 Boston Globe reviews field of Wi-Fi music players ·Dec 14, 03:31 PM From the Boston Globe: “Today’s digital music players let us copy thousands of songs from our home computers and stash them in a shirt pocket. Impressive, perhaps, but just the beginning. “After all, there are millions of tunes out there. Why not a digital player that lets you listen to all of them?… And what’s this about plugging your player into a computer? Why not connect wirelessly? … “Thanks to the rise of WiFi wireless Internet technology, there’s an infinite supply of music and video streaming through the ether all around us. And now a bunch of new digital music players make it possible to plug in and listen. “You’d expect Apple Inc. to lead the way,… But the most interesting WiFi services come from a couple of industry upstarts. Flash memory maker SanDisk Corp.‘s Sansa Connect and the Ibiza Rhapsody from the Chinese appliance manufacturer Haier each allow users to listen to pretty much anything. All you need is WiFi access and a monthly subscription to an Internet music service…
“Like the iPhone, the iPod Touch lets you make WiFi connections to any nearby wireless router… “Still, the iPod Touch’s WiFi has irksome limitations, and it lacks a built-in way to listen to Internet radio stations. There are add-on services, such as Orb.com, which can turn the Touch into an Internet radio receiver. But shouldn’t this be built in at the factory?… “SanDisk certainly thinks so. The company’s Sansa Connect player lets users dial in thousands of Internet music streams offered by Yahoo Inc. The Connect is the smallest of the WiFi players, and the flimsiest-looking. It only carries 4 gigabytes of flash memory. “Then again, the price is right. It lists for $150, but is widely available for under $100. Unlike the other players on our list, the Connect offers an SD memory slot so you can add extra capacity. Besides, when it’s in range of a WiFi hotspot, the Connect lets you hear all the music you want, for a price. “Connect users can tune into a handful of free music channels on Yahoo. Or for $8.99 a month or $71.88 for a full year, they can get Yahoo’s Music Unlimited service… Still, the Connect is a good option for music lovers on a budget. “Haier is going after the US consumer electronics market, and its new Ibiza Rhapsody is a pretty good start. “At $299 for the 30-gigabyte hard drive model, the Ibiza’s a little pricey compared to the 80-gig Zune. But the Ibiza’s in stock, while Amazon and other retailers have been running out of Zunes… “On the plus side, it boasts a built-in FM radio, like the Zune… And like the Connect, it lets you stream vast amounts of music, with a paid subscription to Rhapsody, the music service run by RealNetworks Inc. For $14.95 a month, you can download all the songs your Ibiza will hold, and listen to live streams whenever you’re in WiFi range. Ibiza owners who don’t want to pay a subscription fee can still listen to a few Rhapsody channels at no charge. “So we’ve now got WiFi music players that synch up wirelessly with our computers and deliver Web surfing, video viewing, and more music than we’ll ever want to hear. Too bad that no single player delivers all this wireless goodness. We’re running out of pockets.” Read the entire story at the Boston Globe. share: del.icio.us.  Reddit  Digg  Yahoo  Wink  Windows  Google  Newsvine 
CommentCommenting is closed for this article.  Other stories RAIN has upgraded (and moved)! RAIN 9/13: RAIN Summit Chicago takes place today! RAIN 9/12: First Summit in RAIN's hometown takes place tomorrow RAIN 9/9: Summer holidays, "doldrums" impact July Webcast Metrics, but audience up over last year RAIN 9/8: Clear Channel launches new customizable iHeartRadio beta; RAIN goes hands-on RAIN 9/7: Meet more speakers you'll hear at RAIN Summit Chicago in less than a week RAIN 9/6: Clear Channel taps The Echo Nest to take on Pandora RAIN 9/2: RAIN reviews Spotify's radio-like product Artist Radio RAIN 9/1: UK online radio aggregator Radioplayer campaigns b'dcasters to create "all radio" ratings RAIN 8/31: Execs from Merlin, Triton Digital, jacAPPS and more to appear at RAIN Summit Chicago |
These are nice devices but when is the Sansa going to be unlocked from Yahoo’s lame internet stations and allow other presets to be added?
— Matt Gunter · Dec 17, 01:10 PM · #
I’m not surprised to see they completely missed the best WiFi radio player there is… Torian InFusion
http://www.torianwireless.com/
— Jesse Graffam · Dec 17, 08:24 PM · #