As we've been reporting for some time now, Swarovski disease has been spreading fast. But with the arrival of iRiver's Swarovski-encrusted Mickey Mouse-shaped audio player (site in Japanese), we fear the affliction can now officially be called a pandemic. Does the World Health Organization know about this?!
(Credit:
iRiver )
Swarovski disease, as defined by the Physicians' Desk Reference, is a condition in which Swarovski crystals attach themselves to every gadget known to man--even those that would seem most incompatible with shiny jewels, such as cable connectors.
In the latest outbreak, the glitter is appearing on a version of iRiver's Mplayer, a cute little kids' product that's licensed from Disney and shaped like the head of its iconic mouse. At 1GB and weighing about three quarters of an ounce, it can hold 240 songs. Users can change tracks, add shuffle, skip folders, and adjust the volume by rotating the gadget's ears.
The Swarovski editions come studded in 133 to 210 crystals in colors including pink, blue, green, black, and silver--and OMG, you can even get them with ribbons attached! They sell online for about $135.
In trying not to be too cynical here, we acknowledge that young gearheads will likely find the bejeweled version of the Mplayer quite charming. At the same time, we have to worry about exposing consumers to this highly contagious ailment at such a young age.
(Credit:
iriver)
With a space as bustling as the MP3 player market, one is bound to come across a smattering of kitschy devices. On first blush, you might be tempted to cast off Iriver's Mickey Mouse-shaped Mplayer as one of these tawdry examples of gadgetry--we certainly were. But the Disney-themed music player is surprisingly endearing in person: unique, tiny, and cute as a button. It sounds good, too, yet there's no screen, the design is not terribly durable, and at $69.99 for 1GB of built-in flash memory, the Mplayer is priced a bit higher than competitors from Creative and SanDisk. Read the review for more, or click the pic for the slide show.
(Credit:
Iriver)
Disney appears to have a penchant for making music gadgets out of its characters' heads, and certainly its most famous franchise won't be left out of the party.
Iriver's Mickey-themed "MPlayer," which Craver Jasmine France spotted back in January, has made good on its promise to finally arrive on the U.S. market. We can't help but feel a bit slighted, however, after having seen the MP3 player roll its merry way across countries in Asia while taking on all forms, occasionally getting blinged and even picking up a disease or two along the way.
As originally billed, it comes with 1GB of built-in storage, a USB port, and 9 hours of playtime. But do take note of one feature not mentioned earlier: "This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, or birth defects or other reproductive harm." So if you live in the Golden State, tweak the ears at your own risk.
(Credit:
Dvice)
We know about the whole obsession with kawaii (translation: cute) in Japan, but how much Mickey can any culture stand? Already they've gotten silver, gold, and even Swarovski-diseased 1GB "Mplayers," and now Disney and Iriver Japan are introducing "Season 2" of the eared one in even more colors, patterns, and designs, according to Dvice. Between this and High School Musical, we may need a set of blinders as well as earplugs.
(Credit:
Engadget)
Most any other day, this gold-plated MP3 player would likely be subjected to a good measure of disgust and ridicule. But compared with the horrendous Valentine's version that assaulted our senses recently, it actually looks decent.
This limited-edition collaboration of iRiver and Disney is oddly described as an "'assassin's mace' of a device," according to Engadget. Whatever that means, it's double the price of the regular 1GB MPlayer at about $123. ("Assassin's mace"?)
(Credit:
Tokyomango)
Once again, the concept of "one step too far" seems to have eluded yet another gadget maker. And this time, appropriately enough, it involves one of the all-time leaders of marketing excess, the Magic Kingdom.
We agreed with fellow Craver Jasmine France in appreciating the clever and simple design of the "MPlayer," Disney's latest MP3 homage to Steamboat Willy (and much more appealing than previous players, we might add). Now the bad news: There's a hot pink version festooned with ears covered in Swarovski crystals, according to Tokyomango, apparently a misguided "Valentine edition" just released in Japan. (It gets worse.)
As much as we often envy the Asian markets for products available only in that part of the world, this is one instance when we're happy to be excluded.
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