iPhone Nano? Nope, it's a Slickr
It's like an iPhone Nano minus 90 percent of the features.
(Credit: CNET Networks)At last, we have the Venzero Slickr MP3 player in our cold, gadget-lusting grip. The German gadget manufacturer has been taunting us with images of their Slickr MP3 player for months now. We've only just opened the box, but we wanted to share a pre-review glimpse with our loyal Cravers.
Show me the loot.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
Is Slickr the iPhone's illegitimate German love child? It has daddy's looks, but that's about it.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The Slickr sports 2GB of built-in memory along with an SD Flash memory slot. Despite its iPhone-like design, the Slickr does not use a touch screen, but instead uses button navigation located on the top of the player. The audio player supports MP3, WMA and WAV files, but it doesn't look like it'll take DRM-protected files (we'll see). There's also a radio, built-in speaker, JPEG photo viewer and an AVI movie player.
Another selling point on this guy is the built-in MusicMarker feature that records a 10-second sample of any music source and later identifies the artist and title of the song when the Slickr is connected to your computer. I'm not sure how much I would use that feature, personally, but I'm curious to see how well it works.
The Slickr will be available in the U.S. later this month for $129. If you just can't wait, you can order the Slickr directly from the Venzero Web site--expect international shipping fees, however.
Donald Bell is CNET Reviews' senior editor for MP3 players and portable audio, and one half of the MP3 Insider blog and weekly podcast. He also likes getting his hands dirty with digital audio tools for musicians and DJs.
