Fremont, Calif. – Logitech’s Squeezebox lineup of networked
music players will get its first two models equipped with color LCD displays, one
of which will also feature LCD-touchscreen controls.
Like other Logitech Squeezebox
models, the $299-suggested touchscreen-equipped Squeezebox Touch and the new $199
Squeezebox Radio stream DRM-free music stored on a network PC via wired
Ethernet or built-in wireless 802.11g. Squeezebox models also stream hundreds
of Internet radio stations via networked broadband modem and such Internet
music services as Rhapsody, Napster, Pandora, Slacker and Sirius Internet Radio.
Both ship in September.
The $299 Squeezebox
Touch Wi-Fi music player connects to existing stereo systems or to powered
speakers, as did the $299 Squeezebox Classic that it will replace. The Touch features
4.3-inch color touchscreen to select and play music and view album art and
photos. It supports a variety of digital music files, including high-data-rate
compressed files, uncompressed files and losslessly compressed files.
Compared to the Classic, the Squeezebox Touch adds color
touchscreen, viewing of PC-stored photos and photos from photo-sharing site Flickr,
and USB port and SD card slot to access
music and pictures stored on flash drives or memory cards.
The $199 Squeezebox Radio,
a tabletop radio with amplifier and single two-way speaker, will join the $299 Squeezebox
Boom tabletop radio, which features amplifier and two speakers. The new 5.12-inch
by 8.66-inch by 5.04-inch Squeezebox Radio, available in black or red, adds a color
screen with ability to display album art, photos from Flickr and photo screen
savers.
Both new models also
feature a new social-networking feature that lets Facebook users share music
recommendations, view friends’ recommendations and view photos from Flickr as a
slideshow.
Logitech’s existing
Duet wireless multi-room-audio system also has been upgraded with Facebook and,
on its handheld controller, the ability to display photos from Flickr and a
networked PC.
