Interested in buying Slacker G2

[YankeeXDev]

Hey guys I've been seeing around here all the hype in the slacker units and today I went to research it out of being bored. But damn this unit is impressive, it sure beats satellite program just by looking at the online player slacker has on its site. They have so much more artists than sirius will ever have. I even searched a rock band that not many people hard of and they had a channel for them. That got me interested in purchasing a unit and the monthly price ain't bad. Even using it free doesn't look too bad. If I had known of this device a year ago I wouldn't of bought my stiletto 2 haha.

Just some general questions about the device

1.) I assume it works like pandora does by uploading a artist channel like Led Zeppelin lets say and it plays Zep songs and songs similar to them?
2.) If I would listen out somewhere out of wifi site then how long is channel block for that single channel?
3.) And if you are on wifi it generates new songs I assume right?
4.) And does it really matter if I get a 4 GB or 8 GB
5.) How is the sound quality? 128k?

I saw this at best buy last Saturday and damn the device was small. But it looks like a way better design than the stiletto. I am already getting pumped up about purchasing one. I found a good deal online somewhere for a 4 GB version of the G2.

Thanks

 

[mjones73]

1) Basically yes. You can sample what to expect using the web player. Any edits you make to the station on the web player (banning, adding artists, etc) get reflected on your channel on the player also.
2) It's supposed to be 100 songs per channel, if you don't use all the available channels, over time the ones you do have will expand and can go up to 500 songs.
3) It doesn't stream via wifi, just pull down new blocks of updates
4) Depends on how many stations you plan to put on it, I have the 8 GB, probably won't get 40 but as I mentioned the space still gets put to good use.
5) Quality is better then satellite, I'd say it compares with 128k.

I've had mine a month now, love the thing.

 

[lronglien]

Buying a slacker

I bought one in November and use it in conjunction with my XM. For me, they've made a good balance together. The customizable stations are great. I've made one or two myself and have imported others from other Slackers. If you can afford the investment, its a great buy.

 

[JMII]

I got one for Xmas and really like it... I listen to it more then Sirius on my drive to/from work.

The service is BETTER then Pandora (for me!) since you can specific multiple artists, then ban certain songs or even certain artists. In addition you can fine tune the stations with artist discovery, just hits, more favorites and so on. Just play around with web player and free account to build some stations, listen to the pre-made ones or look in this forum for user created stations. The music is what sold me.

The ability of the player to store your stations/songs is what separates it from the services out there today. Sync via WiFi then you can go for DAYS without doing anything other then making sure the battery is charged. You don't need a computer or internet connection. Nice if your traveling or on the road alot.

Only three complains with the G2 Player for me and they are related to listening in the car:
1) Off-axis screen viewing. This effects alot of high res color LCD displays (like iPods) but it seems worst with the G2. At certain angles the screen complete washes out, especially in bright conditions (sunroof open = can't see a darn thing)
2) Battery Life. I get about 4-5 hours on a charge, where as my iPod would run for more like 6-8.
3) Lack of a car dock. In theory this might help issue #1 but it would certainly solve issue #2. Slacker has a home/office dock out now, so hopefully a car dock is coming soon.

 

[Jon]

As far as the quality is concerned, I play the Slacker App on my iPhone with the standard earbuds, which have a history of sounding tinny, although this pair haven't been too bad at all, and the sound quality still comes through. I'd say 128k at least. The SQ on the Movie Scores channel was fantastic when I had a listen the other day.