Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

World's Most Expensive Mp3 Player

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the horribly-disgusting dept.

An anonymous reader writes "TrekStor, a German manufacturer of MP3 players has developed the world's most expensive MP3 player. This unique custom-made portable player is based on TrekStor's i.Beat organix mp3 player, and has one GB of memory, 25 hour battery life, supports MP3, WMA, WAV, ASF, OGG audio files, and is cast in 18 carat gold with 63 diamonds (one carat)."

37 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. Bah. by Malor · · Score: 5, Funny

    You can have my slightly-beat-up 40g iPod, with a tired battery, for TWICE that price.

    There.... 'most expensive' didn't last that long. :)

  2. Have I missed something? by Fatchap · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How much does it cost? Or does the fact that I am asking mean I can't afford it.

    --
    The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
    1. Re:Have I missed something? by LunaticTippy · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Hm, article says "price not disclosed yet."

      I'm wondering how it became the "world's most expensive mp3 player."

      --
      Man, you really need that seminar!
  3. Grammy Bling by wiz31337 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Finally an MP3 player I can wear to the Grammy Awards!

    --
    /whisper/ Thanks for the candy!
  4. Huh? How can it be the "most expensive"... by Fallen+Kell · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... when they havn't even ANNOUNCED the price? How do they know it will cost more then the Sun Enterprise 10000 that is sharing out MP3 files which are then decoded on a SunRay Thin Client and played for me at my desk? Huh? Huh? Riddle me that Batman...

    --
    We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
    1. Re:Huh? How can it be the "most expensive"... by thefirelane · · Score: 5, Funny
      when they havn't even ANNOUNCED the price

      They have a price matching + 1 policy.

  5. Morons by Locke2005 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I could gold-plate a cow turd to create the most expensive cow turd in the world... but that doesn't make it any BETTER than any other piece of shit out there! Same goes for this MP3 player...

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:Morons by hal2814 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Reminds me of a joke:

      Back in the days of outhouses, there was a wealthy man who wanted an outhouse that didn't smell. One day a salesman came to his house and promised him just that. The salesman brought in the builders who used the most precious materials they could find and built a massive, jewel-encrusted outhouse.

      The owner was pleased with the appearence of the outhouse. When completed, he used it for his usual business and sure enough the outhouse stank. He called up the salesman who came by to look at the outhouse to see why it's not working as intended.

      He stuck his head in the door and immedeately jerked it back out. "I see your problem," he said to the owner. "Someone took a crap in there."

    2. Re:Morons by Phat_Tony · · Score: 5, Insightful
      No kidding. As far as I could tell, there was NOTHING fancy about the player. In fact it only comes with 1 GB of RAM, where Apple's already been selling ones with 4 GB for a while now.

      If I were going to get the most expensive MP3 player, I'd want it to start with about 100GB of flash, and then come up with some other innovative features too. Maybe an FM tuner and both XM and Sirius tuners, along with recording/time shifting their content. Video and photo capability. Maybe HD video out? Or really high audio quality and support for some good lossless encoding scheme. Come on, do something impressive.

      Otherwise, I think anyone with that much money to waste on an MP3 player and jewelry would do a lot better buying a gorgeous watch and an iPod Nano. I mean, why get something gold plated and jeweled that's going to be obsolete in a few years anyway?

      Of course, maybe that's the whole point- to really show off your wealth, you need to not only indulge in conspicuous consumption, but stupid conspicuous consumption. You don't buy fancy expensive stuff that's high quality and will last, you buy fancy, expensive stuff that's low quality and disposable. That'll really show off how rich you are.

      --
      Can anyone tell me how to set my sig on Slashdot?
    3. Re:Morons by Lispy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Not impressed until I see one made of mithril!

    4. Re:Morons by jayhawk88 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Thank you Jokey McNoget.

    5. Re:Morons by Phat_Tony · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I don't have time to look into this, but I know iRiver has sub-200 euro models with FM, at least in the US. Like the iRiver ifp-990- it plays Ogg, has an FM tuner, has 40-hour battery life, doesn't require any software, and I've used one, and it has decent sound quality. Also, look at the old iRiver G3 line. I know browsing in stores there have been others offering all these features.

