Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox
by Aluratek
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List Price: Our Price: $13.98 You Save: $5.02 (26%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox
Customer Review: I laughed at first... was I ever wrong!
Summary: 5 Stars
A friend of mine had one of these, and I laughed as he explained it to me. Then he let me try it out... and all I can say is that I was wrong.
This Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox is a truly amazing product, and in such a small package. Just plug it into the USB port of your computer's USB port and you'll have access to over 13,000 radio stations from over 150 countries around the world, and there are no no monthly fees to pay.
The first thing that this reminded me of was childhood memories from the 'old days' of sitting in front of my dad's large short-wave radio, listening to broadcasts from radio stations around the world. But the big difference here is that the static and station drift that we got so used to in those days isn't there, form what I've seen in my limited experience with this excellent product.
And get this: there's no software to install. It's true 'Plug-n-Play', directly to your computer's USB port. I understand that it only works on Windows 2000, XP or Vista, unless someone has more info on that than I do. You can also keep a playlist on your computer, and vote for your favorite radio stations among other users. It's "social music networking" at its best, and in a small package.
Have I accessed all of those 13,000+ radio stations from around the world? No, I haven't, for I had just a scant two days to play with this product before returning it. But it was such a fascinating product that yes, I had to get one for myself.
If you want something bigger and more specialized, take a look at the feature-loaded Aluratek AIRMM01 Internet Radio Alarm Clock with built-in WiFi, another interesting product from an experienced company that makes some great products.
By the way, the Aluratek Website has excellent support documentation for those interested. All in all, this is a great little 5-star product!
UPDATE: Have had this Aluratek USB Internet Radio Jukebox for over three months now, and have to say that it's proven to be far better and more enjoyable than initially expected. We've used it on a number of computers now, and it's just one of those interesting USB devices that becomes more than expected.
JW, 12/2008
Customer Review: Great little product, at great price!
Summary: 5 Stars
I discovered this Aluratek AIRJ01F USB internet radio stick as an Amazon promotion. The idea that I could be anywhere in the world but easily hear my local radio stations sounded great. (Or vice versa -- easily find broadcasts worldwide.) After checking the handful of reviews, I decided to take a chance -- hardly a big loss if it didn't pan out. Well, I'm glad I did. It arrived in two days. I opened the package. The instructions said, "Plug it into the USB port." I did (on my laptop which runs Vista) and, lo and behold, the application immediately began to run, and a huge directory of worldwide web radio stations came up, organized in several different ways, and easily searchable. In seconds, I was listening to my home town radio station. One click later, I was checking out a station half a world away!
Then a friend called and, in passing, he mentioned that he never gets to hear broadcasts of his old college's football games, because the school is 600 miles away, and he often travels, anyway. I recommended this! Could he figure out how to get the webcasts without this inexpensive device? Maybe....No, obviously not. This makes finding numerous stations so easy, no matter where you are or what computer you're using.
One issue: I tried plugging it into a secure laptop which runs Windows XP, and the self-starting app did not run automatically. I'm still trying to track down the ActiveX setting which is preventing this. But, no problem, anyway: All you have to do is create a shortcut to the application on your desktop, and then clicking that will start it up.
Nifty and inexpensive little thing, makes staying local, or going global, with your web radio, so easy! These will make great Christmas gifts, too!
Customer Review: Listen to overseas stations at home, and home stations overseas
Summary: 5 Stars
I was feeling nostalgic, remembering listening to BBC radio dramas when I was in college in Europe. I've tried to find them online with no luck.
Then I bought this tiny gadget.
I plugged it into my computer's USB port, and it's like going back in time. It works just fine on my computer running Windows XP. I can listen to radio dramas from the UK, music from Virgin Radio, Celtic stations from Ireland, and other favorites from around the world. I can also explore stations I've never heard of from pretty much every country on the globe.
Mind you, this device isn't perfect. It can take a few seconds for a radio station to start, sometimes you'll find a dead link, sometimes the sound drops a bit, though usually not much and certainly not as much as any other form of radio streaming I've found. Despite the drawbacks, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is missing a favorite radio station from another country. There's no reason to feel homesick anymore.
Likewise, if you're traveling with your laptop and you like to listen to American radio, you should probably take this with you. I've been in countries where I've had the hardest time finding anything on the radio I liked. With this device and a laptop with an Internet connection, you can take this comfort from home anywhere you go.
Customer Review: Worth the money
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought one in March 2010 for $7.99 w/free shipping directly from one of the same stores that sells them through Amazon. The price was so good I just had to try out one of these little gadgets. I'm sure if you look around you can find a good price. They do sell used ones on Amazon Prime for $9.99. It works as advertised on all my computers:
PC1: Windows 7 64bit (Gateway)
PC2: Windows 7 32bit (Dell)
Netbook: Windows 7 Starter (Toshiba)
I find it much more convenient than searching for stations on the web, or using other software solutions. A big advantage of this device is that it uses very little resources. On the netbook & Dell PC it doesn't use more than 12,000kb RAM. A web browser playing media can easily use up to 100,000kb. That can be a significant factor. Your netbook/laptop batteries will last longer. On the Dell PC I couldn't run Photoshop and have a web browser open at the same time. With this device I could still listen to internet radio while I did graphics work. It uses slightly more memory (up to 20,000kb) on the Gateway, but it's still considerably less than a browser.
Customer Review: Internet radio made super simple! Works great!
Summary: 5 Stars
This works perfectly with my Win Vista box (have not tried it with other OS's). I just plugged it in, and a few seconds later, the internet radio interface came up where you can search by genre, country, etc. I had some freinds and relatives over last night when I hooked it up, and in about a minute we were grooving and dancing to this Euro/Dance/Techno station from the Netherlands that was playing some fantastic music i've never heard before! Even my 5 year old was into it! We also tried pulling up some Greek music stations for my father-in-law (who is Greek), and he was blown away by the selection. The sound quality was great as well (for an internet radio station), and this is coming from an audiophile like myself. All in all, a phenomenal product that will open up tons of new music and alternate language programming possibilities for you!