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Philips taunts us once again with new Streamium systems

Philips has updated the Streamium series, but will we ever see them available in the US?

Jeff Bakalar Editor at Large
Jeff is CNET Editor at Large and a host for CNET video. He's regularly featured on CBS and CBSN. He founded the site's longest-running podcast, The 404 Show, which ran for 10 years. He's currently featured on Giant Bomb's Giant Beastcast podcast and has an unhealthy obsession with ice hockey and pinball.
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Jeff Bakalar
Will the new Streamium systems get mass distribution in the US? Philips

While Streamium systems are always hard to come by stateside, Philips has announced the next iteration of its wireless digital streaming devices. The WACS7500 hub ($999.99) and WAS7500 extenders ($299.99) feature 80GB hard drives, color LCD displays, and USB ports for connecting a variety of media devices.

The idea behind Streamium is to be able to wirelessly broadcast music to anywhere in your home. Using the WACS7500 you can control up to five WAS7500 extenders, either synchronizing them together or controlling them separately. Rip CDs directly to their hard drives or, through Wi-Fi, access files on your computer. Streamium also offers an optional iPod dock, although it seems a little superfluous if you keep all your music on your computer. Internet radio fans will be happy to know that Streamium allows you to bypass the need for a PC and listen to broadcasts directly from either a hub or extender.

We've reviewed a variety of Streamium products over the past few years and--while we liked some more than others--the bigger frustration was that the products seemed increasingly scarce at North American retailers. Hopefully when April comes along these will finally materialize in the states.