      With a brief look at Amazon, how about the COBY MP-C941? Or the BoomGear MP-800? Or the RCA Lyra RD2217? A Yahoo! Shopping search for "mp3 player fm ogg record" under $250 yields over 1,500 results. Surely something in there meets these requirements?

      --
      Can anyone tell me how to set my sig on Slashdot?
  6. Ha! by plopez · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think the Elbonians go them beat. Esp. if you count in the cost of the tractor needed to move the Elbonian MP3 player...

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
    1. Re:Ha! by MarkGriz · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Esp. if you count in the cost of the tractor needed to move the Elbonian MP3 player..."

      Yes, but it's worth it just for the lips.

      --
      Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
  7. Some other expensive technology... by TechnoGuyRob · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If anyone's interested, the Guinness World Records has information about various other expensive technology. For example, take this cell phone developed by Davis Morris International:

    A cellphone designed by David Morris International, of London, UK, sold for $104, 050 in 1996. Made entirely from 18-carat gold, it has a keypad encrusted with pink and white diamonds. David Morris International is one of the world's most high-profile jewellers. The company supplied all the jewelry worn in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (UK, 1971).

    As it turns out, the Hubble Telescope is the most expensive telescope--taking US$3 billion--and the most expensive domain name is (ironically) business.com, going for a wholesome £4.6 million (almost US$8 million). The Dreamcast computer game Shenmue cost $20 million to develop, and the Wilson WAMM system (Wilson Audio Modular Monitor) speakers cost $225,000.

    It's entertaining to see little ventures like this. But let's face, the MP3 player is just for kicks. This is slightly interesting; at most.

    1. Re:Some other expensive technology... by mypalmike · · Score: 2, Informative

      The Dreamcast computer game Shenmue cost $20 million to develop

      "Enter the Matrix": estimated $30 million
      http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/PC%20Games/e nter-matrix.htm

      "Daikatana": estimated $25 million (from an article on my former employer, LGS)
      http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2000/06/20 /dark_glass/index.xml

      --
      There are 0x40000000 types of people: those who understand 32-bit IEEE 754 floating point, and those who don't.
  8. Cheapest MP3 player by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTool s/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1238959&CatId=1695

    That one is $30, but every once in a while there are rebates which bring the price down to $10. There's no memory in it, but if you've got a SD card laying around this could be a nice little player.

    --
    Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
  9. Re:Interesting paradox by Malor · · Score: 2, Funny

    Eh, who you going to believe... a publicly traded corporation, or a random Slashdot poster?

  10. That photograph... by antdude · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... is tiny!

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  11. I beg to differ by argStyopa · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Um, from TFA:
    TrekStor has recently decided to produce a limited series of this magnificent gadget for those who would buy the most expensive mp3 player in the world. A price has not been disclosed as of yet.


    How is it the "most expensive" if they haven't set a price?

    Personally, I think this: http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/naias_2005 /0501_volkswagen_passat/ is the world's most expensive MP3 player, at about $40,000.

    Doesn't even use RAM, it's a friggin' cd player.
    --
    -Styopa
  12. It's all about pricing... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2, Funny

    This MP3 player is the one everyone is talking about!

  13. Re:Interesting paradox by networkBoy · · Score: 4, Funny

    /. poster.
    by miles.
    -nB

    --
    whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
  14. Ha by Reality+Master+101 · · Score: 4, Funny

    You know that Apple and Steve won't take this lying down. Just wait for the next product announcement. Apple WILL have the most expensive and overpriced technology, or Steve will personally scream at people until he does!

    --
    Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
  15. I never understood why by artifex2004 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    people strive for the gaudiest, most expensive and wasteful things they can('t) afford.

  16. Fromt TFA... by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 5, Funny

    When asked what market they were targeting, the german company replied, "Paris Hilton."

