Brits offered first portable DAB+ tuner

By Tony Smith, 14th August 2008

Scottish DAB hand Revo has announced its first portable unit capable of pinking up not only FM, DAB and internet radio broadcasts but also next-gen DAB+ transmissions.

The Pico RadioStation isn't going to replace your MP3 player. It's a compact 167 x 105 x 105mm, but it's designed to be easy to move around the house rather than use on your way to work.

The unit has a lithium-ion rechargeable battery that's good for 12 hours' listening, Revo said. And it's sufficiently "splashproof" for "steamy bathroom" usage.

Revo's Pico RadioStation: ready for DAB+

The RadioStation uses Wi-Fi to pick up internet stations, and it'll grab music streamed from PCs and Macs.

DAB+ improves on DAB by adding the Reed-Solomon error correction coding algorithm and support for the AAC+ compression format. That makes it 2-3 times more efficient than DAB, but at the cost of backwards compatibility.

UK DAB+ broadcasts aren't expected to begin until 2010, though it'll happen sooner in some other European nations. Italy has already started, apparently.

The Pico RadioStation is due to go on sale in the UK on 15 September for £170 ($318/€213).

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