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USB Aroma Radio almost smells as bad as the regular kind
If you're like us, you're sure to have fond memories of gathering around the radio in your jammies on Saturday morning and listening to the likes of Adventures in Odyssey and Life with Luigi; an experience that was only marred by the smell of your Dad's rotting stereo speakers. Maybe that was just us? Well, perhaps you can learn to commiserate with this USB Aroma Radio + Speaker from Brando. It sounds a lot like that Aroma Geur radio we saw a while back, only it's about $400 cheaper and probably much less likely to synchronize its aromas and LEDs to the music. You can also use the unit as a line-in speaker if you've had enough of radio -- and who hasn't.
Roberts reveals RD41 DAB radio: high on features, low on style
Nah, Roberts' RD41 isn't quite as minuscule as its RD49, but unfortunately, it's essentially just as ugly. Taking a few notes from tableside radios circa 1990 (and sadly, today as well), Roberts has crafted a fairly well-spec'd DAB iteration that also does FM on the side, can record to an SD card and touts a dozen alarms that can wake even the most notorious slumberer. You'll also find MP3 / WMA playback from the SD card, rewind and pause functions, scrolling text about the station you're tuned into and audio in / out sockets to boot. Word on the street pegs this one at £139.99 ($277), but we'd recommend hiding it somewhere good before company shows up.[Via The Red Ferret Journal]
Make your iPhone listen to your radio -- and tell you what's playing
Picture it: you're riding in the car and a great song comes on the radio. You're dying to know what it is so you can go buy it ASAP but there's no satellite radio receiver to tell you what's playing. How can you find out what song it is? Whip out your iPhone, put it near the car speakers, and watch the screen. Poof! There's the song, artist, and album.No, I am not kidding. Our own Erica Sadun was inspired by someone who came up with the original idea, she set off to make it happen, and the result is Listen. It's still "very beta" but, hey, it's still one of the coolest iPhone hacks I've ever heard of. Go check it out and let us know in the comments how it works for you.
Cue Radio plays nice with your iPod
Another day CES, another clock radio that revolves around Apple's darling. This go 'round, we've got Cue Acoustics getting into the exceedingly oversaturated market with its simply-titled Cue Radio. As you can probably glean from its name, this "high-end" device packs an AM / FM radio, an integrated speaker, LCD display, a simplistic, presumably Cupertino-approved design and an obligatory iPod dock on the top. Sadly, we've no details regarding price / availability, but it's not like you don't already have eight perfectly suitable alternatives scattered about your domicile.
Wii Warm Up: Wii will always party hard
We know that Wii owners are social animals, busting out the Wii Sports, Mario and Sonic, Raving Rabbids, and other favorites during parties and gatherings. The Wii has helped us all party harder (using our working definition of "partying hard," anyway) but it also has the capability to help us party smarter.Are you using any of the Wii's extended functionality to improve your party experience? The Fletcher home is going to be the venue for a New Year's Eve gathering, and I'm planning to stream some music to the Wii to provide a soundtrack. It's a good way to get some music coming into the living room, and, uh, researching it is a good way to stop myself from worrying about the apartment and stuff. How does your Wii enhance your atmosphere?
Intel develops integrated WiFi / WiMAX / DVB-H chip
Intel, clearly not wanting to be left in the dust by the slew of new wireless technologies that are starting to converge, nasty-like, inside our shiny new devices, has begun testing on a chip which can effortlessly swap between WiFi, WiMAX, and DVB-H. The idea is that the chip's radio would talk to your WiFi at home, hand over the data to WiMAX if you hit the road, and also allow you to pull down digital television while staying mobile -- without having to use an array of separate radios or silicon. This should open up a whole new vista of possibilities for time-wasting activities, so whenever manufacturers want to get this into our phones / laptops, just say the word. We're ready.[Via Slashdot]
PSP gains DVR and internet radio functionality in firmware 3.80
On December 18th, PSP firmware 3.80 will be released in Japan with two new highly desirable features. First is digital video recording capabilities, made possible with the new Japan-only 1seg peripheral. With firmware 3.80, it will be possible to record television shows from the 1seg peripheral directly onto the Memory Stick for later viewing.Internet radio will also be added in the next firmware upgrade. Exactly how the service will work is unclear at this time. [Update: Images have surfaced on Watch Impress' website.]DVR is a huge feature that unfortunately isn't possible outside of Japan unless appropriate peripherals are released globally. However, internet radio is hopefully something all PSP users around the world will be able to take advantage of. Once again, PSP is expanding its capabilities, becoming more features-packed than anyone could've predicted.[Via I4U]
Revo Blik WiFi internet radio goes easy on the features
Perhaps it's a positive thing that wireless internet radios are really past the point of feature overload and are really fighting it out on looks and price these days. Take the Revo Blik WiFi for example. It's not going to blow anybody's mind with the MP3 and WMA streaming capability, the internet radio compatibility, or that FM tuner and line-in port, but it's still a bit of a looker, and the price is decent at £100 (around $205 of that pretend stuff we pass around here in the States). You can naturally use the unit as an alarm clock, and streaming is compatible with PC and Mac.[Via Tech Digest]
AT&T gets cozy with Pandora for on-device radio
XM radio not so much your thing? AT&T's starting to roll out another officially sanction choice for streaming radio on some of its devices through a new partnership with Pandora. Basically, users can access their personalized Pandora stations directly from their handset -- up to 100 of 'em -- and the carrier specifically mentions that users can enjoy those stations anywhere within its 3G network, suggesting that the streams are probably of a high enough quality to actually be worth listening to. Check it out now on Samsung's SYNC, A717, and A737, the Motorola V3xx and V9, and the LG Trax, CU400, and CU405 for $8.99 a month.
