Internet Radio, by Roberts

I have always wanted a standalone internet radio appliance, and have ordered this one using gift money from my parents:

https://www.robertsradio.com/uk/products/radio/smart-radio/stream-93i

Anyone else here have one? It really looks like the kind of thing some of the empeg crew might have worked on.

Looks neat. I had a Roberts (Akai) reel-to-reel in 1971. Interesting to see how branding carries on. Rob?

If one is going to use a smartphone to control it, why not just stream directly from the smartphone to a Bluetooth or WiFi speaker?

Does it have installable apps, or fixed functions for each (current) streaming technology?

We still have a few old Squeezebox 3 units in service, which still stream Internet radio just fine. We often use an iOS app to remote control them, but the plastic remotes also work for quick volume changes and station selection. It is nice to have a simple dedicated display showing what song is playing.

AirPort Express from Apple allows AirPlay from any Apple device to a powered speaker. I use them to stream Apple Music plus anything else that plays on iPhone/iPad. Output is not just analog audio, digital optical audio comes out of the same 3.5mm jack.

I recently picked up a Google Home. We use it to stream internet radio every single day by saying "Hey Google, play W E T A" and it starts streaming our local DC classical music station. When that turns into the PBS News Hour, we usually keep things going by saying "Hey Google, play classical music," and it chooses a random Google Play Music station. The only thing I don't like is that it seems to choose from a narrow list of stations, but I might need to learn some more voice commands to fine tune things.

Those are all nice options for some situations, but none are really standalone appliances, that one can easily pick up and move from study to garage, workshop, back deck, or holiday cottage.

I too have a "computer" that plays internet radio through tinny little speakers, and likewise a smartphone that can do it if I'm willing to allow the apps to steal/spam my contacts list in the process.

My home theatre system can play internet radio through the 5.1 speaker system, but it isn't really audible when working in the garage.

Thus the desire for a self-contained internet radio appliance. Well, it does need wifi, but that's ubiquitous enough, and it needs mains power or a 12V battery.

We got one for my Mother-in-Law a decade ago, and I've wanted one for ourselves ever since. But that model (Sanyo) has long since been discontinued, and I couldn't find another I liked as much until recently.

Sure, they have a spyware app one can use to control it, but really.. it has a colour display and buttons for that purpose already!

Cheers

Well, there is this sort of thing

I am currently using an Anker SoundCore Sport XL, purchased after a referral from someone on here. Quite compact and decent battery duration, I just stream from my iPhone wherever I want to listen, and of course it could be plugged into USB charger for unlimited playing. Anker sells a range of Bluetooth speakers.

I presume you have arranged your WiFi network to allow your chosen internet radio appliance to access the Internet but not be able to create potential security worries.

Yes, "cloud" appliances like smartphones and internet radios only get access to one of the isolated guest networks here.

Cheers

Do you monitor them for potential botnet activity?

At the moment, the only cloud appliance here is my smartphone (the internet radio is arriving later this week). I keep a casual eye on the smartphone's activity, with a trusted firewall app and CM's Privacy Guard feature to restrict internet activity to known apps.

There might be some unknown botwares hiding in there, but they don't seem to show up on any montoring of the phone and/or internet connection.

The internet radio is quite a bit less likely to become bot-infested, as it lacks the "apps" capability, and is a less common device making it therefore less targeted than others.

Cheers

That was probably me. I really like mine, even though it seems to get pretty bad wireless interference in my home. I don't know if it's my house or my neighbor's (he seems to be juicing his wireless radios).


Amazon has a portable version of their Echo called the Tap. The only difference is that it doesn't have always-listening and it can run on battery power. It can play from sources like TuneIn.

But I totally get using a self-contained "appliance" device like that.