Pandora-lovin' Livio Radio sports 'thumbs up / down' controls
By Darren Murph 
posted April 15th 2009 12:01AM
posted April 15th 2009 12:01AM
Livio Radio's sleek features puts Pandora® at your finger tips
Introducing the new stand-alone Livio Radio, featuring Pandora® Internet Radio
Ferndale, Mich. - The power of Pandora Internet Radio is now accessible to even more people, in more places, with the new Livio Radio.
The first and only dedicated device to offer Pandora's signature "thumbs up, thumbs down" controls on both the front panel and a remote, the Livio Radio puts its users in command by allowing them to customize the music and programming they receive across any genre, from anywhere in the world, without a required monthly fee.
The Livio Radio, through Pandora and the Music Genome Project ™, gives its users the power to be their own personal DJ, one that actually pays attention to what listeners like and dislike. With its sleek design and set of features, the Livio Radio goes beyond providing access to free, personalized Internet radio available through Pandora. In the home, office, or anywhere a power source and a Web connection meet, it's a stand-alone radio that connects quickly and plays Internet radio programming through its own speaker. The Livio Radio does not require access to a computer interface or a mobile phone for everyday operation.
"I love listening to Pandora. I listen to it on my phone and at my desk when I'm working, but I don't want to bring my laptop poolside or sport earbuds at a barbecue," said Greg Kim, Livio's sales and marketing manager. "Most people don't need all the bells and whistles. That's what the Livio Radio is all about."
In addition to Pandora, the Livio Radio can also access a comprehensive list of validated Internet radio stations from around the world through Reciva®, a global market leader in Internet radio technology. Reciva collaborated with Livio to create the Livio Radio.
"Pandora's listeners are increasingly using Pandora off of the PC, so we're always looking for new products that make that easy to do, and have wide appeal for listeners," said Jessica Steel, Pandora's senior vice president of business development. "The Livio Radio is a great way to bring Pandora into the home."
The Livio Radio sells for $150 and is currently available in the United States at www.LivioRadio.com
About Livio:
Founded in 2008, Livio LLC finds ways to make Internet audio streams accessible to more people, in more places. Dedicated to designing products that work fast without complicated menus, Livio developed the Livio Radio to let users listen to Pandora® in the home, without a Ph.D. in consumer electronics.
About Pandora:
Pandora (www.pandora.com) is a free, personalized Internet radio service, available anytime and anywhere on the PC, in the home and on mobile devices, including the Apple iPhone. Pandora is based on the Music Genome Project, which began in 2000 and is the most thorough analysis of popular music ever undertaken. Each song in this massive collection, which includes Pop, Rock, Jazz, Electronica, Hip Hop, Country, Blues, R&B, Latin and Classical, is analyzed by one of more than 50 trained musicians, and assessed against up to 400 distinct musical attributes (encompassing melody, harmony, rhythm, etc.) to capture its unique musical identity. Pandora uses this information to build playlists based on musical similarity. By simply entering a favorite song or artist, a listener is instantly launched into a personalized listening experience, full of new discovery as Pandora explores their favorite part of the music universe. Listeners can create up to 100 of these personal radio stations and refine them by providing feedback via the Pandora radio tuner. Additionally, listeners can create profiles, search for other listeners in the Pandora community who have similar musical tastes, and find stations built by other listeners, using artist and song names as well as genre and mood search terms. The music analyst team works daily to keep the Music Genome Project updated with the latest releases, emerging artists, and an ever-deepening collection of catalogue titles. Today, Pandora has a growing user base of more than 18 million registered listeners and national advertisers such as HP, Microsoft, Toyota, AT&T, Procter and Gamble, and Nike.
i want 2
That's a swell-looking device at a very respectable price. I may nab one of them. Pandora is by far the best free radio service I've come across.
Yes. Kudos for combining a great service with a cool design.
i love the idea! now, we just gotta get pandora to up the bitrate just a bit to take advantage of the nice speakers! (even though its already higher than most others already)
Really nice stuff. First internet radio I'd actually buy.
I love the styling. It looks cool but not wimpy.
Looks nice, but that's a lot of money to put down to end up listening in mono. I know it's got a stereo out on the back, but figuring in an extra set of speakers just makes it more expensive.
if you are into pandora, i cannot imagine that you have a home or office completely in-equipped to accept this device's line out. Hook it up to your PC speakers, home theater, Shelf stereo, headphones. I think the device is designed very nicely with a good combination of features. I own a squeezebox and as terrific as it is, they are just so darned expensive and the squeezeox boom, just too darn big. For 150$ it looks great.
There's something very appealing about that radio.
And that's one of the few times I'll ever utter those words.
Cool idea at a reasonable price.
I just wish they hadn't completely ripped off Tivoli with the design (http://www.tivoliaudio.com/home.php?cat=262)
Isn't it just easier, and cheaper, to hook up an old laptop to a stereo receiver? It's a snazzy looking machine, but for $10 you could just get a 3.5 to stereo cable for a laptop. Then again, you wont have your roommates cranking up some porn over your stereo with this guy..
+1.
I really think this is just kinda dumb... there are so many ways I can play pandora, through better speakers, for free. Right now.
And seriously, it's nice that they have the other iradio stations... but none of them are reasonably listenable (yeah 64kbps!) that i've found. Pandora's great, audio quality is decent, but it's still only something I put on for a party so I never have to touch it or make a playlist (or deal with poor shuffle choices) or at work when I don't have my music with me.
I personally think this is RIDICULOUSLY overpriced for the function of playing pandora over a mediocre mono speaker. Although the thumbs up/down buttons are sweet.
