Wireless Home Audio Gets Com One Focus
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 7/2/2007
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Com One, known for its Bluetooth accessories, is venturing into the home audio market with a Wi-Fi-equipped AC/DC Internet radio and a Bluetooth adapter for home stereo systems.
The company is beginning to ship its $249-suggested Phoenix IP radio to distributors. The radio, which operates off household AC and included quartet of rechargeable AA batteries, features embedded 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, integrated full-range stereo speakers, and 2x2-watt amplifier in a tabletop chassis that weighs less than two pounds. It streams music from non-subscription Web-radio sites, without the need for a PC, in the MP3, WMA, AAC, Real, WAV and AIFF formats.
The Phoenix is preloaded with 300 URLs, but users can go to Com One's Web site to push the URLs of about 7,000 more Web radio stations to the device. Consumers can also use the Web site to add stations not in Com One's database by keying in a station's URL.
The first-generation model features alarm clock, eight preset radio station buttons, integrated internal charger for portability, spatialization enhancer technology, and ability to plug into any hi-fi stereo system or headphones via analog outputs. The Phoenix is available in black or white.
For other wireless home audio users, Com One launched a $79-suggested Bluetooth stereo receiver that connects to any existing stereo system's auxiliary input to reproduce music stored on Bluetooth-equipped cellphones, other Bluetooth devices or music portables connected to a Bluetooth transmitter, such as Com One's $29-suggested USB Bluetooth transmitter. The receiver is shipping.
Com One is a subsidiary of Baracoda, a maker of Bluetooth bar code scanning and RFID solutions.
