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Apr. 09, 2007

Flash memory and consumer device specialist SanDisk is shipping the first portable multimedia player (PMP) able to download music directly via WiFi, without the use of a PC. The "Sansa Connect," which runs embedded Linux and Mono, connects directly to online music services via WiFi, according to sources.

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The Sansa Connect reportedly is the first iPod-style portable music player designed to interoperate directly with web services. Users can purchase and download music directly to the device, without having to boot up a PC, or transfer files via USB. The device also comes with a Flickr photo browser. The device also plays Internet radio.

The device sports a 2.2-inch color LCD screen, and a built-in 4GB hard drive for multimedia storage. It measures 3.58 x 2.05 x 0.63 inches and weighs 2.72 oz. Formats supported include MP3, WMA, and Protected WMA.

The Sansa Connect is initially available with support for Yahoo Music, an online service that costs $15/month, or $143.88 billed annually. A free 30-day trial is available to new Sansa Connect users through the end of 2008, according to Yahoo!

Ironically, the Yahoo Music service does appear to require the user to have access to a PC running 32-bit Windows XP or Vista, according to a blog post by Mono project leader Miguel de Icaza.

De Icaza earlier told LinuxDevices, "The entire interface [for the Sansa Connect] is written in C#, I believe it is a single process that implements everything. But I do not know more than that."

Availability

The Sansa Connect is available direct from SanDisk, priced at $250 -- $110 more than SanDisk's non-WiFi-enabled 4GB model, the e260.

A few additional details and a slideshow of the Sansa Connect device are available on our sister site, PCMag.com, here.

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