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World's Most Expensive Mp3 Player 217

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the horribly-disgusting dept.
An anonymous reader writes "TrekStor, a German manufacturer of MP3 players has developed the world's most expensive MP3 player. This unique custom-made portable player is based on TrekStor's i.Beat organix mp3 player, and has one GB of memory, 25 hour battery life, supports MP3, WMA, WAV, ASF, OGG audio files, and is cast in 18 carat gold with 63 diamonds (one carat)."
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World's Most Expensive Mp3 Player More

World's Most Expensive Mp3 Player

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  • Bah. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Malor ( 3658 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:35PM (#15053095) Journal
    You can have my slightly-beat-up 40g iPod, with a tired battery, for TWICE that price.

    There.... 'most expensive' didn't last that long. :)

  • Have I missed something? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Fatchap ( 752787 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:35PM (#15053108)
    How much does it cost? Or does the fact that I am asking mean I can't afford it.
    • Hm, article says "price not disclosed yet."

      I'm wondering how it became the "world's most expensive mp3 player."

      • Mostly due to the fact that gold and diamond are "precious," and have a rather standard market value. Still, I think this has it beat:

        Intergem White Gold, Diamond-encrusted iPod Nano Case [intergem.net]

        The stupid thing about it is that "most expensive" is so fleeting. All someone would have to do is craft a device that uses more gold or more diamond, and ta da.

        • The stupid thing about it is that "most expensive" is so fleeting. All someone would have to do is craft a device that uses more gold or more diamond, and ta da.

          Or just put a ridiculous price on an ordinary MP3 player. Just because nobody is stupid enough to buy it, it doesn't mean that it's not the most expensive.

      • I'm wondering how it became the "world's most expensive mp3 player."

        What? The 24 caret gold and studded diamonds aren't enough of a tipoff?

        Honestly, I think it looks terrible. If you're going to make a player out of Gold and Diamonds, make it look like it's made of Gold and Diamonds. Don't just plate a regular player with a black, plastic screen and green LEDs. It will clash with all the expensive decorations.
        • What? The 24 caret gold and studded diamonds aren't enough of a tipoff?

          I'll tell you what 24 caret gold and studded diamonds remind me of: Fingerhut. In other words, Crap. Cheap crap. With tiny worthless diamonds and a thin but pure gold electroplate coating. I am so glad this shit of a company ruined my image of richness, but forever gold and diamonds will seem cheap, tacky, and Forever Fingerhut.

          Not telling you the price? That's Infomercial 101. Don't answer yet, there's more!

          The thing looks like

  • The player would glisten and be dazzling... but I imagine that the headphone would still look just as tacky.

  • Grammy Bling (Score:5, Funny)

    by wiz31337 ( 154231 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:37PM (#15053123)
    Finally an MP3 player I can wear to the Grammy Awards!

  • Huh? How can it be the "most expensive"... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Fallen Kell ( 165468 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:38PM (#15053138)
    ... when they havn't even ANNOUNCED the price? How do they know it will cost more then the Sun Enterprise 10000 that is sharing out MP3 files which are then decoded on a SunRay Thin Client and played for me at my desk? Huh? Huh? Riddle me that Batman...
  • When I was in Berlin, Germany, I was walking through KDW, and they had a gold plated keyboard. It was some 3000 in cost.

    I was just like "who the hell would buy something like that."

    This too. It's just too much. It's like, buy one of those, and everytime you look at it, just remember all the poor people you had to screw over to make enough money that you can just drop it on something like this.

    • Re:3000 Keyboard (Score:4, Funny)

      by crabpeople ( 720852 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @07:53PM (#15054367) Journal
      Your second sentance
      everytime you look at it, just remember all the poor people you had to screw over to make enough money that you can just drop it on something like this.

      answers the first...
      I was just like "who the hell would buy something like that."


    • "verytime you look at it, just remember all the poor people you had to screw over to make enough money" That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a long time. Wealth is not a zero-sum game. I, like everyone else I know, don't get rich screwing people over. Instead, we get rich from benefiting other people, who voluntarily increase our wealth. Poverty is not a virtue, nor is wealth evil.
      • "Everytime you look at it, just remember all the poor people you had to screw over to make enough money"

        That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a long time. Wealth is not a zero-sum game. I, like everyone else I know, don't get rich screwing people over. Instead, we get rich from benefiting other people, who voluntarily increase our wealth. Poverty is not a virtue, nor is wealth evil.

