Absolute Radio (105.8FM, also available online and via DAB) have released an interesting feature which works on the iPod Nano.  It’s called iTunes tagging, and it works like this; you tune your latest generatino iPod Nano into Absolute Radio and listen to their songs.  Should one of the songs catch your attention, you can tag it, and then when you dock your iPod, you’ll be able to see who the song was by, what is was called, and you will even be able to buy and download the song from iTunes.

This is a nice level of integration between the non-connected iPod Nano and the well-connected iTunes PC, and could prove a nice feature for many people.

Absolute Radio have more information on this service, including a video on their website here.

This is the new Roberts ColourStream radio, which is yet to be formally announced or released by Roberts, but at least one website already has the item with specifications, so we can reproduce them here.

As well as being a DAB and FM radio, it features an iPod Dock (possibly only supporting the iPhone in offline mode), but also sporting a 3.5″ colour touch screen for many of the controls. In other respects, it seems to offer a similar feature set to that of the Roberts STREAM 83i (USB media playback, Internet radio).  It can make use of the BBC Listen Again function, has an AUX in socket, as well as Line OUT and Headphone sockets.

Until more details are released, it’s not clear if this unit will also play last.fm radio (as the Roberts STREAM 83i does), so we’ll update you when we get more information.

However, with a price of £400, I think many will prefer the styling of either the Revo IKON (see here) or the PURE Sensia (see here), and personally, we would head to the Revo IKON.

Also, we note that both this device and the Roberts STREAM 83i we covered last week (here) may not have DAB+ support (thanks to Paul Webster at his DABDig website for drawing our attention to this point), which may limit it’s usefulness in the future, should the UK ever decide to adopt this standard (other European countries are already rolling out DAB+, so lack of support may impact your ability to use either radio whilst travelling).

Specs courtesy of DNA Car Audio (via Paul’s DABDig website).

Having already covered the Revo IKON (here), the Revo DOMINO (here) and the Revo HERITAGE (here), all of which support Last.fm, we now find there’s another option, and it comes in a little cheaper than any of those previous options…

The Roberts STREAM 83i combines a DAB radio, FM radio, Internet Radio, local network media streaming, usb media playback, but also features Last.fm support.  This support is pretty all encompassing; as well as playing your virtual music radio, you can select to “Love” or “Ban” tracks (dedicated buttons on both the device and on the included remote control), and also supports scrobbling your music plays too (although it’s not clear whether this will also scrobble music from media streaming or usb media playback).  Even better, this unit supports the ability to provide multiple Last.fm user accounts, so if the radio is used by more than one person, you can easily select which Last.fm account to use for your own personalised music.

Also, to save you a little hassle twice a year, the radio can pick up it’s time automatically from DAB, FM or the Internet.

It’s nice to see another manufacturer supporting Last.fm within their device, and just like Revo and Pure Internet Radio devices, it appears this Roberts radio is capable of receiving firmware updates over the Internet connection too (a key feature for us on any device nowadays).

As well as everything, it appears you can pre-configure 4 Wi-Fi network connection settings too, which is useful if you plan to use the device in multiple locations.

It’s not quite as pretty as the Revo HERITAGE, but the price difference reflects that; the Roberts STREAM 83i should be available now for around £135, however, that price difference may also reflect the lack of DAB+ support (see here for more information on this last point).

For a company that went quiet for a few months earlier this year, Revo seem to have bounced back and have added another new unit to their range of DAB radios.  The Revo HERITAGE is styled a little like units from the 50s and 60s, yet packs all their high spec features that they seem to be concentrating on right now.  This units joins the lineup of the Revo IKON (featured here), Revo DOMINO (featured here), and elder units such as the Revo iBlik RadioStation range, and the Pico range of portable devices.

The Revo HERITAGE features DAB, DAB+, FM radio stations, as well as Wi-Fi Internet Radio, as well as offering network streaming and support for all current iPod models.  In keeping with the price tag, this device is made from aluminium and real walnut veneer, and the screen is an OLED “secret-until-lit” display and like the Revo DOMINO, features a joystick based menu system.  The radio also features a digital alarm clock with sleep and snooze functions, and also features optical out and iPod video out connectors (amongst others).  Also provided is a full feature remote control.

