JBL ships AirPlay-enabled On Air speaker dock, charges stiff premium for wireless luxury
It's a familiar face, sure, but there's a key ingredient thrown here that's been lacking on JBL's prior iDevice docks: AirPlay. We're still waiting (and waiting) to see if Apple's going to expand its licensing program to allow third-party vendors the ability to toss in AirPlay video streaming, but for now, JBL's taking advantage of what's out there. The On Air Wireless AirPlay speaker dock -- which is shipping today to Best Buy and Apple Stores after being teased a few weeks ago -- is now good and official, enabling consumers to wirelessly stream their iTunes library from Macs, PCs, iPhones, iPods or iPads right to the dock. Aside from a rather unorthodox design (which should go a long way to dispersing jams in a 360-degree fashion), you'll also find a color LCD, digital FM radio, an inbuilt alarm clock, DSP technology and a proprietary adapter that enables it to be worn as headgear at your next rave. We're guessing that final bit makes the $349.99 price tag entirely more palatable.
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HARMAN Unveils New JBL On Air™ Wireless AirPlay® Speaker Dock for Greater Seamless Music Experience in the Home
Featuring signature JBL® radial design and Apple's AirPlay technology, the device lets music lovers enjoy their entire iTunes® library from any room in their home – without using wires
For product information: http://www.onair.jbl.com/
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE: HAR), today announced the new JBL On Air™ Wireless AirPlay® speaker dock, the newest in the JBL® lineup to provide music lovers an even more seamless music experience within the home. With AirPlay technology built in, the JBL On Air Wireless lets you play music from your iTunes® library on a Mac or a PC, and from an iPhone®, iPad® or iPod touch® device over your existing Wi-Fi® network. Users will enjoy album artwork and song information on the bright color display, and can use the included remote control to play and pause music, as well as navigate to next and previous tracks. AirPlay requires iTunes 10.1 or later and iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 4.2 or later.
Three advanced JBL transducers deliver rich, full-spectrum sound uniformly across a wide-listening area. Distinct stereo imaging is often less than ideal with desktop sound systems, but the JBL On Air Wireless dock's unique HALO (horizontal acoustic level optimization) design delivers clean, powerful sound that JBL products are known for. It also employs proprietary JBL technology – digital signal processing – to maximize sound quality and output under any listening conditions.
"Since the unveiling of our very first iPod dock, HARMAN has always been at the forefront of creating the most cutting-edge products for consumers," said David Slump, president, HARMAN Consumer Division. "With the new JBL On Air Wireless speaker dock, JBL will set the standard again by introducing a solution for music lovers to store, access and listen to their music content for an even greater seamless music experience within the home."
Pricing and Availability
The JBL On Air Wireless speaker dock will be available in April 2011 for $349 MSRP at Best Buy and Apple online and retail store locations throughout the U.S. To learn more, visit http://www.onair.jbl.com.
Product Features
JBL On Air Wireless AirPlay Speaker Dock at a Glance:
· AirPlay wireless music streaming
· Color LCD screen
· Works with Wi-Fi networks
· iPod/iPhone dock
· Digital FM radio with RDS and 10 station presets
· Clock with dual alarms
· Three JBL transducers with 360-degree HALO acoustics
· Proprietary DSP technologies
