http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/ Engadget Comments for Pure Oasis, Sensia and Sirocco 550 internet radios hands-on http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/Jan 10th 2010 3:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/
But not near as good as licorice pizza - and they still exist as well.]]>Jan 10th 2010 10:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/
On the plus side, the sound quality is good and the screen looks pretty. The nature sounds are a nice idea. However, as pretty as it all might look, in usability terms it's incredibly badly implemented.

1. The response to the touch screen is very slow. It uses 'swipes' to navigate between some sections, and it's so slow as to be unusable. Even tapping a button takes ages. Frustrating.

2. It takes over a minute to start up from cold. I can turn it on, then get my cereal ready and it's still not ready. Not everyone wants to keep it switched on 24/7 as a clock radio.

3. It allows multiple sources for audio (internet, DAB, FM, external sources) but you can't create presets that jump between sources. You have to select a source first, then a preset. This makes it stupidly annoying to use. The UI handling the presets is abysmal.

4. The built-in apps comprise of a weather widget, a Twitter client and a Facebook client. All are slow, limited, poorly implemented and badly integrated into the rest of the radio UI.

5. DAB picture information doesn't show up for me at all, ever.

6. The ability to stream audio and pictures over your own network doesn't seem to work if you have a Mac, even after installing the awful server software. I didn't try it on Windows.

Also, this thing is huge. It's about the size of a rugby ball - it's bigger than the photographs might suggest. If you were planning on using this on a bedside table, you better have a large one.

Overall, I'm disappointed the most by the user interface. It works, but it all could have been SO much better. It's not cheap, and it should be have been a lot better. And if they had included some printed instructions that might have helped too.

(Note: DAB is the UK and Ireland's digital radio standard, sort of like - but not compatible with - the US HD Radio)]]>Jan 10th 2010 5:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/Jan 10th 2010 6:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/Jan 10th 2010 8:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/Actually, it's the Chumby that's limited: you can only listen to the internet radio stations that THEY have selected for you on their "channels". The number of formats they support is also limited. Stand-alone internet radios are the best. Unless you've had one, you can't understand. I have one by my bed and in my bathroom. I don't ever listen to FM or AM anymore. There's no reason to. That, and much, much, MUCH more is available on Internet Radio, and much clearer.

As "bad" as the touch interface on the Sensia is supposed to be, it's got to be 100X better than the Chumby's.

I had a Chumby. It was returned. It was unstable and very difficult to live with, and the screen was a pain. As an internet radio, which is the reason why I got the Chumby, it was a major fail. The rest is just fluff.

]]>Jan 10th 2010 11:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/Jan 10th 2010 11:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/
http://dvice.com/pics/Boston%20Acoustic%20Horizon%20Solo-XT.jpg
]]>Jan 10th 2010 9:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/
1) it's NOT a WiFi radio. It's just a crummy AM/FM radio.
2) it's not water resistant
3) It only has a passing resemblance to the Pure Oasis.
4) It has a crappy LCD screen, versus Pure's OLED screen.]]>Jan 10th 2010 11:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/10/pure-oasis-sensia-and-sirocco-550-internet-radios-hands-on/
Also, the Pure Oasis design was released in the UK about 2 1/2 years before the Boston Acoustic Horizon Solo was.

Impressive levels of fail.]]>Jan 10th 2010 10:42PM