As with the Revo IKON and the Revo DOMINO D3 (and D2) models, this radio also features support for Last.fm, allowing you to select an artist or genre and get streamed music.  Also like those other units, the device comes with a free 30 day Last.fm trial subscription, and would need access to a £3 per month subscription after that (which we still believe can be shared across multiple devices).  You can also improve the track selection by providing feedback to Last.fm in terms of “loving” or “banning” tracks that are played.

Finally, if you are still after other music support, the device has a 3.5mm input jack for other mp3 players, and can also play a wide range of music formats from USB devices via a USB port too.

The only limitation on this device seems to be iPhone support, where Revo state “While Heritage doesn’t offer full iPhone compatibility, by placing the iPhone in ‘In-Flight Mode’, Heritage will provide playback and charging.” (We should add this limitation does not apply to either the Revo DOMINO or Revo IKON, which have full iPhone compatibility).

If you are looking to buy one of these devices, you’ll need to head to John Lewis who have retail exclusivity on these devices when it goes on sale in November for £230 (alternatively you can buy direct from Revo Technologies themselves).

Although more expensive than the Revo DOMINO range, some have questioned the styling of that range, and this unit may well be more suited to people’s taste.

Hot on the heels of the Revo IKON, launched in August, comes the Revo DOMINO Range, which combines a number of the new features of the Revo IKON into more affordable units.

The range features 3 devices:

• The Revo DOMINO D1, a dedicated DAB/DAB+ radio with FM support and iPod / iPhone docking capabilities
• The Revo DOMINO D2, which is a Wi-Fi Internet radio, FM radio, iPod / iPhone dock and offers Last.fm access
• The Revo DOMINO D3, which combines the features of the other into a single unit (similar to the RadioStation devices); so that’s DAB/DAB+ radio, FM radio, Wi-Fi Internet radio, iPod / iPhone dock, and Last.fm access too.

Athough the Revo DOMINO range does not have the touchscreen of the Revo IKON, it still has some impressive technology built in, such as:

• An innovative joystick-based control system
• A graphical OLED display and an NXT “Balanced Radiator” loudspeaker

Inline with the Revo IKON, it provides access to Last.fm radio streaming, with the ability to choose an artist or genre and let Last.fm build the playlist for you, or “an existing Last.fm profile can be used”.  Also like the Revo IKON, the Revo DOMINO D3 (and D2 we presume) will come with a 30-day trial access to Last.fm, after which a £3 per month subscription is required (although this is for a single Last.fm user account, which we suspect could be used on multiple devices).

The Revo DOMINO range will go on sale on 1st November from John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, and other usual Revo stockists, plus it will be available direct from the Revo website.  The prices are Revo DOMINO D1: £130, Revo DOMINO D2: £150 and Revo DOMINO D3: £170, putting them at similar prices to the Revo iBlik devices (including the Revo iBlik RadioStation), and like the Revo IKON.

We are very impressed with the integration of the various technologies in this device, especially the inclusion of Last.fm; we wonder whether next year will also bring other services, such as Spotify to hardware units from the likes of Revo…

After the release of the touchscreen based Revo IKON last month, PURE Digital have announced their first touchscreen based DAB radio.  The PURE Sensia will sell for £249, and is a DAB radio, Internet (Wi-Fi) radio, as well as supporting that 5.7″ 640×480 touchscreen display, which will feature additional applications too.

In terms of the music options, as well as the DAB radio (DAB and FM with RDS are both available), it features support for Internet radio and podcasts, access to your local media (via Wi-Fi), and “unique broadcast material”; and if you don’t want to have the unit by your bedside, you can add an optional ChargePAK battery for listening around the house, and make use of the colour coded RF remote control too.  In terms of colour options, you can go for Black, White, Red or Yellow.  If none of those music options appeal, you can connect an iPod / mp3 player directly via a 3.5mm socket, or you ca add the optional i-10 iPod dock.

However, it’s those “online apps” which interest us; so lets look at those.  So far, PURE have stated it will include Facebook support, Twitter support, and weather and news feeds.  It appears it will be possible to either have the application appear full screen, or just in the top right hand area, so you can still see the radio station list, the time, and access the other menus.

So given the close price to the Revo IKON, which should you choose? Well, the IKON seems to have a greater range of music options built in (with last.fm streaming support and a iPod / iPhone dock included as standard), whereas the PURE Sensia is closer to a Chumby-like device, offering access to other applications whilst the music is playing.  Of course, were PURE to add Spotify or last.fm support into their device, it might tip the balance in the their favour…

Both companies are known for producing devices capable of firmware updates, and both companies have produced firmware updates for various devices; it’s not yet clear whether adding more applications to the Sensia needs a full firmware update, but it will be worthwhile keeping an eye on how well PURE support this device in terms of new features.

