Panasonic’s 160GB audio player dock

September Japanese giant Panasonic (AKA Matsushita) has come up with yet another variation on the theme of seamlessly connecting the home stereo system with the portable audio player, specifically, it’s own D-snap. The SX850D-dock minicomponent audio system combines an SD card slot, 160GB hard drive, and a CD drive, so it’s possible to copy audio CDs to SDHC cards, record them direct to the hard drive, or connect it to your home network and load files from your PC. As it contains an on-board Gracenote database with auto recognition and track, artist and album info, users will never have to enter album information manually. Available later this week in Japan, the 160 GB SX850D-dock will cost JPY80,000 (US$690), while a lesser 80GB SX450 model will sell for JPY39,000 (US$340).