Pure Digital intros Highway in-car DAB radio
Pure Digital is probably already bringing that DAB goodness to your dwelling, but we know how bad the withdrawals can be once you head out to the car. No worries, though, as the firm is cranking out "the world's first in-car DAB digital radio that doesn't require complicated installation," which is a fancy way of explaining that this unit relies on FM transmission to get DAB signals into your vehicle's stereo. As expected, the Highway gets its juice from a cigarette lighter adapter, and users simply affix a small DAB antenna on their windshield, find an open FM slot and tune their in-dash radio to match the station. Furthermore, the unit can even be used on-the-go, as it includes a built-in headphone jack and can go for six hours on a pair of AA cells. It even sports an auxiliary input along with Pure's ReVu technology to pause / rewind live content, and if any new features crop up in the future, owners can update their device via USB. Thrill someone you love (yeah, that can be you) this holiday season when it lands for £69.99 ($146).[Via Gadgeteer]
Berkeley researchers develop world's smallest radio
Move over, UC Irvine: your colleagues across the state at UC Berkeley have just one-upped your nano-scale radio by not only using nanotechnology for the demodulator, but actually "stuffing" all the components into a single carbon nanotube. By utilizing mechanical -- rather than electrical -- vibrations of a nanotube protruding from an electrode, the team from Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory were able to mimic the tuner, antenna, amplifier, and demodulator which compose traditional radios. Their prototype nano-radio, 10,000 times thinner than a human hair, has already been used to broadcast and receive such classic tunes as Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys and Eric Clapton's Layla; a video of this latter transmission, whose poor quality will make you long for the relative clarity of AM radio, is available after the break...[Via San Francisco Chronicle, image and video courtesy of Zettl Research Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California at Berkeley]
The Barbie iPod dock: yes, it's pink and flowery
One man's idea of hell is another 10 year old girl's idea of heaven: in this case the difference of opinion is a Barbie iPod dock / FM radio / alarm clock so pink we could puke. We gotta say though, the flowery speaker enclosures are pretty well done, and the extremely out of place model number -- officially, this is the BAR710 -- is worth a few chuckles. Desperate parents everywhere will no doubt be shelling out for one of these very soon as the empty wallet season rapidly approaches: even if there was information about pricing, you wouldn't want to know, right?
