Sandisk, in collaboration with some of the world's biggest music companies, is to launch a new music medium based on its microSD cards that will feature full-length, pre-loaded albums and additional content.

 According to San Disk, the second-largest maker of MP3 players after Apple, the new Slotmusic format has a potential market of more than a billion cell phones, MP3 players, PCs and game consoles, and will provide music lovers with a more versatile way to experience their music.

Although the cost has not yet been specified , San Disk audio/video general manager and senior vice president Daniel Schreiber said that it will be in keeping with the cost of other similar music devices. About the same size as a fingernail, the Slotmusic is to appear in Wall-Mart and Best Buy outlets in time for the holidays.
 
Supported by labels like EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, a mixture of current and old albums will be avilable in the format.  Universal plans to release 20 albums now, and 30 by the end of the year from artists including Jimi Hendrix, Akon and New Kids on the Block.

According to Rio Caraeff, executive vice president of elabs for Universal Music Group, the microSD cards will be available with 1GB of storage, compared to a typical audio CD with about 700MB. Versions up to 8GB will become available.

The music on the card will be in the MP3 format, allowing users to trtansfer music to their PCs, delete songs from the card and fill up any spare space with their own data. Unlike CD, DVD, or Blu-ray DVD, Slotmusic will be capable of playing on more than a billion devices. San Disk also builds microSD card slots into almost all of its music players. The cards will come with a USB adapter. X