Sanyo R227 WiFi radio headed to the US

It was fun while it lasted, but it looks like Sanyo's R227 WiFi radio is no longer that rarest of rare things: a Canadian exclusive, as the company has now announced that it'll be available in the US in January. The radio itself, of course, remains the same, with it still packing both WiFi and an Ethernet jack for a wired connection, along with a backlit LCD display, support for AAC, AIFF, MP3, WAV and WMA files stored on a networked computer, a stereo headphone jack, an FM tuner, and a pair of 2W RMS speakers. The one thing that has changed slightly is the price, which now comes in at a slightly more affordable $169.99.

[Via Electronista]

[BlurMagic @ Dec 4th 2008 4:17PM]

Novel idea: Let smack wifi compatibility onto everything! Hooray.

"Hey wow. This toaster is amazing... and it has wifi?"

"Yeah, you can control your browning from anywhere there is a computer!"

Seriously, I don't need to spend $170 dollars to play podcasts, or internet radio, or FM radio for that matter. Seems like the only reason someone would buy this is to say, "I have one of those." Because, be honest, everyone here already has a system that will do everything that box does.

[Freestyle Farfetchd @ Dec 4th 2008 4:30PM]

Yeah, I'm not getting the entire bombard-yourself-with-multimedia thing. It seems that just about everything these days wants to play videos or music at you, wirelessly, streaming or from 3G. Don't we all have mp3 players anyway?

[The Joker @ Dec 4th 2008 11:37PM]

what are you talking about. I would like a bedside Internet radio with WiFi at a reasonable price. Hopefully this has a sleep timer. If so, sold.

BTW many WiFi capable devices do not receive Internet radio like the Zune or Creative Zen. Why? I have no idea.

[sgt_easton @ Dec 4th 2008 11:58PM]

"Because, be honest, everyone here already has a system that will do everything that box does."

Yeah, 'cause I want a computer on my nightstand. Idiot.

[crashcarstar @ Dec 4th 2008 4:32PM]

Where's the AM

[The Joker @ Dec 4th 2008 11:41PM]

yes, the trend of excluding AM on devices is getting annoying. Hello! News and weather is on AM. Bloomberg etc.

[habanero @ Dec 4th 2008 5:26PM]

I would consider this if it was able to play HDRadio and had digital output option.

[Ross @ Dec 4th 2008 5:38PM]

This looks exactly like a DAB digital radio I used to have in the UK, anybody know who made it?, I think it was Panasonic, but I can't remember.

[Nathan @ Dec 4th 2008 7:25PM]

"It seems that just about everything these days wants to play videos or music at you, wirelessly, streaming or from 3G. Don't we all have mp3 players anyway?"

Actually we don't all have mp3 players. The idea that some people will pay for this interface because even though they could do the same on their computer, they don't want to. We can all watch tv on our boxes too, but most people haven't made that jump. I guess these guys are just betting that enough people will want a traditional radio-style music player. I wouldn't bank on it myself, but you never know.

[strider_mt2k @ Dec 4th 2008 10:33PM]

That's not bad.
Not bad at all.

[The Joker @ Dec 5th 2008 12:35AM]

found a review:

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/reviews/article.php/3786661

[oaktree @ Dec 5th 2008 5:16PM]

It doesn't need a poor sounding AM tuner because the thousands of AM stations presently streaming online sound a heck of a lot better than through bad recievers and limited response transmitters.

The fact is, it doesn't need an FM tuner, either, as thousands of FM stations are streaming online, too ... as well as podcasts.

Nice unit, nice price, but without the FM tuner, could be less expensive. Your local AM and FM stations are probably streaming anyway. Plenty of news and weather.

In addition, the radio can pick up local weather (NOAA) if streamed.

Shame there was no mention of how it was able to be tuned. What system? Can it be manually tuned?

[Tioga @ Dec 6th 2008 5:24PM]

Why must all internet radios be retro-style boxes? Are there any other Chinese manufacturers with some sense of style that will fit into the 21st century?

I like the idea of a stand-alone internet radio/clock but most on the market are very ugly. This one is not much better looking.

[Kevin @ Dec 8th 2008 9:32PM]

I have one of thse, just bought it this weekend, and I think it's great.

The Logitech Squeezebox Boom is a much slicker-looking unit (in my opinion) but costs twice as much.

Yes, it has a sleep timer. And it uses Reciva to get its station list.