        Right... I'm aware that it's not a zero-sum game, because the Gov can produce more money at any time. But when you th
        • So by your logic, when I clean your garage, and you give me twenty dollars, did I just screw you over, and were you poor?

          you see where your logic utterly fails?

          I don't know anyone who has been made rich by taking from the poor.

  • Morons (Score:5, Funny)

    by Locke2005 ( 849178 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:38PM (#15053142)
    I could gold-plate a cow turd to create the most expensive cow turd in the world... but that doesn't make it any BETTER than any other piece of shit out there! Same goes for this MP3 player...

    • Re:Morons (Score:3, Funny)

      by hal2814 ( 725639 )
      Reminds me of a joke:

      Back in the days of outhouses, there was a wealthy man who wanted an outhouse that didn't smell. One day a salesman came to his house and promised him just that. The salesman brought in the builders who used the most precious materials they could find and built a massive, jewel-encrusted outhouse.

      The owner was pleased with the appearence of the outhouse. When completed, he used it for his usual business and sure enough the outhouse stank. He called up the salesman who came by to loo

    • Re:Morons (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Phat_Tony ( 661117 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @05:33PM (#15053541)
      No kidding. As far as I could tell, there was NOTHING fancy about the player. In fact it only comes with 1 GB of RAM, where Apple's already been selling ones with 4 GB for a while now.

      If I were going to get the most expensive MP3 player, I'd want it to start with about 100GB of flash, and then come up with some other innovative features too. Maybe an FM tuner and both XM and Sirius tuners, along with recording/time shifting their content. Video and photo capability. Maybe HD video out? Or really high audio quality and support for some good lossless encoding scheme. Come on, do something impressive.

      Otherwise, I think anyone with that much money to waste on an MP3 player and jewelry would do a lot better buying a gorgeous watch and an iPod Nano. I mean, why get something gold plated and jeweled that's going to be obsolete in a few years anyway?

      Of course, maybe that's the whole point- to really show off your wealth, you need to not only indulge in conspicuous consumption, but stupid conspicuous consumption. You don't buy fancy expensive stuff that's high quality and will last, you buy fancy, expensive stuff that's low quality and disposable. That'll really show off how rich you are.

      • Of course, maybe that's the whole point- to really show off your wealth, you need to not only indulge in conspicuous consumption, but stupid conspicuous consumption. You don't buy fancy expensive stuff that's high quality and will last, you buy fancy, expensive stuff that's low quality and disposable. That'll really show off how rich you are.

        Exactly.

        Seeing this article made me wonder whatever happened to the gold-plated, diamond-encrusted Sega Game Gear from the early 90s. Melted down to recover the gold, I

    • Re:Morons (Score:5, Funny)

      by Lispy ( 136512 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @05:35PM (#15053556) Homepage
      Not impressed until I see one made of mithril!
    • True, nobody will buy a gold-plated turd, for the same reason nobody will buy an unadorned turd. But people will buy gold-plated gadgets [amazon.com].
    • Yes, but this one does Ogg Vorbis.

    • Sadly, it still looks like a turd too. Most people would be more apt to spending ten or twenty thousand for the most expensive MP3 player ever if it didn't happen to look like it came from a corner jewelry store in Brooklin.

      "Yo Yo Yo! Check out my MP3 Playaz! Ain't it the Shiznit?"

  • This sounds like the $3500 USB flash drive [eightyford.com]. The obsoloscence of technology and the artificial rarity of diamonds. Wow, people are dumb.

    • Re:Stupid (Score:5, Informative)

      by ivan256 ( 17499 ) * on Monday April 03, 2006 @05:08PM (#15053384)
      Hmm, 63 diamonds that add up to 1 carat... 1/63 carat diamonds are not rare, artificially so or otherwise. There are about $4 worth of diamonds in this MP3 player, if that.

      It never ceases to amaze me how much people will pay for things that have tiny chips of diamond on them if they're told the chips add up to a carat. If the size of the diamond is less than a half carat, and you're paying multiple digits of dollars for it, you got ripped off. (I mean moreso than if you buy a multi-carat diamond at the going rate.)

      If this MP3 player is gold-plated and has diamond chips in it, it's likely that they raised the manufacture cost by $20 or so... If it's cast in gold (like the article says, but I don't believe them), that's another story, but we'd have to know how much it weighed before we could jump to price judgement.
      • Why would they lie about casting it in gold?

        It's supposed to be expensive... Cast it in gold and still charge significantly more than the parts are worth.

