Brionvega radio gets a 21st century upgrade

Posted in Radio by Conner Flynn on April 13th, 2009

Brionvega radio gets a 21st century upgradeThis BrionVega desktop radio is based on a radio that the company actually made back in 1965 in Italy. The RR227 is an update of Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper’s RR127 radio. The updated model features AM and FM radio tuners, plus it can play MP3 or WMA digital audio files. You load tunes on it by popping an SD card into the slot. There’s also an AUX jack for connecting your iPod or other media player too.

The design lets you set it down either horizontally or vertically and still be able to use the tuning dial easily. The radio comes in white, black or red. All look great. Also features a 3-watt amp, and there’s a headphone jack. It comes with an AC power pack and will also run on batteries.

Pandora Radio app for BlackBerry

Posted in BlackBerry by Conner Flynn on March 19th, 2009

Pandora Radio app for BlackBerryThis morning Pandora released its long awaited radio streaming application for BlackBerry. The guys at The BoyGenius Report tested it on a Bold via AT&T. According to them, “it’s everything we’ve been waiting for”.

The performance is pretty good and it has all of the basic features you want, like song skipping, rating a song thumbs up or down, pausing and creating a new station are all there. You can also bookmark a song or artist. T-Mobile won’t support it however for the Storm.

Nextar’s MA809 PMP is thin, pricey

Posted in Portable Meda Players by Conner Flynn on March 16th, 2009

Nextar's MA809 PMP is thin, priceyThe Nextar MA809 is a super skinny and sexy portable media player that measures just 0.25 inches thin. To put it in perspective, that’s almost half the iPhone 3G. It sports a 2.8-inch display (400 x 240 resolution), and an integrated voice recorder.

The Nextar MA809 also supports MP3/WMA audio files, JPEG/BMP/GIF picture files, and AVI video files. There’s also an FM radio in there. The 2GB model retails for around $100, while the 8GB version retails for $149. It will be available in the second quarter of 2009.

Teac HD-1 HD Radio

Posted in Radio by Conner Flynn on March 15th, 2009

Teac HD-1 HD RadioTeac has announced its first HD radio device, in the form of the TEAC HD-1. The iPod docking system comes equipped with HD Radio technology for a superior audio experience and compelling new content through HD Radio programming.

You can use the TEAC HD-1 with your iTunes collection via its iTunes Tagging capability. Some other features include a remote control, dual alarm clock with snooze button, five equalizer presets, and an iPod/iPhone charger. You can purchase the Teac HD-1 HD Radio at select Costco stores around the US for $129.99 each.

DAB Digital Radio concept

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on March 2nd, 2009

DAB Digital Radio conceptThis DAB Digital Radio design looks like a pair of fancy salt and pepper shakers. That’s because they are meant to fit into your kitchen environment. Designer Anton Webb goes for a minimalist approach.

They are rubberized, splash-resistant, and feature enclosed speakers and battery operation for a more hardy form factor in their environment. The large buttons are touch sensitive, allowing to to use your elbows if your fingers are currently too busy or too greasy to be used. Also features a black LCD display with vertical scrolling text.

Liberty Media rescues Sirius XM

Posted in Sirius by Conner Flynn on February 17th, 2009

Liberty Media rescues Sirius XMLiberty Media has just rescued Sirius XM from bankruptcy, with a $530 million parachute that it will use to pay off debt and keep operations going. Liberty is writing a $280 million check asap, $171 million of which will go straight to debts.

They will also get $250 million more in funding to help with a potential takeover of Sirius by DISH Network. In return, Liberty Media will own 12.5 million shares of preferred stock in Sirius XM. With so much money flying around, it’s amazing that we can be in a recession.

Slacker BlackBerry Storm streaming radio app released

Posted in Curve by Conner Flynn on February 4th, 2009

Slacker BlackBerry Storm streaming radio client releasedSlacker has announced a version of it’s free internet radio app for the smartphone, with 100 expert-programmed Slacker stations, over 10,000 artist stations or tons of custom stations. You can even listen to music without a network connection using Slacker’s station caching, which is exclusive to BlackBerry devices

It lets you store your favorite stations on a memory card instead of streaming them over the network connection you’re using. That way you have access to them even when there’s no signal. Slacker claims that it will also reduce battery consumption by as much as 5x.

Mr. and Mrs. Radio Speakers

Posted in Speakers by Conner Flynn on January 26th, 2009

Mr. and Mrs. Radio SpeakersThey must be newlyweds because we haven’t seen them before. Speakers or no, they’re an odd couple from Profit Charm. The pair is available in different colors. Mr. Speaker apparently has no shirt and proudly shows off his name on his chest. Mrs Speaker on the other hand wears a shirt and nothing else. So, I’m guessing they can’t make up their minds about being nudists or not.

