Crave

The iPod's lack of radio functionality is a frequent source of complaint, so Intempo has created the iDAB for the U.K. market--an accessory that clips into the the docking port of the iPod, giving you digital radio wherever you have your Classic, Touch, Nano, or iPhone.

(Credit: Crave UK)

In theory, this sounds great. The problem--well, there's a list of problems, actually--is that this thing doesn't work at all like you'd expect. You would imagine it would use the iPod's display, its headphone socket, its navigational buttons. You wish. The iDAB basically just uses the iPod as one giant battery. You even have to have the iPod playing music to itself just to keep the iDAB functioning.

Secondly, it uses its own pitifully small and clunky LCD screen, featuring an unpleasant navigation system. It has its own headphone socket to use when you want to listen to DAB, and its awkwardly placed buttons make using the thing one headache short of a nightmare.

Finally, it regularly fell off the iPod, and the side-mounted headphone socket means you really have to keep the iPod/DAB system upside down in your pocket, and stay forever cautious of pulling on the headphone cable too forcefully.

You can, however, dock it without an iPod into any iPod-ready speaker system, turning a conventional set of 'Pod speakers into a DAB hi-fi.

Safe to say we're not overly fond of the iDAB, and at around 60 pounds ($119) we think we'd rather just not have digital radio. However, it does work, albeit in a convoluted and frustrating sort of way, so if you're absolutely desperate for a handily sized way of having digital radio in your shirt pocket, you might not hate it as much as we do.

(Source: Crave UK)

(Credit: Grace Digital Audio)

Many times when an Internet radio appears on Crave, it's from Europe or some other galaxy far, far away (unless it's the most awesome "Chumby" or "Nabaztag," of course). So we always appreciate the opportunity to note that they do exist in the States too.

Case in point: Intuit's "Grace" digital radio is a desktop receiver that promises to stream more than 10,000 Internet stations through a Wi-Fi connection without any subscriptions. It also claims to have a "low distortion, high-quality sound" with "deep bass effect" for $200, which is cheaper than similar models on the market. Now if they can only design one that doesn't look like it came from a 1963 time machine.

(Credit: Roberts Radio)

Talk about deja vu. Witnessing the evolution of DAB products in Europe is like watching a PBS documentary on a history of the analog radio. Some of today's digital versions are starting to look like the first portable AM/FM radios of the '60s.

At first glance the MP-Sound 41 from U.K.-based Roberts Radio looked like a shiny silver Sony transistor from the days of yore. Until you see the digital screen on top, that is, which is used for something unimaginable back then: an electronic programming guide that can schedule the recording of a show up to a week ahead of time, according to Pocket-lint. In fact, it can record up to 12 of them at a time and store up to 8 hours on an SD card.

All of which sounds very nifty, but there's one feature that leaves us cold--a "clock function with up to 12 alarms." That's the last thing we need.

(Credit: Crave UK)

We're living in happy times right now. Happy, because the Internet is no longer restricted to devices with wires. Yes, in 2008 the wireless Web is maturing like the finest cheese. Ready to exploit the growing ubiquity of a Web without wires is Intempo, whose portable Wi-Fi radio is designed to be used on the move, obviously with the intention of being used near Wi-Fi hot spots. All very well in big U.S. cities, but is it too early for the U.K.?

You'll be able to use the new radio--code-named "Daisy"--with about 6,000 Internet radio stations, or with Real or Windows Media audio streams. But you'll have to connect to a hot spot first. Despite its growing popularity, Wi-Fi isn't commonly available out on the streets here in Britain, potentially posing a problem.

Though if you do find yourself stuck without a hot spot, you'll be able to tune into FM stations instead. To make the Daisy even more attractive to radio connoisseurs, Intempo could've built in DAB. We've seen it in some great portable players, such as Cowon's iAudio D2 DAB.

While wireless Internet radio is a great idea in principle, it may just be too inconvenient in a country where Wi-Fi hotspots are dominated by laptops, and everywhere else is populated by DAB instead. If Wi-Fi enjoyed more widespread coverage outside coffee bars and hotels, it might be more attractive to have something like a Daisy in your pocket.

The other problem we foresee concerns authentication; most public hot spots require you to accept some terms and conditions of usage with a Web browser, something the Daisy doesn't have. This will leave you unable to connect to a hotspot and therefore unable to connect to any Net radio.

If you still fancy the idea, you can expect a release some time in April of this year with a price tag of 150 pounds (about $294). We'll have a full review as soon as possible.

(Source: Crave UK)

(Credit: Crave UK)

Pure Digital's original Chronos bedside digital radio scored an impressive 8 out of 10 last year and was nominated for our prestigious 2006 Editor's Choice award. Its cute design, ease of use and good price point earned the Chronos our respect. Now we've got hold of its successor, the Chronos II.

At first glance you might not notice much difference between this and its younger brother: It's the same shape, same colour, same price, and has the same button layout. But there are a couple of changes under the hood. First, the Chronos II has FM radio in addition to DAB, something that lost the original model a few marks. Including FM means, obviously, your radio enjoyment needn't be sacrificed when you're out of digital broadcast coverage.