Vita Audio releases the R1 DAB / FM radio
For some reason DAB radio manufacturers love rocking the retro look, and Vita Audio's R1 is no exception. Featuring a DAB and FM tuners, the seven-watt single-speaker all-in-one also sports a two-line LCD and Vita's "RotoDial" controller, while still retaining an certain old-school charm. The unit also sports an 1/8-inch input for MP3 players and analog outputs if you want to add some DAB love to your existing rig, but something tells us the kids who drop £150 ($300) on this thing will want to put it out front and center.[Via TechDigest]
Clarion unveils colorful double-DIN head units
Oh sure, we've seen plenty of flashy and sophisticated devices aimed at filling that gaping double-DIN hole in your dash, but how's about a device that 10-year old passengers and suckers for all-things-adorable would also dig? Enter Clarion's newest duo, which comes in either white (DUB275MP) or black (DUB275MPB; seen after the jump) and actually packs quite a nice feature set considering the lighthearted design. Aside from the CD drive, it also offers up a front-mounted USB port for loading up MP3 / WMA files, customizable accent lights, optional Bluetooth, AM / FM tuner, a 50-watt x 4 amplifier and a cutesy display to boot. Check 'em out later this month for ¥34,650 ($295) apiece.[Via ShinyShiny]
Scottish firm sued for blaring radios, infringing copyright
Sure, you may get yourself a ticket from local police if you roll around with that in-car stereo cranked, but at least you're not being sued for £200,000 ($407,680). Unfortunately for the Edinburgh-based Kwik-Fit automotive repair center, it actually is being taken to court for that astronomical amount by the Performing Rights Society, which "collects royalties for songwriters and performers." The PRS alleges that "Kwik-Fit mechanics routinely used personal radios while working at locales across the UK and that music, protected by copyright, could be heard by colleagues and customers." Astoundingly, Lord Emslie ruled that the case could actually be heard, so we guess we'll be relying exclusively on headphones from here on out.[Via Slashdot]
NAB pleads for FCC delay, looks for ways to subvert XM / Sirius merger
As the constant battle between the National Association of Broadcasters and nearly everyone else continues on over the potential XM / Sirius merger, the entity is now asking the FCC to put a stop on the 180-day clock for considering the junction. Reportedly, all the NAB wants is "time to go through documents it said it is getting through a Freedom of Information Request filed in March," and it seemingly feels that some of the articles it's still waiting for contain proof of "serious apparent wrongdoing by XM and Sirius executive and senior-level employees regarding the operation of FM modulators / translators and / or terrestrial repeaters." Of note, both of the aforementioned sat radio providers shot back by stating that the NAB's "allegations are unfounded and its recent filing is just an attempt to stall the process." From the outside looking in, we'd say that sounds just about right. [Warning: PDF read link][Via BroadcastingCable]
iPhone 1.1.1 introduces 2 new special folders, possible Nike support
As I continue exploring 1.1.1, I keep running across unexpected changes in the way the iPhone handles certain things I've taken for granted. I was aware that under 1.0.2 that SpringBoard scanned a non-supported /Widgets folder in addition to /Applications. However, two more folders have joined the team in 1.1.1: /AppleInternal/Applications and /Accessories. I am in pure speculation territory, but perhaps the Accessories folder will relate to those com.apple.mobile.radio and com.apple.mobile.nike references I found in LingoToAccessoryMap.plist.
Cath Kidston partners with Roberts on flowery DAB radio
You already know what Cath Kidston can do, and it seems the designer is striking back once more by flowering up a Roberts DAB radio. Dubbed the Washed Rose, this retro-inspired device sports a cutesy floral pattern, built-in display, automatic tuning, a carry handle, PausePlus to pause / rewind live programming, and the usual complement of knobs and buttons. Granted, she ain't cheap at £200 ($402), but that's the premium you'll pay for a design such as this, we suppose.[Via RetroToGo]
Slacker inks deals with major, indie labels
It's been a tick since we've heard any peeps from Slacker, but today it announced that it not only inked a deal with a few "top indie labels," but it managed to sign up the likes of EMI, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group, too. Additionally, "as part of the agreement, Slacker listeners can transfer their personalized stations to Slacker Portable Players with a single click and automatically refresh them via WiFi or USB." On the independent front, IODA, The Orchard, Beggars Group and Matador Records, IRIS, Ubiquity Records and Sanctuary Group PLC are all signed on, further broadening the amount of content available to, well, Slackers. So if your ears are in need of some variety, head on over to the firm's website to try out the (freshly expanded) Slacker Personal Radio beta.Read - Slacker Finalizes Deals With Major Labels Read - Slacker Inks Deals with Top Indie Labels
Sangean intros WFR-20 tabletop WiFi radio
It's been nearly a year since we've heard from Sangean, but the company is hitting back with a swank new WiFi internet radio that's shaped a good deal like its past units. The WFR-20 offers up "direct access to over 6,000 Internet Radio stations (and 21,242 on-demand streams) in 250 locations from 60 genres," and you can organize your favorites in the My Stations folder. Additionally, it's designed to operate with or without a PC, and if you have a networked computer nearby with Windows Media Player, you can have "full access to your digital media library using the UPnP Server." Furthermore, you'll find a three-line display, four alarms, an aux input, dual five-watt speakers, and a wireless remote to boot, but there's no word on a price or release date just yet.[Thanks, Larry]
