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Sony sells its waterproof mp3 player inside a bottle of water

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Re: Sony sells its waterproof mp3 player inside a bottle of water

#21

Post by maaaats »

mhb wrote: post #12

Why doesn't this have the same legal issues as Kinder Eggs? Maybe the watch in bottled water also can't be sold in the US? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_Surprise

I can see several reasons:

1. This isn't US, so those rules don't apply ("a confectionery product with a non-nutritive object, partially or totally imbedded within it, cannot be sold within the United States")

2. This may be more a viral thing than an actual packaging.

3. The water may not really be meant to be drunk, it's just a gimmick.

Re: Sony sells its waterproof mp3 player inside a bottle of water

#22

Post by Tuna-Fish »

derekp7 wrote: post #7
madaxe_again wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, it's a really interesting question. The walkman needs to be safe for use in contact with the skin. The water needs to be drinkable. Packaging directives look at things like phthalates in the bottle... but don't consider contents within the bottle which aren't part of the beverage or beverage serving mechanism. So... they can, legally, pretty much do whatever the hell they want, as the Mp3 player does not ne…

Wouldn't this be the same regulations that cover the "secret toy surprise" inside CrackerJacks? Or cereal boxes?

Most of the world doesn't have those regulations. Or, in other words, cue the surprise of all the Europeans when they realize that Kinder eggs are illegal in the US.

Re: Sony sells its waterproof mp3 player inside a bottle of water

#23

Post by shawabawa3 »

judk wrote: post #20

Reminds of the famous story about a Sony exec throwing a device in a fish tank and seeing bubbles.

Wasn't that steve jobs? At least the version I heard was steve jobs with an iPod prototype (the bubbles proved there was empty space so the ipod could be smaller)

Re: Sony sells its waterproof mp3 player inside a bottle of water

#24

Post by lucb1e »

pilom wrote: post #18
lucb1e wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On a side note, do a lot of people really listen to music while swimming? Well, as far as I know this wasn't really possible without getting some expensive equipment (both player and earbuds). Not that I really searched for it, but just nobody does it (and so nobody even thinks of doing this or searches for it). Seeing how many people listen to music in the gym or while jogging, I wouldn't be surprised if there was…

I got a waterproof ipod shuffle here: http://www.underwateraudio.com/waterproof-ipod-shuffle/ I would clip it to my goggle strap and swim about an hour a day 3 days a week back when I lived by a pool. The ipod shuffle really was an amazing form factor for the player as it had the clip built in which could clip to the straps. The headphones were always a different story. You need specially made earbuds which a) use a…

Never knew/seen people actually did this! Interesting

Re: Sony sells its waterproof mp3 player inside a bottle of water

#25

Post by shawabawa3 »

visakanv wrote: post #8

"Though the device itself was launched a while ago, Sony turned to Auckland-based ad agency DraftFCB to help market the product in New Zealand. And so they came up with the Bottled Walkman, which is sold from vending machines in public places such as gyms. Check out the demo video for yourself." That's what's most interesting to me. Have we heard from anybody who's actually bought the player from a vending machine? T…

> To clarify, I'm saying I don't think Sony's actually selling their walkmans in bottles of water, they just made a video of the idea of it. Can anbody disconfirm this?

I imagine they probably have at least 1 real vending machine, but you're probably right in that the publicity of the story is worth 1000x the sales from the vending machine

Re: Sony sells its waterproof mp3 player inside a bottle of water

#27

Post by Tuna-Fish »

Luc wrote: post #10

Oh for fuck's sake, it's not even a product, it's an ad for an ad agency. What a waste of time. But apparently HN commenters are not immune to being fooled...

You do realize that a lot of the HN crowd is actually much more interested in purchasing ads from ad agencies than they are in purchasing products, right? An ad for an ad agency that is fresh and innovative is very much relevant.

Re: Sony sells its waterproof mp3 player inside a bottle of water

#28

Post by TeMPOraL »

snake_plissken wrote: post #11

I'll hand it to Sony, they can come up with some sweet marketing campaigns. On a side note, do a lot of people really listen to music while swimming? In college I used to do 30 minutes of laps in the pool a couple times a week. I liked doing it precisely because you couldn't listen to music and you'd have to focus on keeping good form. It was just you and the water.

I'd love that to be able to shower while listening to music or podcasts, and without disturbing other people in the house.

Re: Sony sells its waterproof mp3 player inside a bottle of water

#30

Post by daigoba66 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #28
snake_plissken wrote: post #11

I'll hand it to Sony, they can come up with some sweet marketing campaigns. On a side note, do a lot of people really listen to music while swimming? In college I used to do 30 minutes of laps in the pool a couple times a week. I liked doing it precisely because you couldn't listen to music and you'd have to focus on keeping good form. It was just you and the water.

I'd love that to be able to shower while listening to music or podcasts, and without disturbing other people in the house.

I could understand laying in a warm bathtub, but now long do your showers last? I'm normally in-and-out in less time than a typical radio song plays.
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