You should find the PURE Sensia available at the end of October at £249.

This is the new Revo IKON, launched this morning by Revo Technologies. We’ve featured various devices by Revo before, but this is a very interesting device.  Previously we were big fans of the Revo iBlik RadioStation, which brought together their FM, DAB and DAB+ technologies with an iPod dock, but this unit takes things a stage further…

In terms of music, the Revo IKON can play FM radio (with RDS information), DAB, DAB+ as well as Internet Radio, and will, where available from the broadcaster, display colour station logos, station descriptions, track and artist information, and even news headlines.

Yet it also supports a few other methods; it can stream music from any wirelessly connected PC or Mac (and will show colour album artwork and track information where available), and it’s also an iPod / iPhone sound dock.  If that wasn’t enough, in the US (these services are all US-only, so none are generally available in the UK), it will also connect to the Sirius, Pandora and Rhapsody premium online service too.

However, a really interesting feature is that the device also supports Last.fm, something we’re a big fan of here at UK Gadgeteer; the Revo IKON will also provide access to online music service Last.fm. Simply choose an artist or genre and let Last.fm build the perfect playlist from its library of 5 million tracks – unique to the user, and fresh every time.  Alternatively, an existing Last.fm profile can be used.  On top of that, Revo are including a 30 day trial to last.fm, which would then need a standard subscription of £3/month €3/month $3/month (this service is only available in the UK, US and Germany) to continue to use this facility.

Owen Parry, Last.fm Product Manager said “We’re delighted that Revo has taken the decision to include Last.fm functionality as a standard feature on their new IKON ‘touch-radio’. The combination of high quality audio, large colour display, and a free 30 day trial subscription, makes it easy to explore and enjoy music through Last.fm, right out of the box.”

The unit features an NXT flat panel speaker, and delivers 30W of audio.  It will be on sale from October 2009, and cost £279.95.

This is the new 2010 Jaguar XJ, revealed today by Jaguar UK.  Although we don’t often feature whole cars, we’ve certainly featured some elements of the tech included before, so we thought we’d look to see how well it brings the tech together…

The styling reminds us of both the Jaguar C-XF Concept car, and the current Jaguar XF, with maybe a hint of the Citroen C6 in those vertical LED rear lights…

Like the Jaguar XF, the new Jaguar XJ features the JaguarDrive, a fly-by-wire rotary gear selector, but also features “JaguarSense reading lamp and glovebox switches” (basically the switches are touch sensitive); if you want to customise the interior beyond the normal choices of colour (14 choices), trim and wood veneer (11 choices), you can also replace the word “Jaguar” in the top-middle of the dashboard with another word of your choosing…

Laser thin phospur blue lines of light highlight the centre-console switches, and around the JaguarDrive gear selector, the handbrake, door handles, door mounted switches and even the door storage panniers, and to save you needing to even take the car key out of your pocket, it can be specified with Keyless Entry and Keyless Start.

The Steering wheel features lots of control buttons using thumb-operated switches and five-way pads, which will include controls for an iPod.  Oh, and if that’s not enough, you can specify an optional heated steering wheel!

The instruments in front of the driver is actually all virtual, with the ability to replace the tachometer with another warnings or information required by the driver and the display features a “spotlight” feature to highlight the most important information.  The large touchscreen for the SatNav also gives access to many of the cars functions (as have previous Jaguar touchscreens), and for some countries (including the UK, but not the US) the touchscreen is a dual-view screen, allowing the passenger to watch a film or TV whilst the driver cannot (he instead gets SatNav or controls, but never the film / TV, which is illegal here), with an additional set of wireless headphones for the passenger to allow them to hear the different source too.

That’s not all in terms of multimedia, you can specify a rear entertainment package, a Premium Sound system (600W) or even a 7.1 Bowes & Wilkins 1200W system.  Finally, there’s also a DAB radio option, which we would recommend everyone takes, with the UK Government suggesting that DAB should be standard in most cars in the next few years to allow a potential shutdown of FM signals in the future…

Of course, these options don’t come cheap…

• DAB radio: £250
• TV support: £500
• Dual View screen £850
• Rear entertainment £1500
• B&W 1200W Sound System £2000

all of that, on top of the car instelf, which goes from £52,500 upto £88,000 (we should point out that many of those features above are actually standard on the higher spec cars (eg the 3.0litre £62,900 XJ Portfolio includes Dual View, B&W 1200W Sound System, a rear camera and even a panoramic roof with electric sun blinds).

