PonoMusic, a revolutionary movement conceived and founded by Neil Young with a mission to restore the soul of music, announced today that it is officially moving out of the R&D phase and is "open for business" with the launch of its Kickstarter campaign for the PonoPlayer.

PonoMusic is a full system that includes both an online music store (PonoMusic.com),and a playback device, the PonoPlayer. The PonoPlayer  offers a digital music listening experience that will ‘transcend’ the limitations of a multi-function smart phone. The company’s goal is to bring the highest quality digital music to consumers by returning to the original studio masters to capture music the way its creators intended - with the emotion and detail intact.
"It's about the music, real music.  We want to move digital music into the 21st century and PonoMusic does that. We couldn't be more excited - not for ourselves, but for those that are moved by what music means in their lives," said Neil Young, founder and chairman of PonoMusic. 
The PonoPlayer can be used with earbuds or headphones, home stereo systems, the Sonos Connect, and in most cars. The PonoPlayer attempts to bring forth the “true emotion and detail of the music, the way the artist recorded it”. It features an LCD touch screen interface. The audio technology in the PonoPlayer  was developed in conjunction with the engineering team at Ayre Acoustics, a leader in digital audio technology in Boulder, Colorado.  
The Pono desktop media management application allows customers to download, manage and sync their music. PonoMusic.com, an essential part of the ecosystem, will offer the highest-resolution digital music from both major labels and prominent independent labels  

The PonoPlayer has 128GB of memory and can store from about 200 to 800 high-resolution digital-music songs, depending on the resolution and length of the original recording. Additional memory cards will be needed to store and play different playlists and additional collections of music. The PonoPlayer will be sold at PonoMusic.com for $399 MSRP and is available for pre-order at a discount on their Kickstarter.
We shall see if this has the legs to topple the Apple juggernaught.
The Kickstarter is here