New internet hi-fi devices - Pure and Intempo

- Pure and Intempo with new models

All sorts of product information comes out around the time of IFA in Berlin.
The official announcement of the Squeezebox Boom that I mentioned in the previous blog entry was timed to coincide with IFA opening - and indeed shipping started on the same day.
Other products that were announced around the same time include the Intempo RFI-W and the Pure Evoke Flow.

They are both priced around the same level at the Squeezebox Boom but have a few immediately obvious differences. For example - both Pure and Intempo include regular FM radio.

Pure also include DAB (with promise of availability of future firmware upgrade to DAB+).
The Pure device has a single speaker and, like others in the Evoke range, can have an extra speaker added at additional cost. Another costed option is a ChargePak (rechargeable battery to you and me).
It will be interesting to see where their internet radio database comes from. The front-end to it is at http://thelounge.com but at the time of writing this it is not open. My guess is that the data comes from vTuner but I am less confident about the portal itself. Logic says that it would be a varient on that offered by Frontier-Silicon given the relationships between Pure, their parent, Imagination Technologies and Frontier-Silicon. But perhaps Pure have done their own to differentiate themselves from other brands using FS.

Intempo include an iPod dock and ability to play from SD memory card and USB disk.

Again it will be interesting, to me at least, to see where they are sourcing their internet radio technology from. They used Reciva for their first model, the GX-01, but a few of the early suppliers of badged internet radios are trying things with more than one manufacturer. It is due out at the end of September 2008

Logitech have put a lot of effort into the audio design of their new Squeezebox.


On announcement they published this great document. It contains a lot of technical detail, written in a very easy to read way - Logitech Squeezebox Boom Audio Design White Paper (PDF)
As usual, senior staff from Logitech have been active within the SlimDevices forum to answer questions about the new system. There was a private beta program running since April 2008 with some of the most active community members getting the chance to try things out and give feedback. I think that this approach is one of the big reasons why SlimDevices has both great products and passionate supporters.

It is going to be interesting to see if Logitech can steal a march on the competition by being available a full month earlier.
Will people go for what looks like more ways to listen from Pure and Intempo?
Are the audio qualities of the Squeezebox Boom going to be important?
Will the ability of the Pace device to run on an optional rechargeable battery make it more attractive to the outdoor types?
Will this new activity spur Roku into kicking new life into Soundbridge Radio?
How about Philips - I should really go and have a look at their new model to see how they have moved on since I last tried one a few years ago.

Or - will people seem them as much of a muchness and buy based on what they can find in the shops and which one has the most appealing looks and/or cheapest price?