Ah, convergence.
Pure Digital -- DAB and WiFi radio extraordinaire -- has just made live a product portal for its forthcoming Sensia, which looks to be a serious leap forward in terms of features and design. For starters, this product ditches the typical retro vibe and goes for something entirely more
Jetsons-esque, and while many of Pure's past radios have had some sort of display, the 5.7-inch touchscreen (640 x 480) is certainly a first. Boasting DAB and FM tuners, this device is also equipped with an 802.11g module that lets it pull down radio streams from the web as well as stream other media from networked PCs / storage. Other specs include twin 3-inch full-range drivers, an RF remote, optional rechargeable battery and a 3.5 millimeter socket for connecting those "other sources." Moreover, users will be able to tap into a variety of applications, from weather to news to Picasa to social networking. If all goes well, it'll ship before the holidays for £249.99 ($406).
[Via
Macworld, thanks Ian]
posted September 20th 2009 5:37PM
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOOOTBALL!!!
Yeah! And when are these Wifi radios goign to include SiriusXM clients so one could have a alarm clock sat radio wake up call?
That's what the 90's were supposed to look like.
next up for Facebook integration: your microwave
no no that's crazy ...it will come to the refrigerator first.
Forget this Facebook integration into everything, where's the World of Warcraft integration?
They need their crack addiction fed too.
No it's not a football shaped iPhone.
No your not funny
For that price I would get the archos 5 android that is coming out (in the US) by next month. It has wifi internet/ radio and a ton of other features AND it costs less.
Um, okay, and what kind of speakers does it have? Because Pure radios usually sound very good - a lot better than laptop speakers, for instance.
Basically I agree this is expensive and somewhat pointless (Facebook etc) but if you want a radio and you don't like this, then the best alternative is probably some other radio (that has DAB and wi-fi streaming), not a random MID or laptop. A MID or laptop will do the pointless bit (Facebook) better, but it won't really do the radio bit properly, so that doesn't seem like a big achievement.
(Of course if you *don't* want a radio... well, you know, maybe you don't want a radio and you like dried fruit, in that case a bag of raisins would be a better choice for you than this radio, but I'm not sure this information would be very useful to anyone else reading a thread about a radio.)
The screen on their current model radio with internet features looks a bit inadequate, so there's room for improvement, but I think this is over the top. Also I like their classic design (it's not quite just 'retro' either) whereas I am not convinced by the yellow rugby ball approach. They've done various bizarre-looking radios before, those were ugly too. :)
I can see where you are coming from, but my choice of the new archos device was not "random". Archos has an agreement with a TON of radio stations and offers an expansive wifi-radio library. You can also stream digital radio via an android application. Also, unlike a laptop, the Archos 5 Android is very portable and has a battery life that destroys a laptop for audio playback.
As to the speakers, yes the Archos 5 android tablet has built in speakers (man do they need a shorter name...) though they are not really good enough for extended listening. It does support blue-tooth speakers though and has the ability to output some good quality audio via traditional methods as well.
My point is that you could buy the archos and it will do all of the features that this thing can do plus a bunch more AND it is cheaper AND it is actually portable so I can enjoy wifi-radio (yes I do actually like the radio) anywhere I can get a wifi signal.
Damn that glass of lemonade looks delicious.
I thought that too. lol
Screw the Wi-fi radio, I want the lemonade!!
It looks like TANG to me.
Should have a built-in webcam for chat
What's the point of this? Just buy a netbook and use it the same way. At least you have a computer too.
Totally pointless.
Why doesn't someone make a 6 inch touch screen dock for the ipod itouch? It could dispay the web, stream pandora, and watch video.
The focus should be on lower price points, not uselessly expensive updates (in my all-knowing and totally irrefutable opinion).
Actually I'm just sad that it costs $400 and is therefore a totally wasteful investment. It looks pretty cool.
let's hope the thing is waterproof.
Is DAB technically better than HD Radio? Just curious, even though they're not available on the same continents.
Difficult to say. Most 'HD' radio isn't digital at all, just using digital information to supplement a standard analogue FM signal (similar to RDS in Europe). The intention is for broadcasters to migrate to full digital HD (the HD doesn't stand for High Definition, by the way), which uses some sort of proprietary codec for the audio.
DAB on the other hand is only digital. Currently the audio uses a very old MPEG standard -- much older than MP3. Thus, data rates need to be high to get decent quality. Sadly, broadcasters are in a habit of using very low bitrates (quite often 64kps for voice, and 128kbps for music), which actually gives quality that's worse than FM. You do get more station choice, though. DAB+ will use the MPEG AAC standard (as Apple use), so should be much better quality. Not compatible with older kit though, and they're unlikely to be able to use DAB+ with a firmware upgrade.
In summary then, full digital HD Radio is no better than DAB; just different.
get a chumby
I already got one after watching pr0n. Oh wait, you said chuMby ;-)
Did they leave that sitting there unattended?
Oh, there's a radio next to the drink too!
Double score!
Ok...., £250 is A LOT of money to spend on whats basically just a FM/DAB/WiFi streaming device. I won't be buying one!
why in the world are all these WIFI radio so hideous to look at.
Really, Is a quality design team that hard to find or is this some massive conspiracy companies do so they can short their own stock and make money.
Is this a 70's "future" design of a chumby?
why do galleries not have an easy way (unless I missed something) to get back to the original item?
this looks tat. nice black levels tho.
FM is irrelevant to me as any radio stations I want can be listened to via a net stream.
Same goes for DAB which was DOA as far as I'm concerned...
So what does that leave us with? An overpriced wifi radio with limited functionality.
Chumby does all that and much, much more for less money.
I'll have the latter any time.
There's no future in closed systems like these when the widget model has been tried and tested and proven its worth already.
Not a bad price for all that it entails
I don't think this is really unique in certain aspects. This reminds me of a newer version of the Chumby. The Chumby is basically the same thing and is just a small computer with a certain type of linux distribution. If you don't think these have some common characteristics go visit chumby.com and tell me what you think.