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BenQ's new MusiQ rivals iPod shuffle

updated 12:15 pm EST, Fri December 1, 2006

MusiQ rivals iPod shuffle


BenQ today unveiled the MusiQ, a screen-less flash player aimed directly at the increasingly popular iPod shuffle. The player resembles a military dog tag and is built out of brushed aluminum and magnesium, and attaches easily through a chain to a keychain or necklace, according to Electronista. The base players contain only 512MB or 1GB of flash memory depending on the model; however, a built-in microSD card slot can more than double the song capacity. Both will ship with a his or hers matching decorative tag, BenQ says: a "steel wings" logo will be etched on one side of the tag for men, while a "magic beans" floral design exists for women. The player includes a metal earphone chain and will launch first in China on December 15th. The 512MB version will retail for $88 US; 1GB pricing has not been released.


by MacNN Staff

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  1. unity@mac.com

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2005

    0
    12/01, 12:24pm | report spam | Reply |

    Hmmmm....

    I kinda like it.

  1. diamondsw

    Senior User

    Joined: Apr 2000

    0
    12/01, 01:11pm | report spam | Reply |

    Hmmm....

    It's more expensive than the Shuffle. DOA.

  1. d_oob

    Forum Regular

    Joined: Apr 2003

    0
    12/01, 01:34pm | report spam | Reply |

    Yes more expensive

    I would expect it to be since it has a MicroSD slot. I like that feature. I'll give it a look for sure.

  1. Jeronimo2000

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    0
    12/01, 01:55pm | report spam | Reply |

    not sure I like it

    I like the "dog tag" idea, but the etching kills it for me. As far as I can see, they spell it "MüsiQ", with an umlaut-u. I just plain hate those desperate word creations, especially when they come with intercapitalization for no good reason.

    Nice touch with the card slot, but I wouldn't be seen dead with something having "MüsiQ" written on it.

  1. milhouse

    Senior User

    Joined: Jan 2001

    0
    12/01, 02:03pm | report spam | Reply |

    Very cool idea

    ...especially the dog tag thing.

  1. Geobunny

    Mac Elite

    Joined: Oct 2000

    0
    12/01, 06:15pm | report spam | Reply |

    Re to Jeronimo2000

    "I just plain hate those desperate word creations, especially when they come with intercapitalization for no good reason."

    Isn't that precisely what Apple did with "iPod"? They created a new word and threw a random capital letter in there just for the h*** of it? D'you hate that too? Or indeed ANY of Apple's iProducts.

  1. LordJohnWhorfin

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2002

    0
    12/02, 12:26am | report spam | Reply |

    Brilliant! iPod killer!

    Well, at least it would stand a chance if it were priced reasonably. One wonders what kind of a marketing genius would have the brain-dead idea to price the 512MB higher than the 1GB iPod shuffle...

  1. JeffHarris

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Oct 1999

    0
    12/02, 12:06pm | report spam | Reply |

    Judge for Yourself

    iPod killer, I doubt.

    Check out BenQ' advertising campaign:

    http://www.benq.com.cn/musiq/

    It sure looks like the rubble of the World Trade Center in the background.

    BenQ won't get any money from me with cheap ploys like that!

  1. Elektrix

    Dedicated MacNNer

    Joined: Sep 2001

    0
    12/02, 12:12pm | report spam | Reply |

    re to geobunny

    He said "for no good reason". Apple had already established the i + capitalized word as a basic naming scheme for their consumer products (iMac, iTunes, etc.). And there was a good reason for it initially, as it was meant to emphasize the Internet connectivity of the original iMac.... since that time, it seems like the "i" in these product names doesn't necessarily mean "Internet" any more, but actually more represents the pronoun "i", the personal nature of the product. When they came up with the iPod name, it fit into the existing naming scheme, and helped to emphasize the integration with iTunes, etc.

    They didn't throw a "random capital letter in there just for the h*** of it", as you said. It isn't random (it's the capitalized word after "i" like every other product with the same naming scheme).

    But for the MusiQ, there isn't any specific reason that can be seen for either the umlaut (which actually changes how it should be pronounced, in a bizarre way), or the capitalization of the Q, which doesn't signify anything.

  1. ccsccs7

    Mac Enthusiast

    Joined: Nov 2001

    0
    12/03, 10:48pm | report spam | Reply |

    MüsiQ

    Isn't the "Q" part of MüsiQ in line with the whole "BenQ" thing?

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