MSNBC.com had a blurb stating, “MP3’s step out of the computer, and onto the road.” But what I find ironic is that, while file-sharing and CD burning of not just audio CDs, but MP3 CD-Rs has exploded in the past two years, the rise of MP3 players that read and play those MP3 CD-Rs has not swept the electronics industry.
Here’s the rest of MSNBC’s promotion of Kenwood’s new Music Keg: “Face it: we’ve all got a love-hate relationship with our car stereos. Radio is great for shock-jock tomfoolery, NPR bromides and right-wing bloviating, but not so great for music—can you say “ad clutter”? And unless you’re willing to keep a stack of CDs within reach, you’re doomed to listen to the same six discs in the CD changer in your trunk. That’s no longer true, thanks to the ever-spreading MP3 revolution. Once the province of desktop PCs and portable music players, MP3 technology is making its way into car-stereo products like the Kenwood Music Keg.
The device consists of three parts: a 10-gigabyte removable hard drive, a USB docking cradle that connects to your PC and the in-car or trunk-mounted Music Keg. To copy music from your PC, you simply place the hard disk in the cradle and transfer your songs and playlists, then take the hard drive over to your vehicle and pop it into the Music Keg. At $900, the Music Keg is a lot more expensive than burning your own CDs. But it sounds great, down to the mournful strings on the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.” And with 2,500 songs at your disposal, you’ll never have to fumble with a stack of CDs again.”
But while the electonrics industry is trying its hand at mega-gigs of storage, they are still forgetting what has made the P2P underground so above-the-ground: ease of use. Sure, a USB adapter for your PC may sound like smooth sailing, but USB connections are slow, especially compared to Mac’s Firewire. The simple fact is that CD and DVD discs are incredibly versitile, cheap, easy to burn to, portable, and easy to play back from. Those are all qualities that we, as electronics customers, are truely looking for. So nice try Kenwood, but how about tapping into the market that already exists: affordable CD-ROMs/DVD-ROMS for the car and walkman?
