Panasonic introduced new D-snap SD digital audio players, the SV-SD800N and SV-SD400V, and two D-dock SD micro stereo systems, the SC-SX850 and SC-SX450.
A combination of a new D-snap SD audio player and a new
D-dock SD stereo system offers a unique "docking style" of audio entertainment,
making it easier to listen to high quality sound at home and
away.
The new D-snap audio players work in tandem with the new D-dock micro stereo
systems to offer automatic pick up and fast recharging. By placing the new D-snap
audio player in a D-dock stereo port, users can listen to a music sequence from
the point of pausing without restarting from the beginning. The docking function
also enables quick recharging. A 10-minute recharge can run the players for three
hours. When fully charged, the players can continuously play up to 30 hours.
Mr. Shunzo Ushimaru, Director of Corporate Marketing Division for Panasonic Brand
in Japan, said, "Panasonic introduced a new way of enjoying music last year by
employing the SD Memory Card as a bridge media for digital audio players and micro
stereo systems. Now, users can enjoy music stored on the SD Memory Card with a
variety of SD products such as audio players, SD Audio compatible cellular phones
or micro stereo systems. These SD products have evolved even further to offer more
convenience and high sound quality anywhere at anytime."
The SV-SD800N and SV-SD400V audio players come with closed-type insidephones that
are shaped to fit into the ears so that they simultaneously shut out
noise and prevent sound leaks. The earphones for the SV-SD800N feature noise
cancellers that drastically reduce ambient noise.
The two models support the new SD high capacity (SDHC) specifications. When a 4 GB
SDHC card - the largest capacity currently available - is used, up to 66 hours and
29 minutes of music or 999 songs can be stored in the high quality mode (128
kbps). The new audio players come with a 128 MB SD Memory Card which can hold more
than 60 songs in the long-play mode (64 kbps).
They also offer "zapping" playback of the songs, enabling users to check newly
recorded songs easily. Users can zap through the climaxes of all new songs
recorded on the SD Memory Card.
As the players are compact (35.1 ? 86.9 ? 10.2 mm), light-weight (38.5 g with the
battery) and skip free devoid of moving mechanical parts, they make a perfect
companion for joggers.
The SC-SX850 D-dock stereo system has a 160 GB built-in hard disk drive (HDD)
capable of storing up to 80,000 songs, while the SC-SX450, with an 80 GB HDD, can
store up to 39,000 songs. The two micro stereos offer the world's fastest
high-speed copying capability - 12X speed from the CD to HDD. They can also
transfer the data up to 16X speed from the HDD to SD Memory Card.
In a world-first, these two new stereos can automatically identify and input song
titles recorded in the analog mode. The stereos incorporate a database of 350,000
album titles so that users can obtain title information without accessing to the
Internet.
The four new SD audio products will be available on September 8 in Japan.
Panasonic plans to produce 20,000 units of the SV-SD800N, 30,000 units of the
SV-SD400V, 5,000 units of the SC-SX850 and 10,000 units of the SC-SX450 each
month.