 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| The Entertainment Review |
| Com One's Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio |
The radio has been a dying technology for decades, but it has dug in deep and has withstood television as a medium of entertainment.
Now radio is taking a step further and may be ready to outlive the Internet as well. For those avid music listeners who are used to sitting
at their computer to listen to music, or those who want the portability of an iPod without the use of the headphones, Com One
introduces a new type of radio that is sure to please music fans of any era. Com One’s Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio is the next generation of
radio for those who have become accustomed to listening to music and podcasts on their computer.
The Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio is a modern looking 802.11 b/g device that connects users to their wireless network through a USB port, to a
USB drive or media player and plays their music through a beautiful set of speakers in fairly high quality.
The two stereo speakers offer good sound considering that they are relatively small speakers that are placed fairly close together.
Users may not want to test how loud the speakers can become because they are more powerful than first expected. The speakers are
located on either side of a 128 pixel by 64 pixel LCD screen that is equipped with a play button, pause button and directional button, as
well as a volume knob that will remind many of the volume controls of past radios. The Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio also offers users to use
eight buttons that are designed as presets, a nice feature that many users will find extremely useful.
When users first start up their Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio for the first time, the device immediately brings up a wizard that helps users to
connect to their wireless network. While it may be a bit of a hassle when it comes to entering a WEP or WPA key, since users need to
use the volume know to scroll through all of the letters and number and then use the play or pause button to choose one. Once users
have gone through the entire process of setting up their new system, the Phoenix immediately connects to their network and probably
won’t have any troubles with it from that point forward.
The device comes with a bunch of Internet stations already programmed into it. Users can choose stations by locations, either from
local stations which are within the U.S. or international stations, or by genre of music. For users that can’t seems to find anything that
they like, or that have a favorite station that has a streaming feed that can be connected to, Com One’s website offers a much wider
selection of stations. Once logged into the web site, users can add the feeds to their own radio’s list or import any unlisted feeds
manually. Once they have configured their feeds, users can listen to them via the Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio whether their computer is turned
on or off at the time of listening.
The website’s configuration page seems to be rather unfinished and some users may have a bit of a problem getting it to accept
certain feed that are not on Com One’s list of feeds. Also, there is very little support information aside from copies of the user manual
and a rather short FAQ for users to go through. Hopefully Com One will do a little more work on this over time.
Another problem that users may experience with the Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio is fairly predictable, the unpredictable nature of the feeds
through the Wi-Fi network. There is a chance that at least 50 percent of the stations will have trouble being recognized on the system at
the first configuration. If users are unable to connect to the Wi-Fi network signal with a laptop, more than likely the Wi-Fi radio will also
have trouble connecting.
The book marking feature on the device, which allows users to bookmark their favorite songs is only somewhat useful since only a few
stations support the technology. Users can expect the occasional pause as a station goes into a caching mode.
The Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio runs on the battery life of four AA Ni-MH rechargeable batteries that really doesn’t offer a lot of time. A full
charge will allow users to listen to the radio for about four hours before the batteries need to be recharged. Users will normally being
keeping the radio in one spot, so the use of the plug-in adapter will make sure that the radio is always fully charged and ready to play,
so battery life is probably one thing that users won’t need to worry about. Users will enjoy the ability to have a stationary radio that can
allow them to listen to their favorite music, podcasts and radio stations in their home office or in bed. Players will also be able to listen
without the use of often uncomfortable headphones. Since the device handle MP3, WMA and WAV formats, users have a variety of files
that can be listened to on the radio. Also, the radio is small enough to carry around that house and use anywhere. It is also great to
look at and listen to. However, for those who don’t have an extra $249 to spend on a very useful radio, this may not be the right radio.
For those who have the cash, it may be one of the best radios on the market at this time.
Now radio is taking a step further and may be ready to outlive the Internet as well. For those avid music listeners who are used to sitting
at their computer to listen to music, or those who want the portability of an iPod without the use of the headphones, Com One
introduces a new type of radio that is sure to please music fans of any era. Com One’s Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio is the next generation of
radio for those who have become accustomed to listening to music and podcasts on their computer.
The Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio is a modern looking 802.11 b/g device that connects users to their wireless network through a USB port, to a
USB drive or media player and plays their music through a beautiful set of speakers in fairly high quality.
The two stereo speakers offer good sound considering that they are relatively small speakers that are placed fairly close together.
Users may not want to test how loud the speakers can become because they are more powerful than first expected. The speakers are
located on either side of a 128 pixel by 64 pixel LCD screen that is equipped with a play button, pause button and directional button, as
well as a volume knob that will remind many of the volume controls of past radios. The Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio also offers users to use
eight buttons that are designed as presets, a nice feature that many users will find extremely useful.
When users first start up their Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio for the first time, the device immediately brings up a wizard that helps users to
connect to their wireless network. While it may be a bit of a hassle when it comes to entering a WEP or WPA key, since users need to
use the volume know to scroll through all of the letters and number and then use the play or pause button to choose one. Once users
have gone through the entire process of setting up their new system, the Phoenix immediately connects to their network and probably
won’t have any troubles with it from that point forward.
The device comes with a bunch of Internet stations already programmed into it. Users can choose stations by locations, either from
local stations which are within the U.S. or international stations, or by genre of music. For users that can’t seems to find anything that
they like, or that have a favorite station that has a streaming feed that can be connected to, Com One’s website offers a much wider
selection of stations. Once logged into the web site, users can add the feeds to their own radio’s list or import any unlisted feeds
manually. Once they have configured their feeds, users can listen to them via the Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio whether their computer is turned
on or off at the time of listening.
The website’s configuration page seems to be rather unfinished and some users may have a bit of a problem getting it to accept
certain feed that are not on Com One’s list of feeds. Also, there is very little support information aside from copies of the user manual
and a rather short FAQ for users to go through. Hopefully Com One will do a little more work on this over time.
Another problem that users may experience with the Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio is fairly predictable, the unpredictable nature of the feeds
through the Wi-Fi network. There is a chance that at least 50 percent of the stations will have trouble being recognized on the system at
the first configuration. If users are unable to connect to the Wi-Fi network signal with a laptop, more than likely the Wi-Fi radio will also
have trouble connecting.
The book marking feature on the device, which allows users to bookmark their favorite songs is only somewhat useful since only a few
stations support the technology. Users can expect the occasional pause as a station goes into a caching mode.
The Phoenix Wi-Fi Radio runs on the battery life of four AA Ni-MH rechargeable batteries that really doesn’t offer a lot of time. A full
charge will allow users to listen to the radio for about four hours before the batteries need to be recharged. Users will normally being
keeping the radio in one spot, so the use of the plug-in adapter will make sure that the radio is always fully charged and ready to play,
so battery life is probably one thing that users won’t need to worry about. Users will enjoy the ability to have a stationary radio that can
allow them to listen to their favorite music, podcasts and radio stations in their home office or in bed. Players will also be able to listen
without the use of often uncomfortable headphones. Since the device handle MP3, WMA and WAV formats, users have a variety of files
that can be listened to on the radio. Also, the radio is small enough to carry around that house and use anywhere. It is also great to
look at and listen to. However, for those who don’t have an extra $249 to spend on a very useful radio, this may not be the right radio.
For those who have the cash, it may be one of the best radios on the market at this time.