Both speakers will work with your iPod or computer, laptop etc and they also play FM Radio. They’re powered by USB and I’m assuming their creepy faces light up.

SATY MP3 player with breath analyzer

Posted in MP3 by Conner Flynn on January 11th, 2009

SATY MP3 player with breath analyzerSometimes companies invent gadgets for for the hell of it. They might throw together a device with two or three things that do not belong together, throw it at the public like a gadget-making monkey flinging feces and see if it sticks or not. Hey, how about a new MP3 player with a breath analyzer?

It’s for people who like tunes and need immediate info about their funky breath. Oh, they also added a flashlight, a radio, a mosquito repeller (In case your breath is attracting them), all with an MP3 player. For no damn reason! Just because! They are gambling on a real long shot here. But if there should be a demand for such a device…Oh man. Someone will be in the money.

Sirius XM rolls out MiRGE satellite radio

Posted in Sirius by Conner Flynn on January 8th, 2009

Sirius XM rolls out MiRGE satellite radioSirius XM has merged some of its channels and at CES they’ve rolled out their very first interoperable satellite radio: the MiRGE (Get it?, Sirius XM…Merge). It will let you switch between Sirius and XM signals easily and the radio will also display three other channels as you view your current channel.

You’ll even be able to pause and rewind up to 60 minutes of live programming. XM Sirius has also rolled out a new “Sirius Everything plus XM Everything” package for the radio, which will cost you $19.99 a month. Apparently it gives you everything you’d get when you subscribe to the two separate services.

Blaupunk & miRoamer want to put Internet Radio in your Car

Posted in CES 2009 by Conner Flynn on January 4th, 2009

Blaupunk & miRoamer want to put Internet Radio in your CarThis year’s CES will see Blaupunkt and miRoamer put Internet radio into car dashboards for the first time. According to miRoamer founder and CEO George Parthimos, “miRoamer’s development with Blaupunkt is the first seamless Internet radio solution. With the simple push of a button, users can access AM/FM stations or Internet radio’s thousands of music, entertainment, news and talk stations from around the world, all from the same car stereo.”

The first model will connect to a 3G/HSDPA/HSPA device via Bluetooth for Internet connectivity. When connecting to the Internet from an external device (Like an iPhone), the customer’s existing service provider is the default network. They have various models in the pipeline which may have their own internal modem.

Volkswagen Bus Radio

Posted in Radio by Conner Flynn on January 1st, 2009

Volkswagen Bus RadioLooks like the VW bus has jumped the groove and left it’s record playing days behind to become a radio. Dreams of Japan has released a miniature version of the Volkswagen bus aka hippie mobile, that features an AM/FM radio, all the necessary jacks for hooking up an external audio source and radio antenna alongside a tiny LCD display in the back window.

It also features a digital clock for the time. But it wouldn’t be a hippie mobile without some analog dials to tune the radio and adjust the volume. Sadly, there’s a catch. As every hippie knows, “the man” can’t be trusted. “The man” has priced this one at $129.99.

RockridgeSound ISR-VT02 iPod dock

Posted in iPod Accessories by Conner Flynn on December 25th, 2008

RockridgeSound ISR-VT02 iPod dockRockridgeSound recently released the somewhat retro looking ISR-VT02 iPod dock. The unit boasts an integrated AM/FM tuner, vacuum tube amplifier, two-stage 12AX7 (ECC83) amplifier, two 3.15 inch speakers, 12W of power, S-Video out, mini stereo input and RCA analog inputs.

The RockridgeSound ISR-VT02 iPod Dock is not only retro looking and “woody”, it’s also compatible with all iPods and the iPod touch. Not the iPhone. This docking station is available in Japan starting today for around $385.

Slacker introduces Radio Plus service

Posted in internet radio by Shane McGlaun on December 22nd, 2008

Slacker LogoDigital music is available in many forms. You can buy digital albums and tracks form music stores like iTunes or you can subscribe to services that allow you to download all the music you want and keep it as long as you pay the monthly fee.

Slacker is yet another alternative where you choose the tracks you want to listen to and create your own streaming radio station customized to your tastes. Slacker announced a new service called Radio Plus. Radio Plus costs $3.99 per month and offers features not previously available on Slacker.

iRadioPop internet radio dongle

Posted in internet radio by Conner Flynn on December 18th, 2008

iRadioPop internet radio dongleIf you want to tune in to Internet radio, but lack the means, then you may want to check out the user friendly iRadioPop Internet radio dongle. Just plug it into any available USB 2.0 port and you’re ready to go.

The interesting thing about this device and what makes it stand out is that it features an integrated recorder which allows you to capture and store your favorite songs. Preset station favorites let you go straight to your regular online radio places without having to search them out.