        Of course there are so many expensive things that can play MP3s that it is a meaningless comment.

        My USB key + MP3 player/Transmitter + Jeep + FM Radio combination is probably the most expensive that I own... And it's mobile.

        The Widescreen TV that we just bought can play MP3s... I'm not sure why they felt the need, but it does.

        Z.
        • I don't think they'd lie, I think the blog that's reporting on it may not have their facts straight. It seems more likely it would be plated. Castings of gold would be pointless and heavy.

  • Ha! (Score:5, Funny)

    by plopez ( 54068 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:41PM (#15053170) Journal
    I think the Elbonians go them beat. Esp. if you count in the cost of the tractor needed to move the Elbonian MP3 player...
  • It seems as useful as a self-sealing stem bolt. And as if theft of portable MP3 players wasn't bad enough... maybe it's meant to be worn on the teeth (grill!)?

  • Some other expensive technology... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by TechnoGuyRob ( 926031 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:44PM (#15053199) Homepage
    If anyone's interested, the Guinness World Records [guinessworldrecords.com] has information about various other expensive technology. For example, take this cell phone [guinessworldrecords.com] developed by Davis Morris International:

    A cellphone designed by David Morris International, of London, UK, sold for $104, 050 in 1996. Made entirely from 18-carat gold, it has a keypad encrusted with pink and white diamonds. David Morris International is one of the world's most high-profile jewellers. The company supplied all the jewelry worn in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (UK, 1971).

    As it turns out, the Hubble Telescope is the most expensive telescope--taking US$3 billion--and the most expensive domain name is (ironically) business.com, going for a wholesome £4.6 million (almost US$8 million). The Dreamcast computer game Shenmue cost $20 million to develop, and the Wilson WAMM system (Wilson Audio Modular Monitor) speakers cost $225,000.

    It's entertaining to see little ventures like this. But let's face, the MP3 player is just for kicks. This is slightly interesting; at most.

  • Cheapest MP3 player (Score:3, Informative)

    by Profane MuthaFucka ( 574406 ) <busheatskok@gmail.com> on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:46PM (#15053210) Homepage Journal
    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTool s/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1238959&CatId=1695 [tigerdirect.com]

    That one is $30, but every once in a while there are rebates which bring the price down to $10. There's no memory in it, but if you've got a SD card laying around this could be a nice little player.
  • So it's the most expensive mp3 player ever made, but the price hasn't been named yet... And it's just a 1GB mp3 player refinished in *bling*...

    Anyone else hearing the Earl of Yankerville shouting, "Take that price and DOUBLE IT!!!!!"
    • So it's the most expensive mp3 player ever made, but the price hasn't been named yet... And it's just a 1GB mp3 player refinished in *bling*...

      Most-Expensive isn't an adjective. It's a trademark (at least, it's the name of the domain...) No need to set the price.

    • It actually looks like a nice player, see for yourself at the TrekStor site [trekstor.de]. Plays mp3 and ogg. If only it works by normal USB, firewire or MMC, it's awesome. The gold plate for the wealthy customer is not a bad marketing ploy. It sure drew attention here. For the rest of us, there's the normal player, which you can have gold plated on your own at a local jeweler if you must.

  • ...for rich people with more money than musical taste. 1gb isn't even enough to hold my singles...

  • That photograph... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by antdude ( 79039 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:52PM (#15053255) Homepage Journal
    ... is tiny!

  • I beg to differ (Score:4, Insightful)

    by argStyopa ( 232550 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:53PM (#15053264) Journal
    Um, from TFA:
    TrekStor has recently decided to produce a limited series of this magnificent gadget for those who would buy the most expensive mp3 player in the world. A price has not been disclosed as of yet.


    How is it the "most expensive" if they haven't set a price?

    Personally, I think this: http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/naias_2005 /0501_volkswagen_passat/ [automobilemag.com] is the world's most expensive MP3 player, at about $40,000.

    Doesn't even use RAM, it's a friggin' cd player.

  • It's all about pricing... (Score:3, Funny)

    by __aaclcg7560 ( 824291 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:54PM (#15053275)
    This MP3 player [dilbert.com] is the one everyone is talking about!

  • Ha (Score:5, Funny)

    by Reality Master 101 ( 179095 ) <RealityMaster101@gmail. c o m> on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:55PM (#15053287) Homepage Journal
    You know that Apple and Steve won't take this lying down. Just wait for the next product announcement. Apple WILL have the most expensive and overpriced technology, or Steve will personally scream at people until he does!

