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Philips' Rhapsody-enhanced Internet radio

Philips announces its new Streamium NP1100 wireless music receiver with integrated Rhapsody subscription music support.

Donald Bell Senior Editor / How To
Donald Bell has spent more than five years as a CNET senior editor, reviewing everything from MP3 players to the first three generations of the Apple iPad. He currently devotes his time to producing How To content for CNET, as well as weekly episodes of CNET's Top 5 video series.
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Photo of the Philips Streamium NP1100.
Squeeze this! With an affordable price and attractive design, the Philips Streamium NP1100 hopes to take streaming home audio mainstream. Philips


Aiming squarely at devices such as the Logitech Squeezebox and Roku Soundbridge, the recently announced Philips Streamium NP1100 might not break the mold on features, but it will be offered at a great price of just $149. The Philips Streamium NP1100 offers three basic functions: an Internet radio tuner; a PC-link for streaming audio from a local computer; and a dedicated Rhapsody subscription music feature. The Streamium NP1100 uses a built-in Wi-Fi connection (or hardwired Ethernet), to pull down streaming music from the Internet or your networked PC library.

Photo of Streamium as clock.
When not in use, the Streamium NP1100 doubles as pixel-flaunting clock. Philips

On the back of the Philips Streamium NP1100 you'll find a standard pair of RCA audio outputs along with a digital coaxial jack, both used for connecting the device to a home theater system, boom box, or powered desktop speakers.

Aside from the Streamium's attractive price tag, Philips touts the product's small footprint, attractive design, and ease of use as major advantages over the competition. The oversize, high-contrast white LED display used on the Streamium does an admirable job of presenting large, legible text on a device no bigger than a clock radio.

A 30-day trial Rhapsody subscription is included with the Streamium right out of the box, with no account set-up requirement. No fee is attached to the Internet radio streaming feature.