Element Aireo Audio Player

[Kent Pribbernow]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.soniqcast.com/portable.html' target='_blank'>http://www.soniqcast.com/portable.html</a><br /><br /></div>The Aireo from SoniqCast is essentially an iPod on steroids. It boasts a number of features that any digital audio geek will truly love; including a built-in FM stereo receiver, FM Transmitter (which allows you to play your music on car radio, ala iTrip), 802.11b WiFi, and dual headphone jacks. The Aireo works with Microsoft's Windows Media player, MusicMatch Jukebox, and Audible software. It evens allows users to wirelessly copy music from their PC right to the player itself. No wires or other impediments. <br /><br />There are however a couple gotchas. The Aireo only supports VBR MP3s (whatever that is), and WMA audio formats - not Apple's AAC. And it only offers 1.5GB of internal storage, which isn't going to go very far unless you have a modest sized music library. Still, it is a very impressive piece of hardware. <br /><br />I couldn't locate the official pricing of this product, but Amazon has it listed for $199. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/aireo.jpg" />

[Felix Torres]

VBR = Variable bit rate

Its an improved MP3 spec that dynamically changes the sample rate within a song so certain parts get encoded at a high bit-rate and others at low rates depending on the complexity of tge waveform.
It produces (theoretically) smaller MP3 files at a comparable quality.
It is basically a super-set of the original MP3 spec (as opposed to its follow-up mutants like MP3pro) that has been around for years; if you read the fine-print in the docs, you'll find most quality digital music players support it as a matter of course.

As a rule, players that handle VBR MP3 can handle Fixed bit-rate MP3 files, but the converse is not necessarily true for older, or cheaper, hence the quote of VBR support.

The Aireo sounds like a decent contender in the micro-drive player arena with some nice advanced features like the FM transmitter and receiver, built-in Wi-Fi, and dual headphone jacks. Price and functionality is competitive but size and capacity are problematic: I found no reference to size or weight and the one picture of the player in use suggests it is larger than the typical microdrive players and is about the size of the larger capacity (20+ GB) players.

Maybe the version will have a HD that justifies the size...

[sylvangale]

Best Buy sells this on their website for $199, but they are currently sold out.

I was really interested into this until I read read through the user feedback comments on Cnet.

Note that it's main feature of a built in radio transmitter is also a con for both those who posted on the positive side of the fence.

Some Cons:
No radio presets
Built in radio tranmitter said to be inferior to stand alone ones.
USB 1.1, but WiFi also an option to transfer files.

[dkackman]

I bought one of these guys right when it came out, and not to sound like I work for the company (which I don't) a couple of points in it's defense:

The latest ROM update includes radio presets.
I've had no trouble with the radio transmitter.
It plays non-VBR MP3s just fine.
Having only USB 1.1 has not been a problem as I leave this thing in my car and it synchronizes with my music collection automatically each night.

The WiFi capability also makes up for its relatively small storage capacity (it does have an SD slot BTW).

The features of the ROM version that came in the box were still iffy, but the latest update has resolved almost all of the problem I saw. Plus the desktop syncing software does a really nice job of setting up playlists and rules based syncing schedules.

All in all I gotta give this thing 4.5/5 stars.

[Felix Torres]

I bought one of these guys right when it came out, and not to sound like I work for the company (which I don't) a couple of points in it's defense:
All in all I gotta give this thing 4.5/5 stars.

So, how big is it, anyway?
Size and weight?
Battery life?
Tactile feedback on the buttons?
Readability of the backlit display at night?
Inquiring minds want to know if you're willing to share.

The wi-fi synch sounds cool.

[sylvangale]

Cnet review:
http://reviews.cnet.com/SoniqCast_Element_Aireo__1_5GB_/4505-6490_7-30790880-2.html?tag=tab

[Felix Torres]

Cnet review:
http://reviews.cnet.com/SoniqCast_Element_Aireo__1_5GB_/4505-6490_7-30790880-2.html?tag=tab

Thanks.
It is big.
But the controls may make it worthwhile if they do a 4Gb version before Christmas...

(Early scouting for gifts...)

[dkackman]

So, how big is it, anyway?
Smaller than my iPaq 1945 in height and width but a bit thicker.

Size and weight?
Exact dimensions from the box are 2.8" x 4.5" x 0.9" - 6.8 oz

Battery life?
Probably it's biggest downside right now. Before I got the in car charger I had to bring it in to charge about twice a week. This includes about 1 hour of playing time per day and the rest on standby, with a sync operation every other day. Since I only use this in my car, and now have the lighter adapter it's not an issue for me.

Tactile feedback on the buttons?
Buttons are simple rubber pads with a good feel (you know when you've clicked them and they're not hard to press).

The UI is relatively easy to navigate and has improved significantly with the two ROM upgrades I've gotten since I opened the package.

Readability of the backlit display at night?
It is an djustable, blue back-lit LED. No problem reading at night.

Some other cool features:
FM band scanner that will pick the best frequency for broadcasting to the car radio.
FM power is adjustable.
WiFi hotspot locator (given that this thing has an XScale 200 mHz CPU I'm wondering what sorts of fun stuff they may end up doing with the WiFi feature).
Car start/stop autodetect (supposed to know when the car is running and start/stop playing. I've only had mixed results)

[Felix Torres]

Car start/stop autodetect (supposed to know when the car is running and start/stop playing. I've only had mixed results)

Now that is interesting...
Sounds like the firmware coders are getting clever.
Definitely worth keeping an eye out for the follow-up products...