What the future folds for network audio

OK, now we know what is an internet radio. What's the future look like? Why not look at what Sony's (arguably the biggest audio brand) CEO has to say in CES 2009:

Ninety percent of Sony products will connect to the internet and to each other by 2011. Sir Howard Stringer promised the 2009 CES crowd in the show’s opening keynote. Examples were woven throughout the lengthy session that smartly kicked off with a stand-up routine by Tom Hanks: a WiFi CyberShot camera that goes on sale today and can send images directly to Bravia sets as well as online; the next-gen Sony Dream Machine, an always-connected clock radio produced with the folks at Chumby; video that can move between the Bravia and the PSP; Gracenote, which can manage music content across platforms; and so on. But seamless only works when everything around it is, well, seamless. For instance, Sony’s Cyber shot demo worked only because, unlike mere mortals in the ballroom, it had access to a wireless network. The Chumby radio will wake you up with the latest music video from Bruce Springsteen—as long as your home network is up.

Does anyone need more persuasion?

What is an Internet Radio?

What is an Internet Radio? - this is the first question I hear in India, when I tell folks that we are making chipsets that power stand-alone Internet Radio devices. Internet Radio is an audio broadcast service that is accessed via internet. Internet Radios are different from on-demand file serving and from podcasting, in the sense that it offers listeners a continuous stream of audio, where the listener have no control (much like terrestrial or traditional radios). However the distinct advantage of the internet radio, is that its accessible from any place that has internet connectivity (though there are some licensing issues which we would look into) and is particularly popular among expatriates and among listeners that are not happy with their local stations.

Want to try? Visit vTuner and get instant access to over 11,000 internet radio stations.

Some of the popular internet radio services include Pandora, Rhapsody, Sirius, Last.fm etc.,

How does one listen? The easiest way to listen is from a PC that is connected to the internet. However, there are several standalone devices and AVRs (Denon, Pioneer etc., in the market that can be used to play the internet radio by connecting directly to internet through WiFi.

About the Wireless Channel

I make a living by working in the area of (mostly) software development in Telecom/Wireless. This blog is an attempt to capture the underlying technologies, standards, trends, devices in the market and just about everything that is happening in the wireless world.

Thank you very much,


RamP!
ramp.ramp@gmail.com