From the Toysit archive
Juice Box Personal Media Player
Explore Mattel’s 2004 Juice Box, its Juiceware videos and separate music/photo kit, then arrange a pocket premiere of your own.
The play at a glance
A tiny program behind a purple cover
Five silver buttons run down the side of the cobalt-blue Juice Box, beside a screen protected by a translucent purple cover. The cover folds back into a little easel. In its 2004 setting, the player offered a compact way to bring along a chosen video, with music and personal photos available through a separate accessory kit.
Cards, pictures and a place to pause
The hardware guide shows a Juiceware chip fitting into the side of the player. Its front buttons handle playback, stopping and moving through the program, with screen adjustments available through the controls. Fold the cover behind the unit and the screen can stand up for a small viewing session.
The separate MP3 and Photo Viewer guide describes an accessory system with a memory card, adapter, card reader and computer software. That kit let owners prepare music and pictures for the player; the photo viewer could step through images or show them in a looping sequence. Juiceware videos remained a distinct part of the product’s media system.
That mixture suggests a pleasing creative question: what would you put in a very small show? A beginning, a striking picture and one memorable sound may be enough to establish a mood.
Try a pocket premiere program
Make three drawing cards for an imaginary short film. For this original Toysit activity, the players provide the pictures and live sounds themselves.
- Draw three stills, such as a closed garden gate, a trail of footprints and an unexpected visitor. Give each a short title.
- Choose a spoken sound or gentle rhythm to accompany each card. Arrange the cards in a row and perform the sequence for a partner.
- Invite the partner to change the order. Tell a new story that makes sense of the revised beginning and ending.
Fold a little premiere program listing the title and three scenes. Leave a space for the audience to write a question about the visitor. The activity makes its own tabletop show and needs no media transfer or working vintage player.
The historical record
Original Toysit coverage
The complete earlier product account and commentary are preserved below as historical coverage.
Personal portable media player from Mattel plays music, video, and digital photos with full-color video and stereo sound
In 2004, Juice Box, a personal media player from Mattel, featured category exclusive, full-color video content from some of the hottest music, television and action sports personalities; play MP3 music files; and enable viewing of digital photos.
Juice Box was designed to meet the lifestyle and entertainment interests of today's tweens. One of the smallest and lightest personal media players on the market to date - easily fitting into almost any pocket - the player enables tweens to play back videos in full-color and in stereo sound with headphones. Built-in firmware that will play downloaded music from MP3 files and enable photo viewing through an expansion pack.
Video, music and photo content for Juice Box are delivered through proprietary media cards called Juiceware that can store up to 176 minutes of plug-and-play entertainment.
Available titles from Mattel for Juice Box will include tunes and videos from today's hottest music acts; cartoon, reality and other popular television programming; action sports videos; and behind-the-scenes footage of entertainers popular with tweens.
Among key content players with whom Mattel has partnered include BMG Music - for music videos from popular, contemporary artists; Cartoon Network - for animated shows such as Ed, Edd n Eddy and Kids Next Door; and 4Kids Entertainment - to feature content from shows such as Yu-Gi-Oh and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Additional content partners and Juiceware titles - including many from popular music - will be announced closer to launch date.
A special Juice Box MP3 Starter Kit comes with a standard Secure Digital or Multi Media Card, enabling tweens to play MP3 files or view JPEG digital photo files transferred from their PCs. The Starter Kit also provides tweens the ability to rip audio CDs into MP3 files and then download and play back.
Powered by three AA batteries, Juice Box can play hours of content without interruption or skipping, making it perfectly portable. Its approximate 3-inch video screen features a "flip" screen cover to protect it while being transported in a backpack, book bag or bike pouch. Listeners can enjoy stereo sound through headphones, or listen with friends through a built-in speaker.
Highly stylized with a soft-touch texture, Juice Box will be available in three color choices at launch (bright red, cobalt blue and lime green) for an estimated retail price of $69.99, which includes sampler content from 4Kids and Cartoon Network.
Juiceware media cards featuring Juice Box content will be available separately from an approximate retail price of $9.99 for two episodes of animation, up to an approximate retail price of $24.99 for full-length features.
Juiceware video is compressed with proprietary technology developed by 4Kids Entertainment.
The Juice Box MP3 Starter Kit, which includes a blank 32MB SD or MMC card, software, Flash card adaptor and USB card reader/writer, will be available for an approximate retail price of $44.99.
Additional accessory choices will include headphones, a sleek carrying case, and car and home adapters to extend battery life.
Sources and editorial notes
Mattel’s two-page H3904 player instructions and 17-page MP3 and Photo Viewer 1.0 guide were reviewed; hardware diagrams and selected software pages were inspected visually. Juiceware supplied proprietary videos; the separate kit supported MP3s and converted photos. The guides establish historical requirements, not current computer compatibility or general video importing. Prices and content offerings above are preserved as 2004 coverage. No hardware or software was tested.
- Original Toysit image — Existing same-site image reviewed and retained unchanged.
- Mattel Juice Box player instructions — Two-page H3904 hardware guide, copyright 2004; both pages reviewed visually for the pictured player, folding cover and Juiceware controls.
- Mattel Juice Box MP3 and Photo Viewer 1.0 guide — 17-page software guide reviewed as text, with selected card-adapter, photo-viewer and FAQ pages inspected visually. Documents the separate accessory kit and historical media limits.
- Original Toysit coverage — Complete historical account retained, including its original claims and wording.
Images and descriptions are retained as historical material. How Toysit covers toys.
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