September 20th, 2008
Audiovox's RCA Infinite Radio: Internet radio with Wi-Fi for $149
I wrote about Logitech’s Squeezebox Boom Wi-Fi-enabled music streamer a couple of weeks ago (and will have a hands-on review later this week), and mentioned that at $299, the Boom wasn’t really going to take Internet radio much closer to the mainstream at that price. Now Audiovox has released the RCA Infinite Radio, which cuts that price in half but keeps the Wi-Fi connection.
The Infinite Radio offers a few other goodies, including a subscription to Weatherbug and support for Slacker’s Personal Radio service as well as good-old AM/FM radio support. It comes with 512MB of internal memory, which allows you to store up to 10 hours of programming. The device doesn’t offer as broad support for other Internet audio sources as the Boom does—Logitech’s radio lets you listen to Pandora and Sirius, among others (though you must have a Sirius account and the Premium online upgrade)—nor does it appear to be able to match the Boom’s audio quality (which is surprisingly good for a unit of its size). You also can’t access your PC’s digital music collection, as you can with the Boom.
Whereas the Boom would be the tabletop radio of choice for Net radio lovers with deeper pockets, the Infinite Radio could serve as a bedside radio for those who are willing to sacrifice audio quality for the lower price. There’s no reason that basic Wi-Fi audio streamers couldn’t cost under $100 in the near future; the Infinite Radio marks a big step toward that magic price point.
Sean Portnoy spent several years as an editor at Computer Shopper magazine, most recently serving as online executive editor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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