Gone are the days of buying albums or individual songs for your iPod. I can’t remember the last time that I gave up $0.99 for a new release on the iTunes music store. Let alone comb through my library to hand select which songs made the cut for my iPod that week. The reality is that paying $10 per month for unlimited access to entire catalogs of songs has quickly changed this industry in nearly every way.
But I guess people still want an iPod Shuffle experience. Or at least over 9,000 backers of the Mighty Spotify Player do. That’s how many early adopters shelled out $70 well over a year ago to get their hands on this mini streaming media player. After raising nearly $600,000 on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, the Mighty is finally available to all this week.
Originally promised for last November, Mighty hit some bumps and bruises along its journey into consumer’s hands. After a few redesigns and building out iOS and Android support it’s now ready for the big-time.
While Spotify has slowly entered the hardware game in partnerships with other manufacturers, it’s been slow to arrive on dedicated music players. Spotify Connect offers integration with speakers but does little in the way of portable audio. Mighty offers a familiar clip-on design with dedicated volume, play/pause and skips buttons. There is a 3.5mm jack on top, but the real winner over its iPod Shuffle inspiration is Bluetooth connectivity for wireless speakers and headphones.
Once Mighty has arrived, it will need to be paired to a compatible smartphone and connected to your Wi-Fi network. All of your Spotify playlists (created or followed) will be available for transfer once your credentials are authenticated. Mighty can hold around 1,000 songs and you can start browsing through your collection fairly quickly, according to the product description. An AI voice-over will relay which playlist you’re currently browsing as a means for navigating without an internal display.
Hardware aside, there are still some hindrances that may be an issue for users. First and foremost is the syncing process. As I mentioned off the top, those days are long gone and with Apple upping internal storage capacities on its iPhones, it’s far less likely that you’ll run out of space. You’re going to need to have a real passion or need for listening to music without a dedicated internet connection to truly appreciate what Mighty offers. It’s fun to see the throwback hardware make a re-appearance but the long-term viability of this product is a concern.
Mighty is available for purchase today in three colors for $85.99.
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