Sonicbox: Tune In the Web, Wirelessly

My father once regaled me with a story about the primitive crystal radio he and his Iowa-bound brothers used to listen in on important sporting and world events during the early 1930s. His description stirred my imagination, as I'm sure hearing voices and events from faraway places stirred his. Streaming radio has had a similar effect on me -- I have enlivened many an afternoon listening to the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs webcasts, which were unavailable to me via terrestrial radio here in San Francisco.

The obvious problem with Internet radio is that you must be near a computer to use it. Several products that attempt to uncouple Internet radio from the computer have been announced -- all are still vaporware, except for the Sonicbox. The device is scheduled to ship soon, and Streamingmedia.com got its hands on a pre-release version to put to the test.

Not a true stand-alone device, the Sonicbox still needs your computer for its Internet connection and to run the accompanying iM Tuner software. However, by including a 900MHz transceiver, a pager-size 900MHz receiver, and the iM Remote Tuner control device, the Sonicbox set allows you to wirelessly pipe Internet radio broadcasts to any stereo system.

The Sonicbox is an innovative product that serves its goal of freeing the Internet radio listener from the PC - at least to some degree. However, gadget appeal plays a large role in justifying the estimated $75 to $100 street price.

Tune In…

The iM Tuner software, which can also be used independently of the Sonicbox hardware, is available for free download from the company's Web site. The simple-to-install software supports any station that's broadcast in RealAudio, Microsoft Windows Media, or MP3 (Icecast, Shoutcast) format, and will even play MP3s. (You'll need to install the freely downloadable RealPlayer and Windows Media Player 6.4 to make use of the iM Tuner.)

The iM Tuner serves as a front-end for iM Band, Sonicbox's tuning service, which delivers what the company considers to be the 800 best stations on the Internet. The stations are divided into 25 diverse genres, and are cleverly alphabetized for easy memorization: A for alternative, B for blues, W for world beat, X for eXtreme, and so on. I spent an hour hopping from station to station and barely scratched the surface of the available content. If you're not satisfied with the preset stations, there are 32 user-definable slots on the Z-band.

Part of Sonicbox's iBand service and revenue model involves replacing broadcast advertising with ads targeted toward the individual listener. Yes, Sonicbox is collecting information about users. To the company's credit, it doesn't use any coercion. However, if you don't provide at least an e-mail address, you can't take advantage of the iM Tuner's "More Info" function, which e-mails you with additional information about songs, artists, and stations.

Turn On…

Setting up the Sonicbox hardware consists of plugging the 900MHz transceiver into your computer's USB port, running an audio cable from your sound card's output to the transceiver, and then running an audio cable from the Sonicbox receiver to your stereo, or to a pair of headphones. (All connections on the Sonicbox side are mini-stereo jacks.) If you already own off-the-shelf 900MHz wireless audio components like headphones or speakers, you can substitute them for the Sonicbox receiver in this setup. Setting the receiver to the proper wireless frequency takes just a few seconds -- installation is about as easy as hooking up a stereo system.

In my tests, the Sonicbox worked well within its transmission range of 100 feet. If you have a 900MHz portable phone, you probably already have a good idea of the type of reception and range you can expect. My apartment is a wireless black hole with scads of outside plumbing lines, ancient wiring, and the like. However, I was still able to get a strong signal about 50 feet away. The wireless sound quality was comparable to direct output from my sound card.

However, remember that overall quality is limited to that of the Internet broadcast. Stations that stream at 32Kbps or better come close to FM radio quality, but a number of stations broadcast at half that rate or less.

The iM Remote Tuner box, which allows you to select stations with a turn of the dial remotely, works well, though its software counterpart wouldn't respond to the remote when Sonicbox was busy finding a channel or performing other housework. My only real complaint about the remote is its size--4-inches deep, by 8.5-inches wide, by 1.5-inches thick--which makes it cumbersome to drag around the house. I found myself longing for simple band and preset controls on the pocket-size receiver. Also, the visual feedback provided by the remote isn't absolutely necessary, since iBand audibly announces (pre-rolls) every selection.

The Bottom Line

The Sonicbox is an excellent, well-conceived product that does its job well within its scope. However, it's not a must-have: The value is primarily in the wireless functionality, and in the packaging of stylized hardware devices. You could move Web radio listening to your stereo for much less by purchasing cables at your local audio store.

Then, of course, you wouldn't have the gee-whiz impression that wireless devices invoke, and you wouldn't have the bragging rights that come with owning one of the first of these devices to come on the market. We'll be watching closely for the release of Kerbango's Internet radio, and Akoo's Kima, expected by the end of summer. Perhaps they'll up the ante.