PEZ MP3 now open for business

It's not often you think to yourself... "I like PEZ. I like music. Wouldn't it be neat if the same dispenser could provide me with both?"

Move over, iPod. the PEZ MP3 player is shipping in about a month and it looks delicious. PEZmp3 is taking orders now for the First Edition PEZ MP3 player.

$99.99 gets you a 512mb version of a PEZ-like dispenser that plays MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, WMA, WMA w/DRM. PEZ not included. In fact, you can't actually dispense PEZ from the player itself since there is no room left for candy in there. The PEZ MP3 player will even come pre-loaded with a nice selection of indie tunes for your enjoyment. It's iTunes compatible in that you can drag and drop MP3 files out of iTunes and onto the PEZ MP3 player. But the PEZ MP3 player cannot play AAC encoded files. The craftier ones among you will know how to avoid that minor restriction - not that we would ever encourage such a thing. To play your music, you just pop the PEZ head open. How cool is that? And, of course, it doubles as a USB 2.0 thumb drive. More after the jump...

So far, these can only ship to US addresses, and even those won't ship for 4-6 weeks, but this has been in the works for a long time. Pat Misterovich, the man behind PEZ MP3 was inspired last year by the iPod speakers someone made out of an Altoid tin. Being a PEZ fan, he though it would be cool to make a music-playing PEZ dispenser. On a whim, he contacted PEZ and asked them to license the PEZ brand to him and give him their blessing to proceed with his dream. To his astonishment - they said yes!

"Fast forward a year, a bank loan, a family loan, some nagging doubts, a lot of late, late nights, and a lot of diapers. Now it is here. The PEZ MP3 player. If you are looking for an MP3 player that is a little different.... If you love PEZ... If you like the idea of a stay-at-home dad, working out of his basement, taking on the giants of Cupertino, Tokyo, and Seoul... If you love independent music, podcasts, blogs, maverick ideas, and doing it yourself... This is the MP3 player for you."

Pat says this is going to be a limited edition run. "Once this model is sold out, no more are going to be made. And to further cement it as a collectible, the packaging and player will both be marked to indicate a First Edtion." If the demand is there, he may release future editions in different stem colors, characters and capacity. For full specs and details, check out the site.

Ok, so now I'll have 9 iPods and an MP3-playing PEZ head. I really need to get a new hobby.
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