Adding WiFi to music players is more than just a "new feature."

Non-commercial Internet radio is threatening to replace traditional broadcast radio – the way MP3s and online stores have cut into traditional CD “brick and mortar” stores.

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote on its front page:

"Internet radio, which can draw on vast troves of music from around the world and customize them to a listener's personal tastes, is growing. While ratings for traditional radio broadcasters have been lackluster, Internet radio listenership in the U.S. has risen to 29 million a week, up from 20 million three years ago, according to Arbitron Inc. and Edison Media Research." (“Internet radio races to break free of the PC --Pushing portability in cars, music players; static over WiF," by Sarah Mcbride.)

There are three ways that this breakthrough could possibly arrive:

• over phones,

• through car radios and

• over portable music players.

First two forms have not come together yet. Apple's Steve Jobs recently pointed out that: “Music on phones hasn’t been so successful so far.” (Wall Street Journal interview, June 18)

The WSJ's reporter, Sarah Mcbride explains that while many people are trying to offer Internet music over phones, it has so far been glitchy and expensive. Several companies have made promises about delivering Internet radio to your car, but none of these products are yet "ready for prime time."

The Wall Street Journal only points to one product that is ALREADY delivering Internet radio to your ears:

“One promising entrant is SanDisk Corp.'s new Sansa Connect digital music player. Released earlier this year, it allows users in wireless Internet zones to listen to online radio stations from Yahoo Inc. When users wander out of WiFi range, the $249.99 Sansa can play songs from its music library, which holds up to 1,000 songs.”

In short: we are on the edge of a new technological revolution in the way people listen to music.

Through Internet radio fully arrives, you will for the first time in history have access to virtually the whole musical universe of humanity and be able to stream it to yourself – commercial free – sampled and organized just the way you want.

This will change what music gets a hearing – and therefore what music gets created and played.

Just over the horizon are many promising technologies for delivering this. But so far only one is available, RIGHT NOW, for listening TODAY: the Sansa Connect. And that alone makes this player remarkable.

Read More In: News, Rumors & Trends Sansa Connect Sansa View Music Management and Services