New Seagrand Portable USB WMA/MP3 Player

Seagrand (Japan) will release its new WMA/MP3 player that connects directly to your computer via USB, called the ♪Loco (Sound Loco), during the middle of April. Two models will be released, a 128MB model and a 256MB model. The Sound Loco will be compatible with Microsoft Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP.

Three colors will be offered for the Sound Loco: white, black and red. When connected to one’s computer, the Sound Loco acts as a USB class storage device, so you can store more than just music. The Sound Loco uses a USB 1.1 interface and data/music can be directly sent to the unit when connected.

The Sound Loco can play WMA, MP3 and Wave audio formats. The bit rate for WMA formatted files is 32~192kbps and for MP3 files it is 8~320kbps. A “Plays Windows Media” logo is printed on the device so that consumers can rest assured that it works with Microsoft Windows Media Player 9.

The Sound Loco comes with a built-in 128x32 dot LCD display, which supports ID3 tags and can display in Japanese. The Sound Loco also comes with a built-in mic which allows the unit to be used as a voice recorder. The unit comes with 5 built-in equalizer settings: X-Bass, Rock, Classic, Pop and Jazz. The Sound Loco is powered by a single AAA battery which lasts for about 12 hours. The outer dimensions are 33x21x88mm and the weight is 33 grams.