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
    1. Re:Fromt TFA... by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 5, Funny

      Brings a new meaning to the term 'market penetration'...

      --
      Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
  17. Not an iPod. by otis+wildflower · · Score: 2, Funny

    It doesn't matter, it's not an iPod. Chicks dig iPod, so ask for it by name.

    Give me an iPod that has a red LED screen and 14k gold all around so that it looks like some kind of wicked '70s digital watch, Daddy _like_...

  18. Re:Ogg support! by Theatetus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    IRiver just put out a great 1-G player with Ogg support...

    ...wait for it...

    ...that doesn't use USB mass storage and instead only uses the proprietary MPT only available on Widnows XP.

    So, they supported oggs, and then cut off the one section of the market that gives a damn about oggs... now they'll probably point to the slow sales of the model and say, "see? people don't want ogg".

    --
    All's true that is mistrusted
  19. Re:Stupid by ivan256 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hmm, 63 diamonds that add up to 1 carat... 1/63 carat diamonds are not rare, artificially so or otherwise. There are about $4 worth of diamonds in this MP3 player, if that.

    It never ceases to amaze me how much people will pay for things that have tiny chips of diamond on them if they're told the chips add up to a carat. If the size of the diamond is less than a half carat, and you're paying multiple digits of dollars for it, you got ripped off. (I mean moreso than if you buy a multi-carat diamond at the going rate.)

    If this MP3 player is gold-plated and has diamond chips in it, it's likely that they raised the manufacture cost by $20 or so... If it's cast in gold (like the article says, but I don't believe them), that's another story, but we'd have to know how much it weighed before we could jump to price judgement.

  20. Same old story by Keith+Russell · · Score: 5, Funny

    No platinum. Fewer diamonds than a Victoria's Secret bra. Lame.

    --
    This sig intentionally left blank.
  21. Re:Shame... by Jozer99 · · Score: 3, Funny

    You know, before this, I wasn't sure, but now I can confidently say that covering any piece of crap in gold and diamonds will make it an obscenely expensive piece of crap. Substitute whatever object you want (i.e. pen, mp3 player, cellphone, car, wife) for "piece of crap". I call it Jozer's Law.

  22. expensive useless crap for stupid rich people by Thud457 · · Score: 2

    I bet these guys or these guys can top that!

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  23. Language barrier. by The-Bus · · Score: 3, Funny
    Internal memo found from TrekStor:

    To: TrekStor Design Team
    From: Klaus, Head of R&D

    OK, we're in a heap of trouble. As we know, at our pow-wow a week ago our CEO handed me a napkin with the specs for our next player. As we all know it said "Feature: Rich!!!" with rich underlined three times.

    Well, about an hour after we got delivery of this prototype diamond player I looked at the napkin again and realized the colon was just two dots of soy sauce. It's supposed to be "feature rich"... without the colon! We need to figure out how we can unload this, pronto! Everyone call your wealthy friends.

    Danke,
    Klaus



    See, now it all makes sense.
    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  24. Nooooo by nightsweat · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That's the world's most expensive crap glued ONTO an MP3 player.

    --

    the major advances in civilization are processes which all but wreck the societies in which they occur - A.N. White
  25. Re:3000 Keyboard by crabpeople · · Score: 3, Funny
    Your second sentance
    everytime you look at it, just remember all the poor people you had to screw over to make enough money that you can just drop it on something like this.

    answers the first...
    I was just like "who the hell would buy something like that."


    --
    I'll just use my special getting high powers one more time...
  26. Oh the irony... by Fluoxetine+Freak · · Score: 3, Funny
    ...of a site dedicated to the most expensive things, running Google ads that are for the *cheapest* mp3 players alongside TFA.

    Back to Cute Overload it is then...

  27. Re:Ogg support! by Eskarel · · Score: 2, Informative
    Actually the T-30 is only MTP if you buy it in the US or certain parts of Europe. If you buy one in Australia, Asia or a few other places then it's just a regular old mass storage device which mounts just fine on my linux boot.

    I'm just going to point and laugh now.