Sonos CR200 controller turns sentient, Tweets

If you've searched for "Sonos" in the Twittersphere recently then you may have noticed something odd. Tweets about the listening habits of Sonos users are on the rise. Why? Easy, Sonos just launched a private beta while here at IFA that gives a few heroes the ability to Tweet sweet nothings about the audio currently bouncing around their home audio zones. The beta adds a new "social services" (hint: that's plural) menu letting Sonos owners configure up to 5 Twitter accounts. Fortunately, it will not tweet every track you're listening to -- you have to purposely invoke the option from the "i" information icon off the now playing screen. The free update is coming "later this year" (read: Fall) for all CR200, iPhone, and PC/Mac controllers. Want it on the touchwheel-based CR100? Surely you can't be serious?

Sonos CR200 controller turns sentient, Tweets

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:04AM]

This could be handy. Instead of 'Listening To Music' you could actually put what you are listening to.
And it's easier!

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:07AM]

Doesn't the keyboard look like the iPhone's??

[robott Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:13AM]

Exactly. That was the first thing that I noticed.

[s1lverli0n Posted Sep 4th 2009 1:28PM]

first thing I noticed too.

[Templarian Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:06AM]

Now to get it linked through grooveshark and it would be perfect.

[Nick S Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:07AM]

i like that on screen keyboard that looks an awfully lot like an iphone keyboard....

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:10AM]

I am serious. And stop calling me Shirley

[velvet396 Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:34AM]

that's what I came in here to post :)

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 4th 2009 1:15PM]

Dammit, me too.
You messed up the line! It's "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."

[JelloExperience Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:11AM]

The thing that struck me in those photos is how similar the keyboard looks to that of an iPhone. The button layouts are different but aesthetically, they're similar. Just something that interested me.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:12AM]

It is similar to the iPhones, but I mean it's a touchscreen keyboard, does it really matter that much?

[socrates Posted Sep 4th 2009 1:46PM]

I don't know that it matters at all. I think people were just pointing out that it looks an awful lot like it.

[iandean Posted Sep 4th 2009 4:15PM]

Pressing a button to announce what song your listening to, to the world sounds like contrived coolness. "oh look at me and my uber cool song" *thank god they couldn't see what i was listening to before. Anyone pressing that button will instantly be accused of trying to convince the world they are cool. Whilst we'll actually think they are sorry sod loners.

[DTJ Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:42AM]

Really? Honestly, no one cares what you're listening to.

[mrln Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:54AM]

Nobody cares about ANYTHING you tweet. That's why this is an acceptable service.

/twitter hate

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:53AM]

Imagine the audacity of Sonos laying out letters and numbers in such a fashion. No designer not employed by Apple could have conceived of such a design. Perhaps Sonos actually pursued and hired entire design divisions right from Apple for the purpose of creating that keyboard layout!

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 4th 2009 11:47AM]

The first thing I notices was how close to dead the battery is... wonder how the battery life is.

Frankly, I couldn't care any less than I already do about what the keyboard looks like.

[mrln Posted Sep 4th 2009 12:00PM]

Hey, they stole the bsttery icon from Apple! And the portable media concept! And the touch screen! They even stole the "O" from iPod in their S"o"nos. God I hate the Sonos for stealing Apple's ideas.

I'm sure it's a coincidence that the keyboard looks similar. It is very well designed, after all.

[mich Posted Sep 4th 2009 12:11PM]

Krafty Kuts Remix of Sky & Sand is pretty good...

[tim2lman Posted Sep 4th 2009 12:52PM]

Look closely at the taskbar up top. It's just an ipod touch. dissasembled, repackaged, loaded with OS 3.0, and then their custom app loaded. It is the iPhone keyboard too, I checked it out. Any word from Apple on this?

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 4th 2009 2:27PM]

I've never even heard of Sonos before this post...it sounds awesome...but couldn't you do the same thing and much more with an iPod Touch or an iPhone or even a Nokia or something with a computer remote control?

I guess this is a little more consumer friendly but a little DIY seems like it could get you much better results and usability.

[LeeBongSmith Posted Sep 4th 2009 2:29PM]

Isn't "Sonos Controller" just a fancy word for "iPhone"?

I'm joking. But why would you buy a sonos controller when you can purchase an iphone/ipod touch?

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 4th 2009 5:23PM]

The sonosNet mesh network is worth buying a controller. It changes songs much quicker and everything is almost instant, with the iPhone or iPod touch, you are using your own network, and it's much slower.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 4th 2009 3:32PM]

Twitter = Skynet

[zuke Posted Sep 6th 2009 12:02AM]

Any grown adult who does this must've been one of those teenagers who drove around in their crappy Civic with all the windows down, blasting their craptastic tunes, because they wanted everyone else outside to hear how bitchin their music tastes were...

At least we don't have to be subjected to your 140db bass making our eardrums bleed from the vibrations... losers!