wi-fi radio

The number of Wi-Fi radios on the market has exploded the last couple years, but we've always been struck by how few portable units are available. Grace Digital is looking to fill that relatively empty niche with its new portable radio, the Allegro GDI-IRD4000, which includes the features we like on the company's stationary Wi-Fi radios, plus the ability to be powered by six AA batteries. Even better, the Allegro has a built-in charging circuit for NiMH batteries, so you don't need a separate charger if you go the rechargeable route.

Like other Grace radios we've … Read more

That was quick. A day after going on sale, the Chumby One cheerfully landed on my desk this morning. Curious to see what's inside? Take a look at Crave's Chumby One unboxing photo gallery.

The Chumby One (which is technically Chumby No. 2) officially made its way into the manufacturer's online storefront Wednesday, priced at a tantalizing $99.

For those who didn't catch the Chumby phenomenon the first time around, the gist of the thing is a do-it-all, hardware host for Internet widgets. You can use it to check the weather, update your Facebook status, browse your photos on Flickr, tune in to Internet radio, play games, and more. The original Chumby was a blast (I still use one at home for listening to Pandora), but it was a bit of a … Read more

Livio broke onto the Wi-Fi radio scene with the Livio Radio, featuring a "less is more" design philosophy that focused on Pandora's streaming music service. Today the company has announced a new Wi-Fi radio in the same vein, The NPR Radio ($200), which puts the focus on easily finding NPR content.

The backbone of The NPR Radio is the NPR menu, which is programmed by NPR and aggregates all of the company's content into a single menu, so you can easily find the NPR station you're looking for without having to know the station's … Read more

Logitech is adding a touch-screen model to its line of Squeezebox streaming audio products. Unfortunately, the upcoming Squeezebox Touch has a design flaw (in my opinion) that will likely relegate it to the periphery of the burgeoning home digital audio market.

At first glance, the Squeezebox Touch has a lot to like. Basically, it's the trusty Squeezebox Classic, but with that model's monochrome vacuum fluorescent display replaced by a 4.3-inch color touch screen. Connect it to a stereo (or a pair of powered speakers), and you've got access to your entire home music collection (streamable from … Read more

Logitech already owns the Editors' Choice award for Wi-Fi radios with the Squeezebox Boom, but it looks as if the company may be competing with itself for the award with the newly announced Squeezebox Radio ($200 list price).

From the initial news release, the Squeezebox Radio looks to pack most of the functionality of the Boom into an even smaller package; that means you can stream your MP3 collection plus thousands of internet radio stations and music services like Rhapsody, Napster, Pandora, Sirius, and Last.fm. It also one-ups the Boom by adding a color screen, and the capability to … Read more

Many (but not all) of the XM Sirius satellite radio audio channels are also available online to subscribers, for a small additional fee. The browser-based service is great for listening in those places where you don't--or can't--have a satellite radio rig set up, such as an interior room of an office building (or any other room without a window). And now, XM Sirius is offering a dedicated device for listening to its online streams: the Sirius TTR1 Internet Radio.

The tabletop radio connects to your home network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet to access the satcaster's online audio … Read more

Wi-Fi radios would seem to be a perfect bedside companion, but surprisingly few of them are designed to work as an alarm clock.

The Acoustic Research ARIR200 is one of few that is designed to (at least try to) wake you up in the morning, with a big snooze button on top and easy access to the alarm via buttons on the top. In addition, the ARIR200 is packed with many features not seen even on more expensive radios, including the ability to record stations to its internal memory, Slacker streaming, and weather updates--all for a very reasonable street price … Read more

The Wi-Fi radio category has grown steadily over the last two years, thanks to greater consumer awareness and the popularity of streaming music services like Pandora. Grace Digital Audio was one of the early entrants to this product category, and the Bravado (model number GDI-IRD4400M) represents a different direction for the company.

The Bravado ditches the standard tabletop radio look, instead placing a pair of stereo speakers on top of the unit and giving the faceplate the feel of an old-school stereo component. The rest of the unit will feel familiar to Grace Digital fans, as the radio supports streaming … Read more