Monster's iSoniCast wireless iPod bridge finally starts shipping

Monster first started talking this one up way back in August of last year, but the company just now seems to have gotten its act together, with it finally starting to ship its iPod Wireless Audio Bridge out the door. Now dubbed the iSoniCast, the device relies on "proprietary 2.5GHz technology" to wirelessly stream music from your iPod to the home audio system of your choice and, like many other similar products, includes a dock conncetor-attached transmitter to let you use the iPod itself as a wireless remote. As you can see above, the device has also gotten a bit of a facelift since its initial debut, but it's hung onto the same price tag, with it setting you back $100 even.

[Via Crave]

[Oliver @ Mar 13th 2008 1:32PM]

hey, it looked better before... now it looks cheaper and not as futuristic

[James @ Mar 13th 2008 1:32PM]

Nice ill take one.

[ScOObyDoo @ Mar 13th 2008 1:32PM]

Monster need to proofread their own site.

"High bandwidth 4Gbps streaming thoughput eliminates compression artifacts."

I would LOVE to see how they got 4Gbps in a 2.4Ghz signal.

Of course, further down the page it shows it's actually 4Mbps...

[PDubNYC @ Mar 13th 2008 1:41PM]

I just wish i could send songs from my iPhone to my Airport Express. that would be sweet

[Grizz @ Mar 13th 2008 1:47PM]

Do they use a platinum oxodised frequency specifically designed for transmitting Jazz music?

[ozkr @ Mar 13th 2008 1:55PM]

conncetor-attached, gotta love the conncetors!

[kal326 @ Mar 13th 2008 2:15PM]

@ozkr
I guess those fancy conncetors are why ipods are selling so well, my Zune only has a lousy connector on the bottom.

[Anton @ Mar 13th 2008 2:17PM]

you (engadget) should give us some hands-on love for this one. considering the less-than-phenomenal performance of similar products (albeit from less reputable companies), i'd like to know how well this thing works in real life.

[lokiju @ Mar 13th 2008 2:33PM]

2.5ghz is what Wimax uses, I'm surprised the FCC ok'd that.

Guess they got it to play nice somehow...

[Evan @ Mar 13th 2008 2:48PM]

Wait... the iPod Touch has WiFi, so why do I need to attach yet another radio transmitter? Come on Apple, just integrate AirTunes and be done with it!

[Azayzel @ Mar 13th 2008 2:53PM]

I don't even know why people buy these things. Seriously, just connect your iPod directly to your stereo, or better yet, why not connect your PC directly to your receiver using an optical cable? Much cheaper and higher fidelity. You can then use iTunes or Windows Media Player to play whatever play-lists you choose, you can even stream Internet Radio through iTunes to boot!

Don't waste your money, save it for something more worthwhile.

[Chris in CA @ Mar 13th 2008 2:55PM]

Would it be outside the realm of possibility to create a royalty-limited universal connector for stuff? Like HDMI but without the royalties? We finally have cell phones settling on mini-usb as a charger connector, could we settle on a couple digital streams, in a standardized connector so (gasp) consumers benefit? Not since Phonographs came in 3 sizes and speeds was the market so saturated with proprietary crap that keeps you from enjoying your Acme Widget with your Blam-0 Whatzit dock.

[jeremy @ Mar 13th 2008 3:45PM]

How about using a server (or pc if you will) to store your music library, connect a media extender to your home audio and network them? Much easier and cleaner than using your portable player in a home setting.

www.jeremyhop.com (you can also stream this music library) Have a go at it and you won't waste your money on this crappy wireless stuff.