Many a teenager’s introduction to the world of digital music was Apple’s iPod Shuffle. Now a startup is reimagining the diminutive music player for the streaming generation with a new device that plays Spotify tracks instead of iTunes downloads.
The Mighty, a device by Mighty Audio currently raising money on Kickstarter, is pitched as “the first and only device that plays your Spotify music on-the-go without a smartphone.” The player, about the size of the classic Shuffle, comes with 2GB of onboard flash memory and store up to 48 hours of music for offline listening. Users boot up the Mighty app on their phones, which pulls in music info from Spotify, then sync playlists to the device itself. The product will be compatible with both iPhones and Android phones, but a Spotify Premium account is required to use it.
Mighty should be a useful product for people who like to listen to Spotify while running but don’t want to lug around a heavy, expensive smartphone. The device has the typical play, fast forward and rewind buttons, as well as a “playlist selector” button. The Mighty will dictate the names of different playlists through the user’s headphones as he or she scrolls through them.
The startup, which is not affiliated with Spotify, is seeking $250,000 to fund Mighty. With $104,000 already raised and 28 days left to go in the campaign, it seems likely to meet its goal. The company is aiming to deliver the first Mighty devices by November 2016.
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