Roc-A-Fella Rocbox

[James Fee]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/04/technology/04urban.html?oref=login&th&oref=regi' target='_blank'>http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/04/technology/04urban.html?oref=login&th&oref=regi</a><br /><br /></div><i>"As the trading of MP3 files ate into music sales, Damon Dash, the 33-year-old entrepreneur behind Roc-A-Fella Records, turned his hip-hop music company into a platform to sell other, more profitable products. He built Rocawear, a hip-hop-inspired clothing line, into a $300-million-a-year business. He launched Armadale Vodka, Tiret New York luxury watches and America, an urban luxury fashion magazine. He even bought the venerable Pro-Keds name to use on a new line of athletic shoes. Now Mr. Dash is taking his celebrity and music-infused marketing approach to a product line closer to the source of his troubles: MP3 files. In November, he will introduce a line of MP3 players under the name Rocbox, including one aimed squarely to compete with Apple Computer's iPod.</i>"<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/04urban.cov.jpg" /><br /><br />Hmm, he claims the RocBox is an alternative to the iPod, but to me it just looks like the <a href="http://www.ipodlounge.com/reviews_more.php?id=409_0_6_0_M">3G iPod</a>, sans the wheel. :roll: Innovation is not present here....

[dean_shan]

Where's the bling? I expected something from Roc-a-fell to have a little more flash. Where's the big diamond encrusted dollar sign on the front? I thought that's why they took out the scroll wheel.

[Suhit Gupta]

Actually, in that picture, the device in black on the right looks a lot like iRiver's H-series (with iPod-like buttons).

Suhit