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: Nifty for internet radio, but could be better
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall, I'd say this product is pretty nifty.
The pros:
- Access to thousands of internet radio stations, mostly commercial free. It's wasn't hard to play around and find cool stations I didn't even know existed. Though really, how many of those foreign language stations am I going to listen to if I don't speak the language?
- Plug and play device. All you need is a USB port and no additional software is needed. So once you have your settings/favorites set up you can take this thing anywhere and have music to listen to (e.g., work, home, etc.) And I for one definitely appreciate not having yet another media software player on my computer.
- Relatively inexpensive and it's a one-time cost.
- User interface is pretty straightforward. You can search by music genre (over 50 genre choices) or radio station name. You can even see the top 10 stations (as voted by users) by genre or region. It's easy to add stations to your "my favorites" folder and you can also browse your listening history. You can even see station transmission rates (kpbs) to identify potentially slow stations and there's a button to directly launch a station's website, which is helpful.
- You can vote for stations you like and I think Aluratek adds up all your votes to tabulate their ranking lists. So theoretically over time, really good stations will stand out as more users vote for their favorites.
And now the cons:
- Search and browse functions could be improved. You can't easily sort by region and genre. Similarly the ranking feature (whether its top 100 stations or top 10 by genre, etc.) is a work in progress. I found I spent a lot of time browsing stations that were top 10, but mediocre at best. But since it's user based ratings, hopefully that aspect improves with time.
- This device is basically a storage unit for software. So the sound quality of the broadcast is basically as good as the website broadcasting it. This is unlike a Rhapsody (which I subscribe to) for example, that maintains sound quality through its own network.
- You can't download, record or even see the songs being played. I guess this isn't surprising but that's a huge difference from a pay service like Rhapsody where you can listen to songs with good fidelity and then instantly be able to download ones you like. It would have been nice if there was a rip/record feature to the software that lets you record, even better if you could do it on the USB drive itself.
- It takes up a USB port and you have to remember to bring it around. For my laptop, it seems like it would have been easier to just give me a software download so I wouldn't have to bring any other device around period.
Still, all in all, its a pretty cool little device. If for no other reason than to be able to monitor top stations, search for new interesting ones and do it all in one place.
Customer Review: Super Easy to use, and FUN, makes a great gift too! HEAR the WORLD!
Summary: 4 Stars
Aluratek is known for high quality radio devices, and this is a handy and very affordable member of the Aluratek family.
What I like MOST about this is that it is goof-proof- you simply plug it in to a USB port, the program loads and you are free to explore- there is nothing complicated here.
Like many reviewers, I remember enjoying short wave as a child - my family felt it was important to be exposed to other cultures and far away lands. This is certainly easier to use!
While one can argue that most stations can be found for free without the Aluratec- but would be rather time consuming- this is much easier.
I have used this on my Vista Premium Toshiba laptop, as well as my Acer 10.1 inch netbook running Windows XP - no problems with either- this truly is plug-and-play.
I think it makes a sensational gift too- be it a young person, or a senior or anywhwre in between.
People seem to be delighted by this product, as it has the "WOW it WORKS" factor going for it- you open it up plug it in and you are good to go.
It is also nice to hear news from around the world- I love the notion of hearing real time financial data and commentary from Europe, Japan and China.
You cant miss with this one - get one for yourself and maybe another as a "just because" gift for a friend or family member -this is good!
Customer Review: Great Product/Disappointing Stations
Summary: 4 Stars
Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox (Black)
I had read about this product in the New York Times and it seemed too good to be true. Immediate access to over 13,000 internet radio stations worldwide. As world music fans, it was perfect for my wife and I so I ordered one at Amazon.com. When it arrived, we plugged it into the computer, and immediately had music streaming in from Africa, Asia and South America. The device is great, 5 stars, and works perfectly. It's easy to use and the menus are very clear. The problem is with the radio stations. Many of the available radio stations are pretty bad, unexpectedly playing the same American and European pop music. We did find some really good music but what is frustrating is that if you hear some music you like, there is no way to figure out what it is, who the artist is. Some of the stations have websites that you can click on while listening, but so far none seem to have playlists of the songs they play. Very frustrating. Buying the device, we were hoping it would be a great way to discover new music from artists unknown in the US. We areindeed hearing the music, we just don't know what it is.
Customer Review: A neat product, but it's finicky
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this product as an alternative to satellite radio and I'm fairly pleased with it. While some people may wonder, "Why even bother when there's websites, Pandora, etc". The reason is because it's VERY convenient and fairly user-friendly. You plug it into a USB port and it lists all of the stations by country, genre, etc. You name it, it's probably there. It takes a lot of the hassle of trekking around the internet for radio stations. Better yet, you can rate stations and save favorites, so it's easier to find gems in the thousands of stations since you can look at recommendations.
While I say the interface is user friendly, the software isn't always that way. I had a bit of trouble getting this to run because the user-account control popups would come up constantly, asking me to load the software off the USB even though I've already done so (the actual usb drive comes up as a CD-ROM - presumably because you're not REALLY installing stuff on your computer). It got to the point where it wasn't usable. Turning off the user account control prompts solved the problem, but if you want security, this device isn't for you.
Once you do get it to work, the sound is awesome, and it's a snazzy little device.
Customer Review: Good, but could be better
Summary: 4 Stars
The Aluratek Internet Radio Jukebox is great for finding & surfing radio stations around the world and playing them through a single interface. It performs this task very well. I had it up and running on my home PC in no time, just as advertised. Reasons I didn't give it 5 stars:
- The interface itself is clunky, cryptic and a bit slow. It's easy enough to use, just kind of awkward.
- It does not necessarily work on "locked down" office workstations. Although it doesn't need to install software to run, it does need to put a special driver in your Windows directory. Not a deal-breaker by any means, but something to be aware of.
All in all, the Internet Radio Jukebox is great for exploring Internet radio stations. If you'd like that process made simpler and more convenient, then you'll probably be happy with it. Otherwise, it's no different from just bookmarking your favorite stations with your Web browser.