Three Internet radios from U.K. designer Pure were to be available in the United States for pre-order at Pure.com in November.
U.K. radio designer Pure describes Evoke Flow as a kitchen radio. The wireless portable unit features FM with RBDS. The company says the unit, which lists for $199, gives consumers access to digital content from almost anywhere.
Pure is introducing three Internet radios in the United States this year. The bedside Internet and FM radio Siesta Flow features touch-sensitive controls, up to 365 alarm settings and a USB PowerPort, which provides power for USB accessories. A Wi-Fi connection lets you listen to Internet radio, podcasts and Pure sounds or stream music from a computer. The Siesta Flow lists for $99.
For those who want to take their radio camping or to a picnic, the aluminum surround and rubberized seal of the Oasis Flow combines Internet connectivity with portability. The rechargeable Internet and FM radio lists for $249.
The Sangean RCR-8WF Wi-Fi Internet radio has an LCD display large enough to show the time and other icons while having station and song information displayed below. The “no-tip, no-slip” design is designed for bedside use. Two programmable alarms can wake a user to a “kind” buzzer or a favorite Internet or FM station. The user can set a nap timer from 10 to 90 minutes; and the unit’s sleep timer goes up to 3.25 hours. The Sangean can play MP3 files that are stored on a PC or file server. Features include Internet time, external Wi-Fi antenna for best reception, FM RDS, five presets, stereo headphone jack and line-input jack. It uses Reciva Internet radio technology. The model costs $199.95 at C. Crane’s website.
Grace Digital Audio is shipping a Wi-Fi Internet tabletop radio featuring Pandora. The GDI-IR2550p features one-button access to the thumbs up/down song selection and play/pause functions. Listeners can skip, play, pause and bookmark songs from the remote and front-control panel. The unit is available at www.gracedigitalaudio.com and www.amazon.com for around $170.
The Livio Radio featuring Pandora offers that service’s “thumbs up, thumbs down” controls on the front and via remote, helping users customize the music and programming. If you have a power source and a Web connection, the unit connects quickly and plays some 11,000 Internet radio stations through its own speaker, without needing access to a computer interface to operate, according to the maker. The Livio Radio lists for $199.99 at the company’s Web site.
The new NPR Radio by Livio, which the manufacturer and pubcaster say is the first branded NPR consumer electronics device, is an Internet radio that features NPR stations, programs and content in a special NPR menu. The menu allows users to search, find and bookmark their NPR stations, podcasts and content, by topic or by program. In addition to approximately 800 NPR stations, the unit features the Reciva database of Internet stations and receives an additional 16,000 Internet streams.
While you don’t need to have a computer to use the NPR Radio by Livio, you must have an Internet connection with a wireless router (or an available Ethernet port for a wired connection). The radio lists for $199 from livioradio.com, $159.95 at C.Crane.com or $180 at NPR.org and just over $130 at Amazon.com.
More radio-related consumer electronics devices next issue.
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