Sony Expands AirPlay, Bluetooth Speakers

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 1/30/2012

LAS VEGAS — Sony jumped on the AirPlay bandwagon in a big way at CES.

The company added AirPlay to two more wirelessnetwork HomeShare speakers, bringing the AirPlayequipped selection of HomeShare speakers to three. Sony also added AirPlay to an iPod-docking speaker and expanded its selection of iPod-docking speakers equipped with embedded stereo Bluetooth.

The HomeShare line gets the new SA-N310 and larger, higher powered SA-N410, both with 360-degree sound dispersion and HomeShare control from Sony apps loaded onto Android phones and Apple’s iOS devices. The 410 adds built-in subwoofer. They’re due in the summer. Pricing was unavailable.

Like all HomeShare speakers, the new models incorporate built-in Wi-Fi to stream music from DLNAcertified PCs and NAS drives, from a wireless iPod dock, from select networked Blu-ray players, and from select AV receivers and iPod-docking HTiBs.

For these models, Sony’s apps let consumers use their Android or Apple iOS device to select the songs they want to stream from a DLNA-certified PC to up to seven HomeShare speakers throughout the house, each playing back a different song.

In iPod-docking speaker systems, Sony launched three models, which also dock with and charge iPhones and iPads. One features AirPlay, and two others feature stereo Bluetooth. All three are due in March.

The lowest priced model of the trio is the RDP- 200i with Bluetooth, expected to retail at an everyday $199. It comes with two-way speakers and fullfunction IR remote.

The $249 RDP-XF300iP speaker with Bluetooth adds built-in rechargeable battery, FM tuner, and retractable docking mechanism. The $399 RDPXA700iP lacks Bluetooth but adds AirPlay. It also adds built-in subwoofer.