SoniqCast Aireo (1 GB) MP3 Player
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- Number of Songs: 380
- Usage: Music
- Main Storage Type: Built-in Memory
- Storage Capacity: 1 GB
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IDEAL for the flex-time commuter.
Pros
The only solution for free automatic TIVO-radio.
Cons
Battery life.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
You'll need a Wi-Fi node to take advantage of what this unique device can do - completely automatic podcasts, and TiVo-like radio.
I bought the Aireo for a fairly specific purpose - to use as a Radio TiVO in my car. Since I commute at irrregular hours, even if I had satellite radio, I might not catch the shows I like.
So - I set up my desktop PC (using a program called ReplayRadio - $30) to automatically record internet simulcasts of various show. (More than 1200 national and international radio stations are available this way - without subscription fees). I set up Windows MediaPlayer to automatically load these shows into a "FreshTracks" playlist. Then I set up the Aireo to auto-sync with the "FreshTracks" playlist every day. Here's the cool part - I leave the Aireo in my car (still within range of my WiFi) and everything gets done completely automatically - daily updated news shows, on my schedule with no subscription fees.
As a standalone MP3 player, the Aireo seems to work fine. I've used it to listen to several books on tape from Audible.com. Aireo supports their "chapter" segments. The battery life is a bit weak, but since I don't usually take it out of my car, that hasn't really been a problem.
The FM transmitter function is also pretty weak. Maybe it's because I live in an area with fairly crowded FM airwaves, but I can't seem to get a clear signal. I use the auxiliary input to my car's receiver instead, and this works great.
The user interface could be also improved. For example, adjustment of volume requires quite similar manipulations of the control button to skipping chapters, and sometimes I do one when I mean the other.
So - I set up my desktop PC (using a program called ReplayRadio - $30) to automatically record internet simulcasts of various show. (More than 1200 national and international radio stations are available this way - without subscription fees). I set up Windows MediaPlayer to automatically load these shows into a "FreshTracks" playlist. Then I set up the Aireo to auto-sync with the "FreshTracks" playlist every day. Here's the cool part - I leave the Aireo in my car (still within range of my WiFi) and everything gets done completely automatically - daily updated news shows, on my schedule with no subscription fees.
As a standalone MP3 player, the Aireo seems to work fine. I've used it to listen to several books on tape from Audible.com. Aireo supports their "chapter" segments. The battery life is a bit weak, but since I don't usually take it out of my car, that hasn't really been a problem.
The FM transmitter function is also pretty weak. Maybe it's because I live in an area with fairly crowded FM airwaves, but I can't seem to get a clear signal. I use the auxiliary input to my car's receiver instead, and this works great.
The user interface could be also improved. For example, adjustment of volume requires quite similar manipulations of the control button to skipping chapters, and sometimes I do one when I mean the other.
