Sleevenote: Portable Player for Cover Display

In 2011, designer and musician Tom Vek designed his Leisure Seizure album and realized that not everyone who buys it will be able to appreciate the visual style of the booklet. Therefore, almost a decade later, he developed the Sleevenote player, which emulates the physical sensation of interacting with a CD, cover and booklet in the format of a portable electronic device.

The center of the design is a large 7.5-inch square screen with wide bezels. An album is selected on the screen, here you can flip through the booklet and turn on the desired song by clicking on its name on the back cover of the virtualized disk. According to Vek, his player will bring back the emotions that we received when buying new discs and vinyl.

Vek previously implemented this idea in the Sleevenote app player for iOS, and now he has implemented it in his own device. Small round playback control keys are placed on the 21 mm case. The player works with streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify and even Bandcamp, as well as files for which 250 GB of memory is provided.

The built-in DAC from Cirrus is able to process the signal in 24 bit / 96 kHz, and the Wolfson chip is responsible for the amplification. The batteries, if you believe the description, “will last for the whole day.” Wi-Fi is used to communicate with streaming services, the signal can be output both to wired headphones (only 3.5 mm output) and to wireless equipment via Bluetooth.

True, the device will not come out cheap. First of all, because of the unusual screen: square touch panels are made only to order – and so that the project is not unprofitable, it is necessary to make a batch of at least 1,000 pieces. Therefore, the project on IndieGoGo has a very serious goal – it needs to collect 497,374 British pounds.

One player will eventually cost £533. Almost £3,000 has already been raised and the campaign ends in 28 days.