Silicon Valley startup Wingspan on Monday announced that iLoad, which puts music on an iPod without requiring a computer, will ship in mid-March with a US$249 price tag. According to the FAQ on the company's Web site, iLoad can copy a CD in approximately eight minutes; it provides an output jack for listening to music before loading it on an iPod.

While iTunes connects to the Internet to pull down artist and music information for the tracks it imports, iLoad relies on an internal database of over 1.8 million songs. Wingspan provides music database update CDs that can be delivered monthly, quarterly or annually for $9.95 per update. The company will also make unlimited music database updates available over the Internet for $29.95 per year. It updates its master database every day at midnight.

Wingspan on Monday also introduced iLoad-v, a $149 variation that connects to a cable or satellite box and loads video or music on an iPod. It can also store content on an external USB or flash drive.

iLoad and iLoad-v are white, but Wingspan will sell self-adhesive blank skins on which users can print pre-supplied designs. Each 10-sheet Skin Pak is $29.95.

Wingspan expects to demonstrate iLoad at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. iPod Observer will be there and has put in a request to meet with the company and learn more about its debut product.