Grace Wifi Radio (ITC-IR1000B) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been listening to internet radio for more than 5 years, and have been exploring the purchase of a stand-alone wifi radio for the last two. The market has either been high-end ($300+ for the Roku Soundbridge or the Revo Pico), products with flaws (check the reviews for the Torian InFusion) or not a true standalone device (requiring that your computer be on, works only with open networks, etc.).
When I saw the Grace Wifi Radio at the $170 pricepoint, I decided to give it a try. I opened the box about an hour ago, and within 10 minutes had it set up, working with my WPA protected AirPort network. Sound is good; this isn't hifi, but like 90% of internet listeners I'm no high-end audiophile. The stations available through the Reciva server simply blow my mind (think thousands instead of the hundreds I normally look through on iTunes). I can see myself playing with this for weeks, cranking the dial like a kid with his first shortwave.
Note this is a very simple radio; only 5 presets, no equalizer, no dancing visuals, no ipod dock..... And I haven't tested its capability to play audiofiles sent by iTunes (that's not what I bought it for). But all in all I'm very pleased, and while decent wifi radios will probably be available below $100 before the year is out, I'm glad I didn't wait.

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The Grace Digital GDI-IR1000 Innovator Wireless Radio and Media Streamer lets you enjoy thousands of free Internet radio stations direct from your Wi-Fi router or your personal media files direct from your computer or iPod. Listen to your local stations in static free audio, NPR, Pandora or the BBC with the Grace Digital GDI-IR1000 Innovator Wireless Radio and Media Streamer. The Grace Digital GDI-IR1000 Innovator Wireless Radio and Media Streamer will fill your talk, news and musical needs.

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Philips NP2500/37 WiFi Internet Radio Network Music Player with Rhapsody (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)The entire problem with this player is that it does one thing really well, but has a couple of other features thrown in addition that don't work as advertised.
As a player for Rhapsody, this really rocks. The songs come up quickly, the interface is easy to navigate, and all the songs feature artwork that looks great on the small but crisp LCD. The only downside is that it requires a paid Rhapsody account, although the free month is a nice introduction.
When it comes to internet radio and streaming music as an UPnP device, this player really falls apart. The internet radio functions work well, but the connectivity is very slow compared to the Rhapsody service, and it is unable to display song information from every station. Some stations work, some don't. Also, to find radio stations you are limited to either browsing the menus, or using the number pad to enter the station's name or a serach keyword. The number pad works about as well as using a cell phone without T9, so it is functional but very, very slow.
The UPnP service for streaming music from your home computer never worked for me. I installed the bundled software, updated it from the company's website, but the music never started. I was able to find my music library, even my iTunes playlists, but when I hit "Play," the player just hung forever and never started the music. FYI, I'm running a Macbook Pro with iTunes, and I keep my music on an external network hard drive, so that may have been the issue. A search through the forums of the Twonky Media Player(used for streaming) revealed nothing helpful, and I was unable to resolve it in the time I had to review the item.
As far as the player itself, the design is attractive and should fit well with most home electronics. The screen is bright and clear, and the remote works as well as can be expected. There are no on device controls, so the remote is essential to any use of the player, but I had no problems. It was also easy to connect to the internet, although entering a wireless network password using the number pad was time-consuming.
Bottom line, don't expect it to work seamlessly as a streaming media center from your PC or Mac's music collection. If you want it mainly for internet radio, it works, but is a bit hard to use. Rhapsody works great, but again, it requires a subscription.

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Wirelessly access 10,000+ Internet stations FREE, your music library, and Music On-Demand with a free trial from Rhapsody. Streamium is your Home Jukebox. You can access Internet music from your home country or hometown, by musical genre (rock, pop, news, sports, 80's, etc.). Your digital music is easily accessed by Streamium so you are always connected to music you already own (in addition you can leverage music from multiple PCs/Macs). Finally, you can get music-on-demand with Rhapsody (free trial included). Search thousands of titles and artists for music of your choice or play "name-that-tune" with your friends and family (by preferred genre). This network music player allows you to "free your music" from MP3 players and your computer. With easy setup you can hook-up to your home theater or home audio system so you can experience seamless entertainment with quality you are used to hearing. FullSound is a great feature built-in that brings back high-quality CD sound from your digitally compressed MP3 files. Enjoy album art from your favorite artists (from your PC/Mac, or from Rhapsody) and enjoy radio station logos and pictures that can be shown on your player. A remote allows easy music management from a distance.

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Grace Digital GDI-IR1000 Wi-Fi Internet Radio Featuring Pandora and NPR On-Demand Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I just bought this radio several days ago and absolutely love it! Very, very simple to operate, and took literally 15 minutes to set up (and I employ both 128 bit WEP and MAC filtering). In addition to the myriad stations available, I've linked my Internet Radio to my Pandora account; this allows the unit to play music directly from my Pandora radio stations. I can even create new Pandora radio stations directly from the Grace IR (although it is quicker and easier to do this from a computer). The sound quality from the onboard speakers is excellent. I have my unit connected to my home stereo system via the Grace IR's Headphone output into L-R inputs on my receiver. This is an excellent, excellent buy! I am considering purchasing a second unit for my bedroom. I highly recommend this unit.

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Listening to streaming Internet radio via your wireless 802.11b/g broadband network using the Grace Digital Internet Radio (GDI-IR1000) has never been easier. Enjoy over 15,000 free global radio stations via the high quality built in speaker -- in any room of your house. Includes Grace Digital Internet Radio, AC power, Owner's manual, Mini to RCA stereo cable to optionally connect to your stereo, Built-in headset jack (audio out) on rear panel. Wirelessly stream Internet radio directly from the Internet via your wireless router and broadband (DSL or Cable) connection or stream your audio library directly from your PC or Mac; Compatible with your wireless router and security setting, works with 802.11 b/g/n routers and 128 WEP, WPA and WPA 2 security, supports HTTP protocol. Easy set up - just scroll and click; Multiformat audio compatibility, supports all major music formats including; MP3, WMA, Real Audio, WAV, AAC, AIFF; 5 programmable alarms so you can wake to your favorite music or alarm tone, Each alarm can be set to announce once, day of the week, daily, weekday, or weekends; Sleep timer settable in 30 second increments up to 24 hours; 5-watt speaker provides solid bass and crisp highs; Equalizer settings optimize your audio performance with the 6 built in presets or customize the bass and treble settings for your environment and musical taste; 4-line display and easy-to-use dials and buttons for fast station browsing with adjustable backlight display (30 micro backlight settings); 15,000 music, talk, and sports stations so you can choose from over 280 locations and 67 genres, 20,000 on demand streams and Podcast.

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