Slacker is my favorite of the Internet-radio services I've tried. The ability to customize is vast, the programming is top-notch (I favor 90s Alternative and the oxymoronic Indies Hits), and the interruptions are few and far between, even for the free service. Slacker is the primary unit of the privately traded Slacker, Inc., which was officially launched earlier this year. Throwing its hat into the ring of portable music players -- competing with the likes of Apple, Inc. (NASAQ: AAPL)'s iPod and the Sirius Satellite Radio Inc (NASDAQ: SIRI)'s Stiletto -- Slacker is introducing a portable device, perfect for listeners who aren't tied to their computers. Instead of broadcasting via a WiFi connection, the Slacker device is simply loaded with new tunes (from the user's favorite artists and channels) every time it is synched with the user's PC.
An article in USA Today this week notes that "You have little control over what Slacker selects, beyond identifying what artists you like... but [Slacker CEO Dennis] Mudd says consumers don't care."
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