Slacker 8GB WiFi Internet Radio Player with 40 Stations

I signed up to the Slacker site in early Dec 08 after seeing these on Woot! and have set up some stations and been getting used to their web player. I like the web presence and selections of songs and stations. Creating your own station and letting them fill it in with similar music is great. I’m so close to pulling the trigger and buying a portable.

QUESTION
If a station gets loaded onto the player and I’m out and about and hear a unwanted song or artist will I be able to ban them?

Yes, you can hit a button to ban them and your player will skip to the next song. Slacker will keep a record of banned artists and consider this when uploading your next batch of songs from their site.

QUESTION
If a station gets loaded onto the player and I’m out and about and hear a unwanted song or artist will I be able to ban them?
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Looks awesome, but Slacker just released software for the BlackBerry and I can just use that.

Thanks ufd but I still don’t fully understand.
Can you ban songs and artists seperately on the player? There are some bands I don’t want to hear, then there are some specific songs by a particular band I don’t want to hear. I would rather be able to just ban a song than the artist if thats my only option.
Thanks

For anyone interested in using the player in his/her motor vehicle, this cup holder mount can securely hold the unit without obstructing the power switch, audio jack, USB port, SD card slot, or any of the buttons. (You just have to turn the gripping portion 90 degrees and place the short ends of the player off-center against the foam “wings,” allowing the audio cable to fit through the opening.)

Also, the base easily detaches for convenient storage. (It isn’t a good idea to leave this visible in a parked automobile.)

You can ban songs on the player. To ban an artist, I think you have to do that on the web page. Also, to ban an artist but still hear a song they do, you ban the artist but heart the song. Also done on the web page.

Confirmed on FAQ page http://www.slacker.com/forum/faqs/g1/

Can I Ban Artists on the Slacker Portable?
You can not ban artists on the Slacker Portable. If you would like to “Ban” an artist from your station, you will need to use the Web Player or the Software Player**.

** my edit - another forum posting states the Software Player is obsolete, resources abandoned to focus on web player, blackberry and iPod support.

Thanks to you and stinhoutx.

Now I wonder if the slacker portable will connect to my wireless network protected via WPA-PSK(TKIP)

If anyone is wondering a Wii will connect to this protected network but the Nintendo DS won’t

i really want to get one of these, but the terminology alone is baffling.

could someone please explain just what this mysterious (to me, anyway) “Software Player” is?

i have a slacker account - is what i’ve been listening to online the “web player”? (i thought that was the “Software Player”, but apparently not.)

maybe i’m not smart enough to own one of these …

From what I’ve read, there was/is a software player which became unsupported end of 2008. I don’t have it. I have an account and listen via a web browser at slacker.com

[QUOTE=ginawoot, post:29, topic:213881]
i really want to get one of these, but the terminology alone is baffling.

could someone please explain just what this mysterious (to me, anyway) “Software Player” is?

i have a slacker account - is what i’ve been listening to online the “web player”? (i thought that was the “Software Player”, but apparently not.)

You cannot ban artists on the player, only songs. I wish people wouldn’t spread misinformation.

What you can do is ban artists and songs from your station when you create or add it. If you have a free subscription, the number of times you can ban items is limited. Still, you can indeed avoid hearing things you dislike.

[QUOTE=gareed, post:30, topic:213881]
From what I’ve read, there was/is a software player which became unsupported end of 2008. I don’t have it. I have an account and listen via a web browser at slacker.com

i suppose i meant to address my questions to people who actually have the portable player being sold today, not to people like you and me who have only used the “web browser” (aka “web player”?) version.

so, if the “Software Player” (whatever that is) is no longer supported, what online tool do people use to modify their portable player stations, etc.? do you use the same “web player” that i’m familiar with?

anybody out there who actually owns one of these willing to tackle my questions? TIA.

Though I do now own this device, it hasn’t been shipped to me from woot yet :).

However, I’ve been messing around with the website and see that there is a “send to portable device” button that asks you to enter a device ID. I’m guessing it’s managed through there. I’ve been a long time Pandora user so this seemed like a logical buy since I lack the more fancy portable electronics that support this application already.

I still can’t figure out how to save custom stations.

YES.

http://www.slacker.com is the Web Player.

See the “Now Playing” and “Stations” tabs on the left?

See the “Portable” tab right under that?

There ya go.

Back when the MIO GPS first came out, there were many people that hacked the device and wound up with a nice-featured windows mobile device with touch screen and GPS capabilities…

Has any hacking been done on the slacker?
It would seem to make a nice wifi web browsing platform, etc.

I connect my slacker to a wpa network at my house, and it syncs fine. It also can login to my network at school!

I’m not so sure that it would, honestly. You have very few controls and no touch screen. The only real navigation option is the scroll wheel, and it’s a little flimsy. It might be an interesting exercise for someone but I can’t imagine it would ever be pleasant to actually use.

thanks! (i guess i never noticed it because i usually have my minimized browser window shoved left just past those tabs!)

geez! now i’m still on the fence. i’m just not sure i have what it takes in time, patience and technical skills to prevent this from becoming a $75 paperweight.

I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about Slacker’s live-chat support. If you’re motivated enough to stick to it (but not motivated enough to read all the support-forum threads), I expect they’ll walk you through the rough parts.

Hmm.
$5 shipping for 1.
$5 shipping for 3.
IN FOR THREE, BEEYOTCHEZZZZ! =)

(side note: my hunt for the best deal on a G1 Slacker is how I found woot.com – aside from the occasional “fluke” on ebay, the second-best price for this model was a one-weekend-only deal from jr.com for $79.99. So, WOOT!)

If you can set up your wifi on your computer, you can handle one of these. First thing you do when you get the player is to download and install this file:http://www.slacker.com/dwls/slacker.station.refresher.exe.
Once the firmware is updated on the player and you figure out all the bells and whistles on the web page, grab your stations, tweak them to your satisfaction, then download them to the player. After that it’s easy. Just connect whenever you want your stations updated and it takes care of everything.