End Transmission.
Or even a cheap FM transmitter, so you can listen throughout the house, and even outside.
With a PC you can't sit across the room and use a remote to change stations.
Does anyone know if this works outside of USA? I know that Pandora.com is blocked for outsiders.
Oh hey, someone answered your question.
I believe his/her handle is 'dimitrix.'
I meant the Livio Radio :PP
go to the site and read the FAQ. Pandora is only USA. This machine also plays internet radio through the receiva service (but is vague on codec support).
there's an app for that.
iphone FTW
Reminds me of the Intempo GX01 Reciva Based internet radio I have minus the usb port on the front.
http://www.intempodigital.com/products/Internet-Radio/GX
Why does every single internet radio have to look like it was made by Tivoli Audio? Why a tiny monaural speaker? Why not implement internet radio technology in a decent boomboxy CD player? Why?
How about the Squeezebox Boom? They even put effort into making the speakers not suck in it.
It's not THIS company named Livio, is it?
http://www.livio.de/livio/livio_pflanzen_l/
Umm.. quote: "Pandora (www.pandora.com) is a free, personalized Internet radio service, available anytime and anywhere". Not. They really should correct this. "Available any time in the U.S." geo-based restrictions are extremely tedious - the new face of net non-neutrality?
Cheaper than a Chumby.
I wonder if this radio will also shut off after 2 hours of listening and ask, "Are you still listening, we don't like playing to an empty room."
I want one for every room. These things are sweet. Great sound quality, and it has a line out so I can hook it up to my kitchen speakers. My parents would love one too since it appears to be easy to use
I also like it.
Pandora has taken the place of a couple of different services I used to use.
"Pandora's signature "thumbs up, thumbs down" controls"
What innovation! Who would've thought to put those particular buttons on a household electronic device before this company?
I have a previous version of this called an Intempo. The speaker is actually very good and ported to the rear. What is not good is the proliferation of led's inside the case. Not noticeable in a bright room but see this at 4am and you would think someone has planted a lighthouse next to you. I stripped my down and put blu tak over the offending flashing led's.
Pandora is by far the best service for iradio so far. Yeah its shame I can listen to it overseas but it was not their descision it was the record companies and the licensing agreements that forced them to lock it down like that. At home it streams from the PS3 and sounds decent enough for what I am doing. If you want true fidelity it will still be better to have the actual file on your system but its nice to just let it play and if you subscribe(gasp!) you do not get the oocasional interruption inservice.
well, here in France, Orange have that same radio, called "Live Radio" for 99€, the sound is good, and most of the stations that works on WMP will work on this radio.
The wifi is not that powerful as i expect, but at least you have the RJ45 connector.
A very bad point is... if you have a Philips TV and you have this radio close to the TV, you will mess with both things.
If it played Slacker Radio instead of Pandora, I'd think about it.
Umm... ok.
Anyone else notice that no one here has yet asked the most obvious question?
SPECS ON THE SOUND?!!?!?
Seriously, it does look a LOT like a Tivoli, but if it SOUNDS like a Tivoli, I'll be impressed. I see the bass reflex, so that's a good sign.
I did a brief search and even looked over the press release, no word on the sound specs.
And to the person who complained that this is mono, the point of this kind of sound system is that you don't have to be precisely between two speakers to get the correct "image" of the song playing.
That's the inherent problem with stereo, you get out of center and you deal with phasing issues, unbalanced instruments, etc. etc.
That is why any good DJ or sound guy at a live event will mix down to mono, so not just the 20 people directly centered between the speakers can get a better idea of what's supposed to be heard. It's also why Bose L1 systems are so popular.
I'm an indie producer, and as much as I want people to hear my songs in their stereo mix, stereo mixes have their place, just as do matrix audio. I don't expect to hear a stereo mix when I'm out shopping at a mall or grocery store, in an elevator,
This is a great product. I plugged it in and it found my wifi and was listening to music within a few minutes. I just love listening to house music. I no longer have to download songs to my ipod or try to wrangle with my out of date computer speakers... Finally a solution that has a speaker so I can listen while in my office or making dinner! I love this product it just works :)
What a great product. I love this thing! I plugged it in to a wall outlet and it just started working (found my wifi connection on its own)! I typed in my favorite house music dj and every song it played I loved! The thumbs up and down are super easy to use. It sounds good and works well in my kitchen to listen to the music I like. I don't have to mess around with the complicated surround sound system my husband set up in the living room that requires multiple remotes and listening to the same cable station music that sucks. The ultra modern design works perfectly in my home! I am also buying one for my mom because it is so simple to use!
To address all of the questions in concerns I'll go down the list I have.
The speaker specs
Total Power Consumption: 10 Watts
Amplifier Class: Bridge Tied Load (BTL)
Amplifier Output Power RMS: 4.5 Watts
Amplifier Output Peak: 7 Watts
Speaker Type: 3"4 ohm Magnetic Voice Coil
Controlling Brightness
Got to the Main Menu> Settings> Blacklight> Inactive or Standby (Inactive is better)> Set the level to 3 should be sufficient but 0 will completely blackout the screen.
Alarm
Main Menu> Settings> Clock> Set Alarm> Enable Alarm (YES)> Dial in the time
Wireless is there.
There's no auto shut off so you can listen to music for hours without any interruption.
No, we are not the vegetable oil company. Sorry to get your hopes up...
Squeezebox has more features but also cost twice as much. The Livio was made to do one thing and one thing well which is to play Pandora!
As for speaker sound and not being enough for some people, the radio has the stereo out and aux in features so you can hook the radio up to your existing system.