Audio Archives - Page 10 of 51

Slacker’s Aha Moment in the Car

Slacker’s got a new gig going with Aha Radio, and it’s taking the music streaming service somewhere it’s never gone before… into the car. According to the official press release, Slacker is partnering with Aha to get Slacker embedded in after-market car radios manufactured by Pioneer. Slacker execs have been hinting at a partnership like … Read more

The iHome iW1 AirPlay Speaker System Review

Bringing tech to the corn fields of the Midwest, gadgeteer and cat lover Adam Miarka contributes to Zatz Not Funny when the overlord allows. When not on ZNF, Adam posts pictures to http://www.adammiarka.com and harasses the public from @adammiarka on Twitter.

Background and Initial Impressions

My new iHome iW1 AirPlay speaker system has arrived. And it’s probably one of the more anticipated AirPlay speakers to hit the market due to its portability. In fact, demand was so strong, the device was sold out within a half hour of going live on iHome’s site when it debuted August 31st. iHome took to Twitter and Facebook to calm those who didn’t get in on the initial launch, indicating a broader iW1 release on September 26th. Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones.

As for an unboxing, the iW1 consists of the speaker, AC adapter, charging “dock”, remote control, and a set of instruction manuals. Upon first picking up the speaker, there is definitely some heft to the device – it doesn’t feel cheaply made at all and features a nice clean design. The instruction manuals are straight forward and easy to follow.

Click to enlarge:
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Charging / Power

After I removed everything from the box, it was time to charge it. iHome has taken a unique approach to charging the iW1. Instead of having a plug and unplug the device, you simply remove it from the charging dock. Around the back of the speaker is a hidden handle to allow you to move the speaker easily from the dock.

Also around the back is a battery indicator button on the back which lights up the top panel of the device and shows the amount of battery left. Lastly, there is a power switch which can toggle the speaker’s power on and off.

iHome iW1 AirPlay Speaker Ships August 31st

Announced last September and expected to launch in time for the 2010 holidays, iHome’s iW1 AirPlay speaker system will finally begin shipping in a a few days with orders starting August 31st at 2PM EST.

The iW1 weighs in at $300, the same price point as the highly regarded Sonos Play:3 connected speaker system. But there are some significant differences in how these two products move music around your home. The iHome speaker receives audio wirelessly directly from Apple products, such as an iPhone or computer running iTunes, via AirPlay technology – which hasn’t yet lived up to its potential. On one hand, you should be able to stream just music from just about any iPhone app to the iW1. Yet, you’re obviously restricted to the Apple ecosystem.

By comparison, Sonos streams audio from the Internet or home computer and you’d use your smartphone as a remote (if you so choose) – including Android-based handsets. In my household, this means that my wife and I can both control the Sonos experience from any phone or computer while the AirPlay experience is more a 1:1 relationship. Of course Sonos also provides a whole-home solution as you add more wirelessly connected speakers. But, as compelling as Sonos is, the charging dock of the iW1 appeals (see here).

Video of both premium wireless sound systems follow…

Rhapsody No Longer Available On TiVo

About a month ago, Rhapsody updated their music streaming service technology in such a way (certs) that respective changes were required from home audio vessels. From Rhapsody’s forum representative: we contacted all our device partners several months before this necessary change to our service, providing them all the info necessary to make a successful change. The … Read more

Verizon FiOS TV Launches Pandora App

While it’s usually TiVo pitching the convergence of premium cable programming and over-the-top Internet content, Verizon delivers big today by bringing Pandora to FiOS TV. Motorola set-top boxes in California, Texas, and Virginia are the first to receive access to the free app… with other markets to follow. As you might expect, you can create … Read more

Spotify’s Music Discovery Shortcoming

In case you haven’t heard, online music service Spotify has landed stateside. While there’s a lot to like, which we’ll get to, there does seem to be at least one notable shortcoming in regards to music discovery – and I’m not the only one to come to that conclusion based upon feedback found in my Twitter … Read more

Seeding the Cloud with iTunes Match

Amongst Apple’s announcements this week was an unveiling of the long rumored iCloud. And it looks to be a pretty massive multitiered synchronization and storage service, that’s scheduled for a full release this fall. iCloud’s evolved MobileMe elements, such as calendar and contact sync amongst ones various devices, don’t interest me the way Apple’s photo and music cumulus pipelines and locker do. Today, we’ll focus on the audio…

In addition to the obvious and long overdue ability to re-download purchased iTunes, onto any of your gear, iCloud will provide an online digital locker – unlike any other studio-blessed solution. “iTunes Match” lets you:

store your entire collection, including music you’ve ripped from CDs or purchased somewhere other than iTunes. For just $24.99 a year. iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to your iCloud library for you to listen to anytime, on any device. Since there are more than 18 million songs in the iTunes Store, most of your music is probably already in iCloud. All you have to upload is what iTunes can’t match. And all the music iTunes matches plays back at 256-Kbps iTunes Plus quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality.

Read more

Sonos Readies Nightstand Speaker System

Why thank you, FCC. Looks like Sonos is making good on their foreshadowing survey of last spring and intends to introduce a smaller, less expensive networked speaker system.

As regulars know, we’re big fans of the dead simple yet high quality Sonos whole-home music streaming solution. And what they’re calling the Play:3 looks like it could be a solid addition to my bedroom nightstand. The Sonos S5 houses five speakers and clocks in at about 9lbs, $400. If branding is a reliable indicator of speaker count, versus model generation or something else entirely, the Play:3 might include three audio drivers. More certain would be a lighter weight and lower price tag. Also, based on the dual labels, one can assume the Play:3 will be offered in white and black finishes. Additionally, like the S5, both wired and wireless connections (via a ZoneBridge) are covered.