The Sansa Connect emulates various elements of Apple's iPod - mainly, its ease of use. After all, Apple's success - about 100 million iPods have been sold to date - is largely attributed to this imperative feature. And just what makes the iPod's usability factor tick? Its hardware, software and the online iTunes Store are designed to work together.
So it's no surprise that digital-music market rivals have sought to do the same. Last year, Microsoft unveiled the Zune music player, which, like Apple's iPod, is crafted to work with the network's own digital music store. But Apple seems to have that extra bit of magic - the Zune hasn't yet taken off.
SanDisk, however, has seen greater success in the MP3 player market. It rose to the second place position, snaring nine per cent of the US market after just two years of dabbling in the music business. And Yahoo! most certainly picked up on the potential.
Having teamed up with SanDisk and Zing Systems, the trio have been working to impact the market by offering a new class of devices which are different from iPods, but still tightly linked in terms of hardware and internet music service. The Sansa Connect is that vehicle of impact, as a wireless technology device used to provide internet access through home networks, cafes, hotel lobbies and other public areas.
If Sansa Connect users are within range of a Wi-Fi network, they can connect directly to Yahoo!'s music services. Moreover, Yahoo! offers a subscription of unlimited song downloads to accommodate those who aren't usually in range of a Wi-Fi connection. The device also lets users access Yahoo!'s Flickr photo service, so they can browse through their pictures online.
However, there are limitations to the Sansa Connect. For starters, it doesn't feature a keyboard to enter text - so users can't type in or search for an artist's name or a particular song. Instead, they can download groups of songs from Yahoo! mixes across dozens of genres or Yahoo! radio stations. Moreover, the downloaded music will not permanently be 'owned' by the user.
"We want to be the music dial tone for connected devices," says Ian Rogers, general manager of Yahoo! Music.
The idea is to give users a way to download new music while on the move - an advantage which the iPod doesn't currently offer. Even Apple's new iPhone, due out in June, won't initially let people buy music wirelessly.
"The iPod is very much a pod. It provides functionality and an ecosystem that is somewhat cocooned," says Daniel Schreiber, a senior vice president at SanDisk.
So the big question remains: will the Sansa Connect emerge as iPod's challenger? Some are looking to past attempts in the digital music market when gauging the likelihood of success in the new device. After all, the Sansa Connect isn't the first MP3 player with wireless capabilities. A start-up, MusicGremlin Inc., was one of the first to offer a music player for downloading music wirelessly - but the product never took off. Microsoft also included Wi-Fi in the Zune, but its device uses the wireless capability only to share songs with other users nearby - not to download music from the Internet.
Thus, some analysts are sceptical about Yahoo!'s capability to compete against Apple.
"I don't think that anybody is likely to be able to steal share from Apple based on some kind of hardware feature," said Stephen Baker, an analyst at NPD Group.
