Music For The Masses (NAPSA)—Whether you’re into classical, heavy metal or soft rock, odds are the device you listen to your tunes with could stand to be a little tougher. That’s the idea behind a new durable music player that’s struck a chord with parents, athletes and music fans who tendto be a bit hard on their iPods and MP3 players. — Waterproof, shockproof digital music players let you take music anywhere. The need for a durable and waterproof MP3 playerfirst came to entrepreneur Lance Fried after his iPod fell into a cooler of ice water. The result was a vision for a submergible and shockproof MP3 player, and the birth of Fried’s San Diego based company, Freestyle Audio. The credit card sized Freestyle Audio DMPholds a gig’s worth of songs (about 350) and floats in water. The MP3 player’s shockproof feature allows it to be taken on a jog or to the gym without fear of constantly skipping music or damage. To test this shockproof claim, the music player was dropped from the second floor of an apartment building onto concrete, and the music did continue as advertised, without even switching the song. The Freestyle Audio DMP converts iTunes and other music formats into MP3files. It’s Mac and PC compatible, and Freestyle Audio claims that its battery can be charged via a USB hookup and lasts 40 hours.
