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Originally posted by BetaNews
Disney on Thursday unveiled its own MP3 player called the Mix Stick that it hopes would appeal to younger children who are increasingly turning to electronic toys over the traditional dolls and toy trucks. The company also is betting on its $49 retail price as a way to entice parents who may not be willing to spend $99 on an iPod Shuffle.

Mix Sticks will come in four different designs -- Disney Chrome, Forever Princess, Sassy Pixie and That's So Raven -- and are built for children age 6 to 12. However, from the characters selected for the designs, it appears Disney is attempting to target young girls.

Disney's Mix Stick will work much like a traditional MP3 player in the way that a user transfers music purchased from the Internet or copies songs from a CD. In addition, a child could also play music by inserting a pre-filled memory card that Disney is calling "Mix Clips."

About the size of a postage stamp, the Mix Clip card would be able to hold approximately one CD worth of music. Initially, Disney will release four different titles including songs from Hillary Duff and James Brown, as well as music featured in the company’s television shows.

On its own, the Mix Sticks hold up to 60 songs with a 128MB capacity. The player also supports Microsoft's Windows Media format. Disney representatives say the devices will be available in retail locations such as Target and Wal-Mart, and at clothing retailer Limited Too.

Customers would have the option to expand the memory to 1GB through a memory card.

Even though MP3 players may not be Disney's core business, Jupiter Research vice president and senior analyst David Card said the players should be successful.

"Disney's done branded CD and DVD players before, and Mix Clips aren't too original -- although ultra-small kid-targeted music formats are usually clips-only, and sold as keychains," Card said. "At $49, it's priced to move."

What remains to be seen, however, is if in the eyes of kids the Mix Stick will be an acceptable alternative to the trendy -- and more expensive -- iPod.

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i REALLY want the chrome one lol, it looks surpringsly good

I hope they sell in the UK...

i think that's...





Damn Ugly

and they ain't gonna beat ipods

yeah you;re just jealous cos you dont have one

lol i think the thread title should be 'A Whole New World' for Disney

my iriver ifp 799 is way better than that crap

dont fforget the target audience... young girls in particular so they are doing one thats cheap, unlike ipods

i guess, with their cheap plastic, but i'm surprised u like it...

what? i have taste lol

i just said the chrome looks good although it better be chrome and not chromy plastic... plus my current bank balance in 0.26GBP so im cant afford an iPod

i highly doubt it's real chrome. and yeh, it's targeted at young girls mostly, so you gotta expect us to think it's tacky

WTF "young girls" ?

I want one!

i didnt say you were a young girl i said it was TARGETTED at young girls, doesnt mean only young girls can get one!

That is one cheap mp3 player with a surprising number of places for additional memory. I think it's perfect for its target audience and I would get one if it wasn't disney I think it's a wise move but I don't really think young girls should listen to Hillary Duff...

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Originally posted by rav0
WTF "young girls" ?

I want one!

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awesome...they will be doing sanitary towels next...targeted for young girls probably