First WiFi MP3 Player

isn't 802.11b (EDIT: are they .a, .b, or .g, either way they are slower) like a lot slower then firewire, and USB 2.0?

aethier

More proof Arn doesn't sleep and is... in fact... a robot.

What a hoot, the guy from Aireo claims the, quite frankly cheap and chincy looking, player is a "potential iPod killer" for some tiny reasons so inane to mention here. It's $300 and only has a 1.5 GB HD? Uhhh, wow, I thought Apple was ridiculous on pricing.

It will appeal I'm sure to uber peecee geaks who want to be in the cool-of-the-moment, other than that, screams of a product that in two years people will go "Aireo who?" (Story of the peecee gadgety world anyways).

I wonder how secure it's WiFi signal is and could someone "borrow" someone elses music collection should one figure out a way to hone in on it? Then again, anyone who buys something this ugly (or is on a peecee in general) usually has zero good musical taste.

The speed of the connection isnt the issue here, its the convenience. Basicaly I dont want a cable sticking out of my powerbook if im wandering around the house on my wifi network. i like the idea that an mp3 player can be plugged into a power source charging away, while I could simultaneously be syncronising songs and files (i use my ipod to carry image files and movie clips around as well as songs).

i think this is a brilliant concept, with the added ability to be out and about in the city, and then pop into a cafe or hotel with a wifi access pointand download a few tunes. or if im away on business in a hotel witha wifi spot, i could log on and purchase some tunes. Ok i know this isnt what this product is offering, but surely its the begining of this sort of procurement through a media devise becoming feasible.

I hope this is the start of more rich features coming to the portable mp3 player market. I'm sure apple have their eye on developments like this, and im sure its just a matter of time before apple innovate again and come up with yet another industry pioneering product.

jay

The Aireo has a number of useful built-in features:

1. Wi-Fi sync of music files between desktop and Aireo

2. It can tune into FM Stations (only available on iPod via add-on)

3. It can use FM frequencies to play music over a home or car radio (only available on iPod via add-on)

4. It has a built-in slot for Flash memory cards to transfer photos from digital cameras to its hard drive (only available on iPod via add-on)

In my opinion, apart from the Flash Memory card slot (which I personally do not see a real need for as it dilutes the focused purpose of the iPod as a music player) I think these are great features.

The iPod is certainly considerably more stylish than the Aireo, no question. The Aireo also has a tiny HD compared to the iPod (1.5GB). The iPod’s seamless interaction with iTunes is also not to be sniffed at, as is the purity of form and function.

However, built-in Wi-Fi capability, FM radio and ability to use FM frequencies are very attractive functions, which I hope the iPod will enjoy very soon.

Clearly Soniqcast see the built-in functionality as a big selling point over the iPod and I think I agree with them. Their website makes a big play on the fact that for the iPod user to enjoy the same functionality you would need to bring a kit bag of Belkin add-ons along with you.

Finally, it will be interesting to know what battery it uses, how long is its charge life and whether the user can easily replace it (again, unlike the iPod).

I still think the iPod has the edge, but the Aireo is great competition that if nothing else demonstrates the need for Apple to continue to innovate the iPod if it wants it to maintain its current dominant position.

Vanilla

i think its a great idea and very nice product.

here we go again with the non-apple bashing....

Originally posted by aethier
isn't 802.11b (EDIT: are they .a, .b, or .g, either way they are slower) like a lot slower then firewire, and USB 2.0?

aethier

Um, yes, wireless is slower than USB 2.0 and MUCH slower than FireWire - what exactly is your point? The point of incorporating wireless is the convenience factor, not the speed. Is your next question going to be, "Isn't the processor used in the iPod like a lot slower than a G5?" ;)

Thanks to the wireless aspect, this player has many features built into it (FM capacilities, etc.) that are only available as ad-ons with the iPod, and also has the Flash component which again, is only available as an ad-on with the iPod.

I agree with the previous poster - this sounds like a really neat product, and I'm just going to sit back and wait for all the non-Apple bashing to start - I'm sure it won't take long....

wireless synching is pretty damn cool. its true - it's not the speed its the convenience.

maybe apple can come out with a 802.11g ipod someday... or even faster.

Cool product. Seems to have some interesting and useful features, though possibly the second rev would be a better buy. I love the WiFi thing.

Interesting how most of the comments in this thread so far are positive, while the story has an overall negative rating on the front page. That suggests, to me at least, that as usual people are rating a product poorly just because Apple didn't make it.

Wireless syncing using 8011b/g is crazy. With MP3 player capacities growing and growing the idea of syncing with such a slow link would be maddening. You have to plug the thing in anyway to charge it, you might has well sync it that way too. Now if it had *wireless charging* I would buy one, but I don't think wireless power has been perfected just yet. Sometimes adding "wireless" to a feature isn't automatically a good thing.

Originally posted by jouster


Interesting how most of the comments in this thread so far are positive, while the story has an overall negative rating on the front page. That suggests, to me at least, that as usual people are rating a product poorly just because Apple didn't make it.

Yah, I agree - it's funny how people simply just rate it negative, yet don't bother on commenting why they think this is such a bad idea...