For more information, head over to Jaguar UK’s website here.

For a small little device (102 x 60 x 20mm and weighing 115g), it packs a hell of a punch!  This device takes a 3.5mm connection from your phone, your mp3 player, your DAB radio, anything really, and produces a very rich stereo sound from a single unit.  This is achieved by the companies’ airSOUND technology to achieve this.  The T3 is designed to either hang around your neck and use your chest cavity to enrich the sound, or you can place the device on a hard surface to achieve the same affect.

It has two switches, the first a power switch to turn the unit on or off (the device has a rechargeable Lithium battery built in giving up to 10 hours music), whereas the second sets the airSOUND to either Off, Normal, or High.  The volume is controlled by the device it’s been connected to, as it has no direct volume control.  We found the neckstrap a little small, so left the device on a solid wooden desk for a few hours, and connected it up to the LG Renoir, which sports Dolby Mobile as well, and wow, what a nice rich sound we heard from the selection of mp3 tracks we had on the LG Renoir.

Keeping the Dolby Mobile turned on seemed to make the sound even richer, and allowed us to hear additional background lyrics that we had never even noticed before when using in ear headphones, or playing the same tracks through a normal music system.

Orbitsound explain their airSOUND technology with the following:

“The problem with personal music systems like the iPod® or the Walkman® is that you have to wear headphones. And the trouble with headphones is that they are not really stereo – just two separated mono signals clamped to your ears.”

“Listening to stereo means hearing the sound from both speakers with both ears – that’s what gives you the stereo soundfield in between the speakers. With headphones you can only hear the left speaker signal in the left ear and the right speaker in the right: most people therefore hear the sound in the middle or back of their head, as opposed to in front and around you where the soundstage is supposed to be. With the orbitsound T3, the music is literally in the air, all around your head. This means that the sound from the T3 is a real spatial stereo soundfield. With the T3 you are not isolated from the environmental sounds around you, as you are with headphones; you can listen to your entertainment and still be aware of traffic noise and people around or behind you in the street.”

To be honest, that’s the only downside we see to the unit; not everyone wants to hear other people’s music, and so for situations like a train, this device will not be popular, but for listening or sharing the music with others, we think it gives a good sound.

We’re going to give this device some more testing, including looking at battery life, as well as giving it a greater variety of music and connect it to more devices and will report back.

The device costs £49 (which includes the device, neckstrap, mains charger and a short 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable) and is available direct from orbitsound’s online store.

It’s been a while since we’ve featured PURE Digital, and in that time, they’ve released a whole range of new devices.  The PURE AVANTI Flow (above) is, according to PURE, the ultimate next generation digital audio system.  In the rest of the article we’ve got the specs and details of the other units…

(more…)

We’ve mentioned the Revo Blik RadioStation, and the Revo iBlik RadioStation before, but it appears Pure Digital have joined Revo in releasing a combined Internet Radio with a DAB/FM radio. The PURE EVOKE Flow will cost around £150, and also features “support for DAB+”. One other nice feature is Pure’s own web radio portal, which will act as a one stop shop for your radio stations, podcasts and listen again stations. You will also be able to access the Pure Lounge portal and the content from your PC.

More information on the Pure website.

Tesco have announced they are now selling the Technika DAB-108P, which is a very small portable DAB radio, and they are claiming it’s the smallest and cheapest portable DAB radio on the market.  At roughly £35, they certainly aren’t charging a premium for the portable device, especially as that includes an FM radio too.  We wonder whether the Intempo iDAB or the Roberts Robi aren’t actually smaller (although not cheaper), but as both also require an iPod to function, Tesco may well be right about their claim.  It’s already available instore, as well as online.

Details of the Technika DAB radio courtesy of Tech Digest.

With the Revo iBlik RadioStation we covered a few weeks back not yet even in the shops, Revo have announced another unit, which they claim is the first portable hybrid DAB/DAB+/Internet radio.  The Revo Pico RadioStation unit adds to the idea behind the Revo Blik RadioStation and makes the whole device portable.  It’s splashproof, and should last 12 hours from the Li-Ion rechargeable battery.  It’s a DAB/DAB+ radio, but also an FM (with RDS) radio, it is an Internet Wi-Fi radio, and can even act as a speaker system for your mp3 player.