  • I never understood why (Score:4, Insightful)

    by artifex2004 ( 766107 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @04:57PM (#15053297) Journal
    people strive for the gaudiest, most expensive and wasteful things they can('t) afford.

    • If I remember my Duesenberry correctly, people base their happiness not on their standard of living in absolute terms, but instead in comparison with their peer group. It doesn't matter that they have much higher life expectancy, less disease, or leisure their forebearers could only dream of, relative status is measured by - amongst other things - possessions.

      Conspicious consumption is a means of broadcasting to your peer group that yes, you can afford this item, and oh, if they can't, that's allright - you
  • When asked what market they were targeting, the german company replied, "Paris Hilton."
  • It doesn't matter, it's not an iPod. Chicks dig iPod, so ask for it by name.

    Give me an iPod that has a red LED screen and 14k gold all around so that it looks like some kind of wicked '70s digital watch, Daddy _like_...
  • Despite all the hype from de Beers, diamonds are cheap. Look on eBay under "loose diamonds". Yes, you'll see big asking prices, but watch what prices auctions actually finish at, as people try to unload unwanted diamonds. The resale market for diamonds is incredibly weak.
  • My crappy blog needs more hits!

    Seriously. Spend 5 minutes on the site and it looks like it is thrown together in 5 minutes. Most posts don't even have comments.
  • Neat joke... A little late for April 1 but still funny. Keep talking about the most expensive mp3 player but never actually mention a price, even if you RTFA. Funny. Yea, right!

  • Same old story (Score:5, Funny)

    by Keith Russell ( 4440 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @05:22PM (#15053469) Journal

    No platinum. Fewer diamonds than a Victoria's Secret bra. Lame.

    • Since when did "number of diamonds" become a valid measure? You could spray 1 carat worth of diamond dust and have thousands of diamonds. That'd be the most expensive ever right?

      also, why are we still pretending diamonds are valuable? why not use something that's not easy to manufacture from a material that's as common as water? They're not even precious gems. they're "semi-precious."
  • All that bling, and no lossless encoding?
  • Is FLAC too complicated?
  • Most expensive MP3 player = a Unisys Clearpath (that's a mainframe) running Windows Enterprise. That's something like $2 million to play your pirated tunes.

  • Language barrier. (Score:4, Funny)

    by The-Bus ( 138060 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @06:18PM (#15053840)
    Internal memo found from TrekStor:

    To: TrekStor Design Team
    From: Klaus, Head of R&D

    OK, we're in a heap of trouble. As we know, at our pow-wow a week ago our CEO handed me a napkin with the specs for our next player. As we all know it said "Feature: Rich!!!" with rich underlined three times.

    Well, about an hour after we got delivery of this prototype diamond player I looked at the napkin again and realized the colon was just two dots of soy sauce. It's supposed to be "feature rich"... without the colon! We need to figure out how we can unload this, pronto! Everyone call your wealthy friends.

    Danke,
    Klaus



    See, now it all makes sense.

  • Nooooo (Score:3, Insightful)

    by nightsweat ( 604367 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @06:35PM (#15053923)
    That's the world's most expensive crap glued ONTO an MP3 player.
  • Will I find a gold-encrusted SD card to go with it?
  • I've got a MP3 player Im selling.
    Starting bid:

    100 Mee-eeelion dollars! (diamond rio)\

    Guess what? I can set the price at anything I want. What matters is if the fucktard pays it. Heh heh
  • What do you mean "most expensive"? I have one that could cost more sendmy $1M and you cn not only have my blue 4GB "mini" but you get bragging rights to owning the most expensive iPod on Earth.

  • Oh the irony... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Fluoxetine Freak ( 943931 ) on Monday April 03, 2006 @08:24PM (#15054531)
    ...of a site dedicated to the most expensive things, running Google ads that are for the *cheapest* mp3 players alongside TFA.

    Back to Cute Overload it is then...

  • I hear Google spiders pages. Rather than hammer some idiot's 'lux goodes' site, why not search for and surf to the frickin' OEM [trekstor.de]? This player is just a one-off for a zillionare.
  • Combine expensive jewelry (something that you normally keep) with consumer electronics (quickly obsolete and disposed of) and you get - EXPENSIVE JEWELRY THAT YOU THROW AWAY!! I stand in awe of the marketing genius that came up with this. Now if they can only identify a large enough market segment of wealthy stupid people (hint: try the entertainment industry).

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