Audio Briefs

IRVINE, CALIF. — About a year after it had originally planned to sell a pair of Internet audio devices for the home, AudioRamp announced a strategy change in which it will offer its products only on an OEM basis to other manufacturers, at least for now. The products, available now for OEM, are the iRad-S shelf system and the iRad-C, an audio-component-style device that plugs into an A/V system. Both devices stream music via the Internet from more than 5,000 Web sites through a free AudioRamp service. They also play back music stored on an internal 6GB hard drive. Stored music can be downloaded directly from a Web site or ripped from a CD. The shelf system features a single-disc CD drive, AM/FM tuner and built-in amplification. The component lacks these attributes. They are expected to retail for about $600 and $549, respectively.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Evolution Technologies has begun shipping a portable FM/MP3 player whose electronics are contained entirely in a headphone. The NeckPhone, incorporating 32MB of embedded memory, retails for less than $250. It's available at the company's Web site (evolutionrocks.com) and at J&R Music World in New York City. National retail outlets will offer the product beginning in the summer, the company said. Additional memory can be added by plugging in MMC cards.

TIGARD, ORE . — EdgeAudio will change its name on August 3, to Aperion Audio so it can register its brandname worldwide. The company's web address will change from edgeaudio.com to aperionaudio.com. The company markets its own home theater speaker brand exclusively on the web through its own web site and through other online merchants.