Review of the Slacker G2 -- courtesy of Orbitcast.com

It seems strange that a site dedicated to Satellite Radio would even consider reviewing a Digital Audio Player that has nothing to do with satellites. But that's just the thing, the Slacker G2 isn't a Digital Audio Player in the common sense - so let's not look at it like that - and maybe it's time to abstract the way to look at "radio" as well.

The Slacker G2 is a "radio," just without the reception problems.

The songs you hear on a Slacker aren't the songs you've ever heard before. Or maybe they are. Just like radio. Unlike an iPod, where you're guaranteed to have heard the songs you've downloaded at least once - the G2 is driven entirely by the Slacker service.

Their "stations" - each intuitively labeled as pre-selected genres of music - are programmed by radio professionals, but remain customizable to your tastes to an infinite degree. It's a combination of engineering and human intuition that works remarkably well.

So I embarked down Orbitcast's Long Term Review of the Slacker G2 from the point of view of the casual radio listener, not the iPod user.

 
 Pros:
Small, rugged and ergonomically superior to original Slacker Portable
Convenient "radio" with no reception issues
Infinitely customizable channels without the hassle of an iPod
Cons:
Stock headphones are lame
Screen susceptible to minor scratching
No car dock capabilities (yet)

First off, the Slacker G2 feels light-years ahead of the previous Slacker Portable in terms of ergonomics. The device fits snuggly in your hand, with its rounded corners and egg-ish shape. The non-slip rubber coating adds to level of comfort, though makes it more difficult to slide the device in and out of your coat pocket. The coating also adds a built-in layer of protection for when you drop the device (I'll admit it, I did drop the review unit, and it continued along without skipping a beat - literally).

 
While the previous generation device had an awkward "touchstrip," the new Slacker G2 has a toggle-wheel similar to the BlackBerry or other SmartPhones. Pushing on the toggle-wheel selects, while pressing the "Home" button brings you back up within the menu system.

 The screen is large and bright for viewing cover art, as well as for reading the library of information behind each album and artist you're listening to (a feature that I absolutely love - it's one thing to listen to new music - it's another to learn about it).

 
Unfortunately, the holster/case provided with the Slacker G2 doesn't protect the screen, so it's likely to fall victim to minor scratches. It does, however, add some extra protection along the sides (something that drop-prone users like myself apparently need).

 The button placement is ALMOST entirely intuitive. I say "almost" because on the top of the device you press on the left to "love" a song, but push the button on the right to turn the volume up. Seems backwards. Overall it's a good setup and not hard to figure out right out of the box (I didn't bother to read the directions - I never do).

Headphones provided with the device are sub-par. They're not terrible, but you can get far better ones for marginally more. While the stock headphones are the in-ear/noise-blocking kind (with three different sized inserts for comfort), they don't nearly have the range of other headphones. At first I thought it was the Slacker G2 that had a wacky equalizer, but swapping in some cheap Sony headphones quickly fixed the issue. My advice would be to get nicer headphones and ditch the stock versions.

 
So I like the Slacker G2, but I have two problems with it though.

The first is the lack of a cardock. If Slacker is to truly penetrate and affect the way we listen to "radio" then it needs to have a more seamless integration with the car. Right now, automobiles are the last bastion of hope for terrestrial radio (and, arguably, satellite radio). The majority of radio listening is done while on the road. So Slacker needs to figure out how to bring its personalized radio experience into the vehicle as effortlessly as possible. I'm not talking about an entanglement of wires and FM transmitters, but a simple cardock that the user can snap right into and instantly continue listening.

I'm told that one such solution is on the way.

There were plans to have a cardock for the original Slacker Portable, one that provided station updates directly to the device via satellite (Ku-Band). But those plans appear to have been shelved. Slacker's goal is to remain delivery-agnostic, and they're staying true to that. But I still want it in my car. So I'll wait for the cardock solution.

My other problem with the Slacker G2 isn't necessarily about the device, but the listening experience behind it.

If Slacker is "radio" - no matter if its cached/time-shifted/whatever - then it still feels somewhat... lonely. With terrestrial and satellite radio, there’s some sort of sense of community. Callers requesting songs. DJs giving insights about an artist or upcoming concerts. Humorous bumpers between songs. These all come together to give you the feeling that you're not only one listening. And I'd love to see something like incorporated into the Slacker listening experience, delicately.

It doesn't need to be annoying like terrestrial but, let's face it; much of regular radio's "personality" is pre-recorded anyway. So it's not much effort apply similar techniques of voice tracking to Slacker. And if the listeners don't like it, they can just "ban" the DJ and move on. The best of both worlds.

 
 
The Verdict:

Overall, it's a great device, but the lack of news/talk programming could be a deal-breaker for many satellite radio listeners. If you're mostly a music-listener, it poses as a viable alternative and the fact that there's no need to pay a monthly fee is icing on the cake. (Though, the Premium service really does help make the experience superior.) The choice between 25 or 40 channel versions really is just a matter of how much music you want to have on the go (the test unit was 25 channels - and more than enough for me).
If you're an iPhone or BlackBerry owner, then I would advise on holding out for the apps that are on the way. I'm told by the Slacker folks that an iPhone app is "in the works" - so if you don't want to carry around multiple devices, you'll be happy.

But for everyone else, it's worth taking a serious look at.