When Internet Radios Get Affordable 139
DeviceGuru writes "Grace Digital Audio has just released a new device that functions like an Internet radio tuner in a whole-house audio system and is being sold at a surprisingly affordable price point. The Solo Wi-Fi Receiver works in tandem with Reciva's Internet radio station selection web service, provides excellent Pandora support, and also supports optional Internet services such as Live365, MP3tunes, Aupeo, and Sirius. It has built-in buttons and a display for easy control, comes with a dedicated IR-remote, and is supported by a free iPhone remote access/control app. We hear a lot about the high-end Sonos gear, but at just over $100, this little gadget seems like a breakthrough in cost-effective Internet radio, much as the Roku Netflix player broke ground in low-cost Internet video streaming."
DIY internet radio player (Score:4, Interesting)
You can always make your own [parallax.com]
It works great, only $75
Not really seeing the market... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:don't forget squeezebox (Score:4, Interesting)
I've got to admit that I get a lot of use out of iHeart Radio.
I still won't pay for radio, though. I buy a lot of music that I hear on radio, so I figure it's a good enough promotional mechanism for music that it should be free. As far as "talk" radio, no thanks. I don't need any more voices in my head telling me what to think. I'm happy with the occasional podcast (some of which I'll subscribe to, such as Red Ice Radio from Sweden or Mysterious Universe from Australia).
The player or "internet radio" is a different matter though. I don't see why it should ever cost more than a regular radio plus a $10 wireless adapter. And I'll either plug it into my existing speakers or a pair of headphones. I guess I'm old fashioned but listening to radio via 3G feels wrong, like why should I take up bandwidth to hear music that I can get otherwise. I know it doesn't make sense because iPhone and iPad users don't seem to worry about it, but that's the kind of hairpin I am.
And, depending upon where I'm at, the "regular" radio is plenty good for me. Like if I'm near Monterrey, CA, there's a great station that plays Hawaiian music 24/7 and in New York there's a half-dozen stations that play great rock, jazz or classical music with minimal commercials. Things have been a little rougher here in Chicago ever since the public station WBEZ stopped playing jazz all night. Still, there's enough good stuff on there that I keep my car radio glued there just like the middle eastern cabdrivers. When I walk the dog, I take the mp3 player, which has an FM radio. Except for sports, AM radio is a total waste of the spectrum. Everybody is hollering about how Obama is black and doesn't have a birth certificate or how the mexicans are taking over, interspersed with commercials for erectile dysfunction (which leads me to believe that conservativism and E.D. go together somehow, though it seems they don't have any trouble getting it up for their 18 year-old rentboys).
One more thing that I like radio for is sports. For some reason, probably dating back to my childhood, I'd rather listen to a White Sox game on the radio than watch it on TV. With a good announcer (like Bob Elston when I was a kid and Ed Farmer now), my brain does a better job of creating the visuals than television cameras ever could. Oh, I also like the Bears and Blackhawks on WGN. The announcers are all homers, just like it should be. I don't listen to the Cubs, ever, because they suck dick and anyone who likes them sucks dick (you can look it up).
Re:don't forget squeezebox (Score:2, Interesting)
Hell yeah. Back in the day we used to crowd around the muted TV, watching the game while we listened to it on the radio.
Re:Not really seeing the market... (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm not really seeing the market for this. So I want a device that plays internet radio, but don't want to just get an iPod dock, use a laptop/netbook and uses Wi-Fi so it isn't like your getting always available portable internet. If you have a home theater system, why wouldn't you just have a HTPC and just use VLC and connect to the internet radio that way, if you don't have a home theater system, why not just use an iPod or laptop?
I reject this argument for three very important reasons:
1) people have been predicting the death of radio ever since the invention of the TV, yet somehow, its still here. With the invention of the internet, people still predict the death of live media and live broadcast. They remain wrong. Internet radio will adapt to become as simple as the transistor radio is today.
2) I can play my internet radio station on an iPhone anywhere that 3G service is available. However, I would not purchase a $100 radio and a $50/month contract just to listen to internet radio. If the cost was $20, and the contract non-existant (in some download-only data plan, for example), then everyone could get one for the car and internet radio would explode.
3) live broadcast will never die. I've gotten into several arguments with people who think that since I can just "listen to a podcast," then live broadcast media is effectively dead. This is obviously false, since people seem to tend to want to be part of the crowd, and therefore will want to be listening to the same thing at the same time; that is, live broadcast, or "radio."
I believe internet radio will become ubiquitous. Internet video and TV will only happen /after/ internet radio becomes normal.
-dave
Re:Not really seeing the market... (Score:4, Interesting)