Grace debuts GDI-IR2550p WiFi radio with built-in Pandora controls
It may not exactly be one of the biggest "firsts" around, but Grace Digital Audio's new GDI-IR2550p WiFi radio is apparently the first such radio to pack built-in Pandora controls on the radio itself -- the company's earlier Digital Allegro only had controls on the remote and accompanying iPhone app. Unfortunately, Grace has paired that somewhat unique feature with a radio that seems to have confused retro good looks with bland and dated -- that same four-line LCD used on every other Grace radio doesn't help things either. If that's not your primary concern, however, you will get a decent range of features from the radio, including support for a slew of other internet content besides Pandora, streaming music from your Mac or PC, the aforementioned iPhone app, and all the usual alarm clock functionality you'd expect from a desktop radio. Look for this one to set you back $169.99.
Update: Looks like this is just Grace's first of the sort -- this here Livio device did the same thing last year. For shame. Thanks, Brandon!
Update 2: Livio CEO Jake Sigal has now weighed in on the matter on his blog. For its part, a rep for Grace Digital Audio tells us that while the Livio radio was indeed the first with thumbs up and thumbs down buttons for Pandora, the Grace radio is the first "that has thumbs up/down plus the play/pause function on the front panel, iPhone app, and remote control."
Show full PR text
Grace Digital Audio Unveils the First Tabletop Internet Radio to Feature 1-button Music Control of Pandora®
The first tabletop Internet radio that allows 1-button control of your Pandora music directly from the front of the radio, the remote control, or the free iPhone® remote app
San Diego, Calif. - (October 26, 2010) – Grace Digital Audio, a leading brand of Wi-Fi connected home audio solutions, is pleased to announce a new all-in-one advanced tabletop radio featuring Pandora. Grace's Model# GDI-IR2550p is the first and only tabletop radio that incorporates the same features that Pandora listeners use on computers and smart phones, including 1-button access to the thumbs up/down song selection and play/pause functions. Listeners can also skip, play, pause, and even bookmark songs directly from the remote and front control panel.
Grace Digital's Wi-Fi Internet Radio featuring Pandora additionally provides over 50,000 radio stations, podcasts, and on-demand content including NPR / NPR on-demand, FOX News, CNN, BBC, CBS, iheartradio, NOAA Weather Reports, Live365, KROQ, and Sirius Premium Internet radio. For customers who desire to listen to their digital music collection wirelessly anywhere in their home, Grace's GDI-IR2550p will also connect and play music direct from your iTunes library stored on your PC or MAC.
Grace Digital's CMO, Greg Fadul, thinks functionality is what sets Grace's new Wi-Fi radio apart from the competition. "In the transition of bringing Pandora radio from the computer to the tabletop, most Internet radios lose the simple functions that the computer provided. "We've created a stylish Wi-Fi enabled tabletop radio with high-grade audio that reflects the same simple and easy-to-use functions of Pandora that are available on the computer."
Now shipping, Grace's GDI-IR2550p is available at www.gracedigitalaudio.com and www.amazon.com for $169.99.
About Grace Digital Audio
Based in San Diego, California, Grace Digital Audio is a designer and manufacturer of connected home consumer electronic products including, Internet radios featuring Pandora, outdoor speakers, USB archival solutions, media players, wireless speakers and other indoor/outdoor audio products. Known for ease of use and a superior audio quality, Grace Digital Audio provides home linked products that keep customers connected to their music in and outside their homes. Grace sells its products through major retailer, ecommerce sites, dealers and distributors throughout North America. To learn more about Grace Digital products please visit them at www.gracedigitalaudio.com.
Pandora and the Music Genome Project are registered trademarks of Pandora Media, Inc.
iPhone and iTunes is the registered trademark of Apple, Inc