The Chronos II also boasts Pure's "EcoPlus" tag, meaning it supposedly consumes less power than the competition. We're always skeptical with claims of this nature, so we'll let you know in our full review what our tests reveal. Should it live up to its tree-friendly promises, the Smarties at our sister site SmartPlanet will certainly be impressed.

Setup is extremely simple. Even old Mrs. Johnson at the retirement home stands a good chance of getting this up and running herself, and she's not even a real person. There's a bunch of preset slots for saving your favorite stations and multiple alarm options. Sadly, there's still no battery-operated option--while the primary use of this triangular radiotelegraphy machine is as a home radio, it could so easily have been used when camping, for example.

You can expect our full review very soon, but so far we're very impressed with the Chronos' successor. It's available now for a very reasonable 70 pounds (about $145).

(Source: Crave UK)

(Credit: Crave UK)

Intempo's new GX01 is an attractive and affordable little networked music streamer and Internet radio device. At 129 pounds (about $271) it's a few tenners shy of the excellent Squeezebox's price tag, so it has potential to snag the interest of media-streaming newbies. The crucial thing, therefore, is ease of use--if the GX01 is even remotely difficult to use, n00bs, no matter how l33t, may pay dearly for paying less dearly.

The system's pretty pleasing to the eye and looks like something DAB specialists Pure Digital would produce--the pine finish and and single speaker makes the GX01 a kitchen-friendly creation. There's a USB socket on the front for jacking in a USB stick full of MP3 or WMA files. For some infuriating reason, the clickable volume/navigation control doesn't let you select menu items. This is counter-intuitive and tremendously annoying.

Setup's easy enough with Ethernet or Wi-Fi, and fairly self-explanatory. Net radio stations are sorted by genre or country of broadcast, making discovery of hilarious Kazakh radio stations a breeze. The three-line backlit display is easy to read but of quite a low quality--we'd prefer a higher-resolution screen with less ghosting of scrolling text. Still, for such an affordable little setup it's extremely pleasant, and sound quality's not too bad either.

Setting up a PC for media sharing requires you to use Windows Media Player, though a quick Google search will uncover some free alternatives. We especially liked the fact that the GX01 will stream OGG-format files.

Overall this is an affordable and attractive way to get Internet radio without a PC.

(Source: Crave UK)

(Credit: Roberts Radio)

When it rains, it pours. Only a few minutes ago we were taking note of the rising trend for digital radio in MP3 players, and now we've come across something that provides just that for the iPod.

The "Robi" from U.K.-based Roberts Radio obviously isn't ideal because it requires a second device, but it'll do in a pinch if you must have a DAB tuner for the media player. It helps that the Robi can double as a remote for the iPod (thereby helping to justify having a second gadget), but it unfortunately requires wires in this first release. And at more than $100, it might be worth looking at other players that actually have the radio already built in.

(Credit: Freecom)

In the midst of an evolution on steroids, the MP3 player just never seems to be comfortable in its own skin. While still suffering an identity crisis with the telephonic aspects of its personality, it's now changing once again to include digital radio, as shown recently by such stalwarts as iRiver and Cowon.

Now, Dutch company Freecom is entering the fray as well with its "MusicPal" player. which promises to deliver 5,000 radio stations as well as MP3 streams wirelessly from a PC or a Mac. It's too big to be carried around, but not by much--and that's because it has a built-in speaker and a screen that displays RSS feeds, according to Gizmowatch. And if you still need more thump, it can also be hooked up to any set of speakers that can tear down your walls.

(Credit: Crave UK)

Pure Digital, like Ron Burgundy, is kind of a big deal, keeping the digital radio market punchy with its stylish and easy-to-use equipment. We loved the Legato II and the chunky Oasis and now we're elbow-deep in reviewing the lovely Evoke-1S--a simple and functional kitchen radio encased in an attractive maple enclosure.

The new Evoke builds on the design and feature set of the Editor's Choice 2006-winning Evoke-3, though this incarnation features only a single speaker. An additional speaker can be purchased separately and jacked into the main unit to provide a stereo output offering. We'd rather have stereo as standard, of course, but as many talk-radio stations broadcast in mono, this may not be a deal-breaker for too many people.

Sound quality is surprisingly good for just a single 76mm (3-inch) speaker driver, though DAB's use of MP2 encoding limits the audio quality before it even reaches a receiver. An option to lower or disable DRC (dynamic range compression) helps negate some of the excessive volume that some broadcasters add to their transmissions. Bass is partly assisted by a small reflex port to the rear, while the driver itself is covered by a metallic mesh.

A boatsload of other features such as multiple recurring alarms, 30 FM and DAB station presets, and stereo auxiliary inputs and outputs go towards making this a very capable offering. For 99 pounds (about $200), it's well priced.

Expect our review of the Evoke-1S very soon. In the meantime, take a moment to check out a charity auction Pure is backing. The company has persuaded some big names in the rock world, such as Mark Knopfler and the Manic Street Preachers, to sign special Marshall-branded Evoke-1XT systems. All proceeds are going to the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy charity. Rock on!

(Source: Crave UK)