync feature, which automatically synchronizes customer’s digital music collections and photos from a PC to their new Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox.
Gateway plans to verify the new MP3 Photo Jukebox with the PlaysForSure logo when it ships in November. The PlaysForSure logo offers consumers a symbol of verified support for a broad range of music download services. This will also include support for the state-of-the-art Windows Media DRM 10 for music subscription services. Using a portable subscription service like Napster To Go, Gateway customers can fill their jukebox with enough music to fill hundreds of CDs, at a price of just a single CD.
Priced at just $249.99 the Gateway MP3 Photo Jukebox comes with an AC Adapter, soft cover bag and ear bud headphones.
It was a short run for iPod Photo. I for one welcome our new Gateway overlords.
…next
the usb direct hook up to the digital camera is a good idea. Couldn’t they use pict-bridge or something?
*blink blink* in my arrogrance I must be ignoring something important. . . RIPOFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.
PlaysForSure? Not if I don’t buy one, then it’s NoPlayAtAll. Loosers. Sorry developers of this pathetic device you suck. Time to go back to sleep.
It’s a noble attempt, but they don’t go far enough. The screen is smaller and the resolution is lower (128×128). The supported image file formats is very sad compared to iPod Photo.
I’m confident that direct hookup to cameras will be supported by the iPod Photo through third-party cables.
the photo transfer is the one thing that is missing from the line of iPods
that is the only thing this device has going for it
regardless, it will probably be forgotten a few weeks (or days) after it’s release
If they iPod photo, or any new iPod had this feature, I would buy one (upgrade my 3g) right now
I care not about the picture viewing, I just want to be able to download my camera
A 1.6″ color screen is “large”? Are you kidding me? Yesterday, the press was criticizing Apple for the iPod Photo’s “tiny” 2″ display…
And what the heck good is a 4 GB hard drive?
Gateway’s problem is that they don’t have a business plan other than “change business plans every 6-12 months and hope we don’t go bankrupt in the meantime.”
Gateway should have stuck with the cow-themed computers…
BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
*sniff* Oh, man. That was funny, Gateway. You guys crack me up. Thanks for that one.
Make buyers of other player “think twice”. Woo! That’s funny stuff.
crash and burn. The cow is about ready to get shipped off to the meat plant.
Wow, that interface looks amazing….
That’s the one thing they all lack. I didn’t realize just how great iPod’s controls were until i finally got one earlier this week.
Oh yeah! Sure! This ugly little thing REALLY looks like the ultimate iPod-killer to me!
*lol*
she’s a beauty
not!!
it looks ugly and its ugly and its ugly.
BUT FOR $249. You have gotta be kidding me.
Although this is not an iPod mini or iPod killer, it looks like the iPod competition is really heating up.
Apple offers 40 Gb, with colour screen for $499. Double that what gateway charges. Its a pretty good deal not matter how ugly the thing is.
This is a joke along with the Ashely Simpson iPod right?
Gateway is like Dick Chenney….. MOO! ohhh, they both just died.
(This is not a political attack…. it is a personal joke on Chenneys health condition…. so keep your politics to yourself please… lets not kill this thread with 5 billion political responses to my attempt at humor)
I’m wondering how the portable subscription works.
Do the songs suddenly expire on the music device after a certain amount of time or do they play until you hook it up to your computer so it can check if you still have a subscription?
I’d be highly pissed if I took my mp3 player somewhere only to find out that all the music had expired.
it looks ugly and its ugly and its ugly.
BUT FOR $249. You have gotta be kidding me.
Although this is not an iPod mini or iPod killer, it looks like the iPod competition is really heating up.
Apple offers 40 Gb, with colour screen for $499. Double that what gateway charges. Its a pretty good deal not matter how ugly the thing is.
Er, mac_user, you did note that it’s got a 4GB (like the mini) capacity, not 40GB capacity, didn’t you?
Nice Simpsons reference, effwerd.
It’s an “iPod Photo killer” alright.
After taking one look at this ugly thing, you’ll kill to get an actual iPod Photo!
What does Gateway have to lose? I don’t think Gateway has had a profitable quarter for well over two years now….it may even be longer than that. It closed all it stores earlier this year.
While news.com post doom & gloom articles about Apple and it stock value and profits continue to rise what do they say about Gateway? Well back in June of this year they had a glowing review of the company saying they were not going to lose as much money as they thought..only 85 cents per share instead of 90.
On the bright side if the don’t sell well then Gateway can always use them to bribe reviewers for glowing reviews, giving reviewers 10 to 20 units to keep after a good review, give them to employees instead of bonuses or give them as parting gifts when the company final goes under. Which will be a surprise to all of those technical experts who were waiting with baited breathe for Apple to die.
give them credit. it does have a couple of good idea. such as direct hookup to a camera to download directly into player. which the iPod did that. for $600 you would think the iPod would do that.
but it also has a couple of duds: 4G?? after adding your MP3 files you think you gonna have room to add your JPG files too????
the interface is the best i have seen aside from the iPod. but it is just not an iPod.
Don’t you just love the way Apple keeps its stuff secret. Bet the copy writer for that release would love to get it back and rewrite it. Nothing better than to see these also-rans touting their junk as being better than iPod, then have iPod come out with better specs and products “before” the other guy gets out the chute. Gateway’s got to be going ballistic about now; their obsolete and beaten before they even ship the first unit.
And with all the electronic ink we’re spewing, Gateway is not even relavent any more.
Get off your high horse people and do some legit comparisons…
They have a player that has the same battery life, weight, AND price as the iPod mini, but with a color screen and a direct digital camera hookup, something the iPod Photo should be embarrassed for not including…in a device with “photo” actually in the name. And this from Gateway!
It may not be as nice as the iPod, but it certainly has more than you people are giving it credit for.
on paper this thing truely is a great value…and provides a compelling solution for some. The only negative is that the software may get in the way of a truely integrated solution that apple provides (hardware & software)
the direct hook up to a digital camera sure beats hacking a unit for the HD/compact flash card….This is an AWESOME feature for serious digital SLR use…
the MP3 feature is good for those with large MP3 collections and the ACC support possibly means you can transfer all the songs in your iTunes that your ripped from your own CD’s in ACC format instead of MP3. you can not use DRM ACC files from iTunes but if you really have to buy a song, it isn’t all bad to HAVE to buy a song from Napster.
Ergonomics and cool factor will never match apple’s iPod, but functionally, this is one of the first complete solutions that I would be compelled to consider.
don’t knock it without trying it, seeing it or using it…it’s still a market of choice…blind faith in any one company’s PR is actually not “free choice”…
You can transfer your pictures to an iPod using the Belkin Digital Camera Link for iPod w/ Dock Connector:
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=201526&pcount;=&Product_Id=173207
The Belkin Digital Camera Link is a piece of crap. Worthless. Forget it exists. Need a better solution, and Apple needs to get off their butt and come out with a flash upgrade for the iPod mini so recording plug ins can work on it.