Internet radio -- the second generation is getting better
THE best thing about the Internet is its ability to connect you and your family to the rest of the world instantly. I'm not just talking about e-mail, Instant Messaging or VOIP telephony. As a kid who grew up in Hawaii, the magic of radio gave me hours of pleasure listening to music as well as connecting me to the outside world. With the Internet providing free music, news and sports from thousands of radio stations around the globe, there's now virtually an endless amount of cool content.
Internet radio is also a great learning experience for the kids who can practice their Mandarin or German language lessons just by tuning into a radio in Beijing or Berlin. What's more, music freaks will be happy to know that most of these stations broadcast at or near CD-quality. Many stations even broadcast at 192K, a standard that is even better than CD.
One of the problems with Internet radio was that you needed a PC to tune in. Until recently there really wasn't a stand-alone Internet Radio appliance. That's all changed with the introduction of the Wi-Fi Radio from Acoustic Energy (A-E) and the Soundbridge Radio from Roku, both of which use home wi-fi networks for connectivity.
Acoustic Energy's (www.acoustic-energy.co.uk) entry into the field is a cubelike brushed aluminum gizmo half the size of a cereal box with 10 buttons, a dial and a small screen that displays the radio station you're tuned into. Documentation is pretty skimpy, but for a geek, it's pretty straightforward to set up. There's no software to load but you will have to configure the radio with the name of your network and your WEP (security) code. After that, it's easy to grab any one of the thousands of stations that have been preset by the factory. After 15 minutes, you're ready to rock, swing or listen to anything from the BBC in London to the Voice of Nigeria in Lagos. Sound quality is good and you also can play MP3 or WMA files via your PC. Price is $300.
The other contender, from Roku, is a much more sophisticated and elegant-looking device, but unfortunately is a very complicated beast to set up. Documentation is much better (including an online forum), but you'll need an engineering degree from UH to configure this model. It's only got 18 preloaded stations (unlike the A-E system which has over 4,000), and you'll have to get on your Web browser to add more stations. Because of software incompatibilities, some stations like the BBC cannot be programmed on the Soundbridge -- a major drawback for me. (Soundbridge says they are working on this). The quality of the speaker system is superb and (unlike the A-E) it's a true alarm clock radio (complete with snooze button). It also will stream music from your PC and has an excellent built-in FM radio that will allow you to grab local stations. Price is $400 but look for advertised specials on www. rokulabs.com for as little as $300.
My verdict: If you want simplicity, go for the A-E. It's a great radio to have in your den or workshop. Although not designed to be a bedside alarm clock radio, if you install the latest firmware, it does provide a timer and alarm function.
If you're an audiophile who wants true alarm clock radio functionality by your bedside along with great sound, you'll love the Roku. Note that you need high-speed Internet access and a wireless router point to use either of these products.
Kiman Wong, general manager of digital phone at Oceanic Time Warner Cable, has been a telecommunications and computer expert for 25 years. He can be reached at
kiman.wong@twcable.com.