Category Archives: radio

In Pod We Trust



BBC LogoMy love of audio extends back to childhood, listening to late night radio shows under the covers while the rest of the house slept. Living not far from France, I’d pick up foreign channels, their exotic chatter filling the airwaves. For me, podcasts represent the current evolutionary peak, the ability to listen to whatever I want, from wherever in the world, whenever I want.

Aside from the lack of hours in the day, I’ve always been frustrated by the lack of curation with podcasts as it’s actually quite hard to find really good podcasts. Many are all too similar, many are too ephemeral and many are too full of themselves. I want podcasts to inform me, to disturb me, to challenge me, to tell me that I’m not alone.

So I have high hopes for the BBC’s new podcast series, In Pod We Trust, in which “Miranda Sawyer presents a round-up of the best spoken word audio podcasting from around the world.” There’s only been one episode so far and it’s looking promising, with an excerpt from a podcast where a father discusses a very personal event with his son in a candid and revealing way. Mainstream media would never have got the story, never mind broadcast it.

I’m looking forward to the next download already.


Sonos Streams at The Gadget Show



Sonos Play 3 Sonos are well-known for their innovative audio products which integrate together to build highly controllable wireless hi-fi systems. Simplistically, you can start with one or two units and build-up over time until you can play music in any room in the house. The Sonos system can be controlled via smartphones and tablets with apps available for both iOS and Android devices.

I chat to Ian about Sonos’ latest developments including Spotify streaming, their entry-level unity the Play 3, and the larger Play 5.


SiriusXM Lynx Satellite and Internet Radio Receiver



SiriusXM Lynx Satellite RadioSiriusXM is best know for their in-car satellite receiver head units but the latest Lynx unit combines satellite with Internet radio and an mp3 player. John finds out more with Sirius sales manager, Paul Truman.

The Lynx SiriusXM receiver combines the traditional head unit with features more usually found on a personal media player. Large touchscreen – check, mp3 playback – check, Internet radio – check, wifi and Bluetooth – check, rechargeable battery – check.

But one really clever feature most media players don’t have is the ability to go back in time. Not literally, but your favourite stations are constantly being recorded so that if you tune in and discover you missed the start of the programme, you can simply rewind the stream to the start of the show.

To cap it off, the unit is about the size of a paperback. Sweet.

Interview by John of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.

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Ivee Digit Alarm Clock



Ivee Digit talking alarm clockThe Ivee Digit alarm clock looks like an ordinary bedside LCD or LED alarm clock…but would it be at CES if it was just that? Andy and Courtney finds out what makes Ivee tick.

The Ivee Digit understands natural language and can respond to 35 voice commands and speaks the date, time and temperature. The big sister, Flex, includes a radio as well. You can tell Digit to set the alarm, tell you the time or snooze for another five minutes as you roll over for more ZZzzs.

Here’s a typical conversation with Ivee.

You: Hello Ivee
Ivee: Say a command
You: Set alarm 1
Ivee: Please tell me the alarm time
You: Seven o’clock am
Ivee: Alarm 1 is set to 7:00 am

Aside from the novelty value, it’s great for people who are short-sighted.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of SDR News and RV News Net.

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Q2 Radio by Armour Home Electronics



There are a lot of Wi-Fi Internet radios around, many offer tons of options and stations to pick from. However most consumers have around four favorite stations they keep returning to again and again. Armour Home Electronics took this idea and produced the Q2 Radio.

The Q2 Radio is cube shaped and on each side is a preset radio station. You preset your choices by downloading the software from the Web and entering your access code. Once you have been identified you can then drag and drop your favorite stations. You can preset up to four stations one for each side of the cube. To change which preset station you are listening to you simply twist the cube until the station you want is at the top. To decrease or increase the volume start to tip the cube up or down. If you want to mute it turn it on its face. The Q2 Radio produces mono sound, but if you connect headphones you can listen in stereo. The Q2 Radio can run off of any Wi-Fi or mobile hot spot. It comes in multiple choice of colors. Q2 Radio is currently being launched in the United States. You can find more information on price and availability at the Q2 Radio Website.

Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin, of SDR News

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Sony Debuts DAB+ Radios



Sony has debuted two new DAB+ radios, the XDR-C706DBP clock radio and the XDR-S16DBP portable radio. Both radios can received DAB and FM broadcasts too.

DAB+ is an enhanced version of DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting), which is being rolled out in several European countries and Australia and the main difference between DAB and DAB+ is support for more efficient codecs such as AAC+ and MPEG Surround.

DAB+ is not currently used in the UK, though may be introduced in the future. The whole digital radio transition has been a bit of a debacle here with only about 25% take up since it was introduced in 1995. The high cost of the radios and little perceived benefit has been the main source of the problem and the current UK government has backed away from a previous commitment to turn off the FM transmissions in 2015.

As you’ll see from the pictures, both devices are stylish and I like the retro looks of the portable radio, though I can’t find any evidence that the “portable” radio runs off batteries – they’re not mentioned anywhere in the blurb.

The XDR-C706DBP clock radio is £59 and the XDR-S16DBP, £79. Available now.

 


Pure Contour Internet Connected Radio



Charles Bellfield and Vicky Deacon of the Pure team stopped by to discuss their new internet connected radio, called the Contour.  It boasts, not only full internet radio, but also an iPod / iPhone dock.  It features both WiFi and ethernet connectivity, access to almost 17,000 internet radio stations (plus podcasts and Pure Sounds, which is their own library of content), and two 18 watt stereo speakers.  It will also feature what Pure is calling “Flow” which will allow listeners to tag songs using Shazam-like technology and the purchase the tracks.  You can ID and buy songs with 2 clicks.  The Pure Contour will be available globally in late February for an MSRP of $299.99.

Interview by Andy McCaskey from SDR News and Tom Newman from Fogview

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