Slacker Portable Player unboxing

We're creeping up on a year since I first got a hold of the Slacker Portable Player at SXSW in Austin. I'm pleased to see that the fledgling company has not lost track of its vision, and is indeed making good on all the hype. That's right, folks: we've finally got our hands on a real, honest-to-goodness, working Slacker Portable Player. It's about darn time, too. Actually, it's in the knick of time, because the units have also just gone on sale to the public, and I want to make sure you all get an in-depth review (coming soon) before you snap one up. In the meantime, check out these shots of our unboxing. Stay tuned later in the day for a complete slide show, which will give you a better idea about the size and function of the device and what you you can expect from the screen.

The 4GB player lets you upload up to 25 stations. Any left over space can be used for other digital music.

(Credit: Jasmine France)

A sticker gives you a preview of the playback screen.

(Credit: Jasmine France)

Slacker includes the player, a syncing/charging cable, some basic plastic earbuds, and a case that we think looks rather like a leather diaper.

(Credit: Jasmine France)

[royauty]

Wait ... it's a 300 dollar RADIO?

I like Crave, and the fact that it posts lots of interesting tidbits about exciting new products, but the above description does a lousy job of reminding us (after almost a year) of what this device is. As far as I can tell, it's a 300 dollar radio, whose claim to fame is that it taps into satellite and internet radio (via Wi-Fi).
For those of you that are interested in buying such a great product, I'd like to sell you a $500 dollar navigation system that's better than GPS (called a map-and-compass) and a pretty impressive bridge that those savvy folks in London think is their own.