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  • Neil Young's PonoPlayer Is Finally Here
Technology Articles > Entertainment > Music > Neil Young's PonoPlayer Is Finally Here

Some say that the iPod is on its way out. Others say that music players, in general, are finished.

But, Neil Young isn’t one of those people. The Canadian singer and songwriter has created his own portable music player called the PonoPlayer. Young claims that his music player just sounds and works better. Here are the details.

The PonoPlayer

This music player is shaped like a pyramid. It comes in various colors, and will retail for $399. Music can be purchased from PonoMusic.com, a site still in development. Young and crew claim that PonoMusic.com will feature music from major and indie labels. The music site is meant to integrate with the PonoPlayer. There’s no word yet as to whether or not PonoMusic.com will allow desktop streaming.

For $399, you’ll get 128GB of storage, or enough to store up to 500 albums. Expansion will be possible through an added memory card. The PonoPlayer will come with a LCD touchscreen and three buttons (basic music feature buttons). If news of the PonoPlayer sounds familiar to you, that’s because this player was first announced back in 2013.

A Pushed Back Date

Citing construction and development issues, the PonoPlayer team pushed the date of release back at the time of the original announcement. The news is now that Neil Young will launch a Kickstarter campaign on March 15th. If you want to get your hands on a PonoPlayer, you can head to his crowdfunding site and pledge a dollar amount (amounts haven’t been set up yet).

Back when the device was originally announced, many touted it as having superior sound to current music players like the iPod. But, I have to wonder if it’s too late for Young’s music player.

Music players like the iPod and PonoPlayer seem to be a thing of the past. These players aren’t used as widely as they once were, and they aren’t in high demand at present – especially not with a $399 price tag. To true audiophiles looking for a better music player, the PonoPlayer might be the thing.

Additional Details

If you think that Neil Young and crew can do what Apple couldn’t, make sure to hit up the new Kickstarter page on March 15th to see what Young has been up to. In addition to the actual player, Young’s company will sell headphones and earbuds. Can a music legend make a music player that sounds better than anything else on the market? It’s really hard to tell whether or not Young’s PonoPlayer will sound great.

The player has been in the works for a few years now, though, and the fact that it wasn’t rushed to market speaks two truths. The first is that Young didn’t have the backing for the project (hence the Kickstarter page), and the second is that the product hasn’t been quickly pieced together. While investors haven’t seen fit to back the PonoPlayer, it’s a device that’s going to be within reach soon. Will you buy it? Or, has the time of the music player passed?