Well, what do we have here? Looks like someone got their hands on Logitech's
Squeezebox Touch a little bit early and was kind enough to snap some pictures. According to the hapless owner and photographer, however, it's stuck in software update mode and the company's support line refuses to acknowledge its existence. Major bummer, but when it does work, here's what we've gleaned from the side of the box: a 4.3-inch 24-bit color LCD with capacitive touch, 802.11b/g WiFI, Ethernet, USB drive and SD card support, a variety of audio out including digital optical, and an infrared proximity sensor. Audio streaming support is still there, naturally, so you'll have access to Pandora, Sirius, Last.Fm, and pretty much every major provider. Hit up the read links to see the pictures and express your sympathy.
[Thanks, Kris P]
posted Aug 28th 2009 2:11AM
Mama's got a squeeze box
Daddy never sleeps at night
I dunno, a stereo just isn't the same without a big knob, you know?
that's what she said... and then she got a squeezebox
Ditto. Gorgeous though, but a big knob would make it irresistible.
So logictech can't make windows 7 x64 drivers for webcams even when they knew far in advance windows 7 was coming, they sell this product and refuse support, whats new?
They constantly make products and careless about drivers/support , I hate logictech and do my best to avoid the items they make. They hate linux also
Why would Logitech -- learn to spell -- support the Squeezebox Touch when it isn't out yet? You did read the article, right? It's a given you cannot spell, but you can read, right?
Squeezecenter (Sqoeezebox Server) loves to run on Linux.
I am not sure about Windows 7 x64 drivers not working, the Vista X64 drivers work perfectly fine for me on two machines with two different Logitech webcams.
One thing that always gets me though when people talk about Windows and drivers for hardware is this: A company makes a product, say a webcam for arguments sake, and writes a nice driver for it that works beautifully and never has any complaints from anyone. They send the whole thing to Microsoft's quality lab and get their little windows tested and approved logo for say Vista. Then a couple of months later Microsoft puts out a service pack or even just a windows update patch, keeping in mind that Microsoft bugs you at every opportunity to turn on automatic updates, and suddenly your device doesn't work correctly anymore.
Who really deserves the customers angst here? Is it the hardware vendor for not rewriting their drivers on a daily/weekly/monthly basis? Or is it Microsoft's fault for breaking a perfect driver with their update? Now if the driver in question causes instability or introduces a security hole in the operating system, the device driver needs to be broken and re-written by the vendor for a serious reason then. If it is a perfectly good driver that doesn't need to be re-written and Microsoft just changes something in the system that causes it to become an unstable driver then it is really Microsoft's fault. A vendor that has 50+ products on the market at any one time with probably thousands of products still in use by customers can't possibly keep every single device from the last, lets say ten years even though I personally see Logitech mouse and keyboards that are older than that still in use, all perfectly updated for every patch, service pack and new OS.
The original guts of Squeezebox come from SlimDevices, a company that has been acquired by Logitech. I don't how's it right now, but so far the support for these devices was excellent. I would assume that these guys are not the ones working on some faulty Windows 7 x64 drivers.
I am quite thrilled about this new gizmo and it's really comforting to see that the Squeezebox line of products is flourishing.
I have used SqueezeBox support this year and they were very good. There is an active forum on their site with regular participation from the developers.
Personsally I rather my classic Squeezebox V2 with its beautiful VFD screen. There is no need for any more real estate on the screen, and it looks stunning.
I love my Squeezebox v2 just wish I could hook it up to Spotify....
This might work if you run the beta 7.4 version of the Squeezebox Server software, but it might not--Slim Devices sometimes holds back new features to support new devices until the product is released (or at least announced--Logitech hasn't made the "official" announcement yet.)
I own SqueezeBox Duet and I am very happpy with this. I am looking forward to purchasing SqueezBox Touch, but its lack of Wireless N support in this day and age really saddens me.
What is this? It just streams music and radio? Why can't you just use a PC in the first place? (And I mean that out of interest)
Assuming you already have a TV, this is what I'd do (well, what I have done)
PC in bedroom = £free (worth maybe £200? probably less)
Wireless router = £free with broadband
Xbox360 = £50
120gb HD (for the Xbox) = £50
Network adaptor = £35
Windows 7 candidate edition = £free, Preordered release version for £50
Wireless keyboard for PC = £30?
With that stuff, I can play whatever I want in two rooms (although WMC does take a while to connect on the 360).
And if you factor in the tuners and the 1tb HD in my PC (an extra £100 now, though I paid more) you get recorded TV, and Tivo style functionality.
I mean I might be wrong, but isn't that a better solution?
Its not overkill, its genocide.
No, it's not.
This one does all your streaming sites, streams music from your server/pc, does touch and is smaller.
Well, whether you get on the whole squeeze system depends on what you're trying to achieve with your home audio system; as you rightly point out.
If you're just putting music in one room, the squeeze products are a dumb choice (this also applies to competitors, like sonos for example). And two rooms? Squeeze is only a so-so option. And if you only have one person living at the house/apartment, squeeze is probably not a good choice (an ipod with a portable speaker might be better).
But lets up the scale it up a little. Let's say you have a family of four and 6 rooms in the house where you often want your whole music collection to be available. Well, now several squeeze devices running off a centralized server starts to look like a good option.
So it's really a matter of horses for courses. Squeeze is a ridiculous choice for some applications and a perfect choice for others. You need to evaluate your own needs.
I have a lot of gadgets my Squeezebox V2 is the best of all of them. Easiest way to have all my music in any room I want. It's great. Though the thought about a BIG knob is a good one.
Normal people don't put a computer in every room just to listen to music.
Responding to OP.
God damn, I hate Engadget comment system.
nice flowers
I got a Logitech Squeezebox Duet right after they came out, and never could get it to work properly over my network, even hard-wired with ethernet and after hours and hours with tech support AND a unit replacement. You can read my full review here: http://www.eco-fidelity.com/?p=28, but suffice to say, Logitech's Squeezebox units are far from foolproof.
I have the Squeezebox V2 and I agree with Mitch that the beautiful VFD screen is really enough. I could not justify upgrading basically just to see the album art and a few more lines of info. Regarding setup, I had no trouble with the wireless connection or using Internet radio, but I did have trouble getting the server to work, which is what you need to stream your own mp3s. Turned out it was my Windows network, not the Squeezebox. But it did take quite a bit of effort to finally get it working. Overall, I love this gadget. And i don't agree that it's not useful for one user/one room. The UI is very intuitive, the menus can be reconfigured via a web interface, and the remote makes browsing your music library or radio stations simple and efficient, which is just what you want when sitting in a comfy chair on the other side of the room. And BTW, the Squeezebox uses very high quality DACs, much better than an ipod or other mp3 player, so the sound quality is excellent.