The price will be around £169.95 when it goes on sale on 15th September.

PURE Digital have announced the PURE ONE Elite, which takes the current popular ONE DAB radio and adds the ability to pause and rewind live radio for up to 15 minutes, and a radio alarm. It also appears to be have stereo speakers, and has increased the number of preset radio stations from 20 to 50. Many other features, such as RDS support (on FM), an iPod / mp3 player input port, intellitext and textscan, and support for the ChargePAK rechargeable batteries are also all included. The price will increase to £70, and it should be available at the end of August in Black or White (no pink option here).

Between the PURE ONE Original (which is still on sale), the PURE ONE Mini, and now the ONE Elite, PURE have produced a nice range of units for all scenarios.

Story and picture courtesy of Tech Digest.

We’ve already seen a number of DAB / Internet radios from Revo in their Blik range, and now they are adding iPod docks into the loop to create two new devices.

The iBlik Radiostation is the same full on spec of the current Blik Radiostation (Internet Radio via WiFi, DAB radio, RM radio with RDS, and digital music streaming), whereas the iBlik Wi-Fi drops the DAB radio and just features the Internet Radio and iPod dock.

The iBlik Radiostation will sell for £179.99, with the iBlik Wi-Fi at £129.99. Both come with compact remote controls and a “selection of dock adaptors for most models of iPod”, which includes the iPod Touch, although it may not support the iPhone variants, and both come with a wired LAN port as well if you want to use them without wireless. Also, the iBlik Radiostation is a dual mode DAB/DAB+ unit, and will be ready to receive DAB+, when / if it becomes available in the UK.

Both units should be available from the middle of August (18th to be precise), either direct from Revo, or from various outlets (the iBlik Radiostation should be available from normal Revo retailers, John Lewis and Apple Stores, although the iBlik Wi-Fi seems more limited in that it will only be available from Currys.digital and PC World as well as direct).

We’re hoping to review an iBlik Radiostation, and it will be interesting to compare it against it’s competitors, which must include the PURE Chronos iDock at roughly half the price.

Roberts, who we have featured before, have now released a solar powered DAB radio, a first in the UK. The SolarDAB can be solar, battery, or mains powered, and the built in rechargeable battery pack is being recharged whenever the unit is in the sunshine. Once charged, Roberts claim it will last 27 hours before needing another recharge. It comes it green, pink, red, white or black, includes a headphone socket and an mp3/iPod line-in socket. At a price around £79.99, it also seems good value for a device that won’t need charging too often.

More information at Roberts [Via Tech Digest]

After the success of the PURE ONE Original DAB radio, Pure Digital have now released the PURE ONE Mini, which offers the majority of the features of the ONE, but in a smaller package. These include an input jack (for your iPod / mp3 player), an FM radio, station presets (although 16 instead of 20 on the ONE), and support for Pure’s ChargePak rechargeable battery packs. Although rarely needed, we support Pure for two reasons, firstly they are British, and secondly, they build the capability for user upgradeable firmware for their devices, and the ONE Mini is no exception, with a miniUSB port as standard.

Revo have already a couple of models in the Blik range; the Blik DAB (£49.95) and the Blik Wi-Fi (£99.95). These provide a DAB/FM radio or an Internet/FM radio. Now, Revo have added the Blik Radiostation to the range. This combines the two together, creating a DAB / Internet / FM radio in one. On top of that, it’s an Alarm Clock, and can act as an iPod / mp3 player speaker system too. The Blik Radiostation sells for a few pennies shy of £150, and should be available from next week.

If the Intempo iDAB didn’t quite suit you, or you want to save a couple of pounds, how about the Roberts Robi, which is an iPod remote (allowing you to control the iPod) that also incorporates a DAB radio. Compatible with the iPod and iPod Nano, it is shipping this month at £49.99.

Intempo has just launched the Intempo iDAB, a DAB radio player that connects via your iPod. It has it’s own screen, and buttons to control the unit, but it has its own docking connector, so can also be docked into your iPod dock to play the music through your dock’s speakers. It is compatible with the whole range of iPods, except the Shuffle. It will be available in a range of colours, and cost around £59.99.

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