Slacker G2

Slacker G2 Media Player a Bit of an Overachiever

How many iPods are there in the world with music that never gets updated because their owners are too busy, uninspired or just plain lazy? A lot of them, says Slacker. The company designed its music ecosystem to function with the least conceivable amount of human effort: hence the name that conjures up Principal Strickland from Back to the Future. We enjoyed Slacker's first attempt at a portable device — large and blocky as it was — but this second version, the Slacker G2, solves its design problems, so that the slim, rounded device now slips easily into any pocket, at 3.5 inches tall and 2.6 ounces heavy.

What's best of all, the G2 retains everything we liked about Slacker service, especially the interactive radio experience familiar to users of Pandora and similar programs to the world. Depending on whether you pick up the 4-GB or 8-GB version of the player, you'll be able to carry around up to 25 or 40 stations that can be programmed by artist(s) or by selecting one of Slacker's 100 preprogrammed channels from its catalog of over two million songs (considerably more than Pandora has). Even the programmed channels are affected by your clicks of the Heart and Ban buttons so if you never want to hear "Total Eclipse of the Heart" again, under any circumstances, you won't. We love that Slacker factory workers load each device with channels the buyer has already created on Slacker.com. If you pay for a Slacker music subscription any song you "Heart" gets downloaded to your computer and can be loaded onto the device. But at its core, this is internet radio that works when there's no internet. Isn't it about time your portable player had Heart and Ban buttons on it for personalizing customized radio stations that update with a single click via WiFi? We thought so. 

WIRED Allows lazy music discovery. Lets you listen and edit stations on the device, Slacker.com, or Windows software. Also loads MP3s, WMAs and AACs the old fashioned way too (Windows only). Clean sound. Nice in-ear headphones, controls. Displays album art band bios on 2.8-inch screen. Internet radio feature free if you can stomach skip limitations and the occasional audio ad; plans start at $7.50 per month if you can't. 802.11b/g. Two million songs in streaming catalog.

TIRED Updating via WiFi connection eats lots of battery life. The rubber stoppers that plug USB and (unused) docking port get lost easily. WiFi connection requires AC adapter if battery power is below 50 percent. Doesn't leave room for much music loaded from your computer.

• Style: Audio, Satellite Radio, WiFi enabled
• Manufacturer: Slacker
• Price: 250 as tested