Once you've registered your Evoke Flow with the Pure Lounge, favourites can be set up quickly and simply. This can also be done on the Flow itself, but a computer's web browser, with its ability to show more information, makes the process considerably easier. We found the user interface of the site really simple and straightforward to use, with all the options and abilities clearly laid out on the home page.
Another useful feature is that whether an option is set up or favourites changed using either the radio or the portal, the two automatically sync with each other. The Lounge and the Flow both enable you to search by station name, genre, location, language and audio quality.
By accessing the Lounge portal, you can set individual preferences
There's a lot of poor quality content out there, so the ability to ignore this is most welcome. It's possible to add your own categories of favourites and store them as ‘my podcasts’, ‘best rock stations’ or whatever you so choose. The Lounge interface can even change its colour to suit your taste. In general, whether using the portal or the Flow to search and load content, be it radio stations or podcast subscriptions, the process is quick and reliable.
Pure also promises that its partnerships with radio stations will deliver increased services and functionality over the coming months, including more unique and premium content. In the meantime, Pure has provided some exclusive audio of its own, known as Pure Sounds. These consist of 100 sounds designed to allow the listener to set a desired mood. Options include seagulls, the human heartbeat or even a thunderstorm. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but it could be useful for creating a relaxing atmosphere to work in or even drop off to sleep to.
Other online options will also be added. The ability to purchase music through the radio and the portal will be available before the end of the year as will ‘tagging’, whereby listeners can request more information on an artist or advert they've heard. New services like these will be made available through automatic software upgrades delivered over the Wi-Fi network.
COMMENTS
MonoPhonic
I'm with the last poster...
It Is a New Device, Whats with making it look like a 40's or 50's radio?
And at that price it better be at least stereo, by itself.
Modern streams are at least stereo, and a surround chip is a couple of dollars each. I can understand the uni-bars for tvs,
that have left, center, and right all in one. But,
A Monophonic Radio (of any quality or source),
will never be on my list of purchases.
Probably sell a crap-load to the "Bose" crowd,
or those that wonder...
"why a sound system HAS to have ALL those speakers?
DUH!
Bill...(with his HALO...[PUN INTENDED])
Because it is really his surround sound.
Naff
Why is it that so many Digital Radios look so unbelievably naff?
They're new, they're modern for f*ck's sake!
So many of them look like so much cheap old-style reproduction tat.
Give me one that looks like a modern device any day and I might be temped to get one.
Re: )))Stereo(((
Showing my age, but as someone who spent years of frustration waiting for Radio 1 to get their own FM stereo slot (rather than being given a few hours Radio 2s), and having to put up with all the best music being in horrid AM mono, I'd never consider buying any form of radio that wasn't stereo.
Unanswered question
The review leaves a big question unanswered.
Will it only play mp* style streams, or will it do real audio too?
If you can't use it for BBC 'listen again' it isn't an internet radio!
Specs are here...
http://www.pure.com/products/product.asp?Product=VL-60896&PageType=Specification&Category=
Using the internet, I clicked on the link to the website and then the Specs tag and OMG YSRLY I found the specs. I think they were left out of the interview because, erm, it was easy to find 'em?
Looks like it answers most of the questions above
- it's DAB now, upgradeable to DAB+ later
- no ethernet, totally wireless (boo!)
- no RCA connectors (just headphone\stereo out\additional speaker out)
- can set up 30 'presets' on the faceplate (30 DAB, FM, Unlimited internet favourites limited to 10 until you use lounge) I'm guessing that it comes with access to things like a 'main directory' but the Lounge is the *real* way to set things up. Not too sure about this, but hey, it's an 'always on wireless device' so I guess it'll work...
- It can be set to WEP\WPA\WPA2 - but we'll have to wait until it's launched to see how easy
- Stereo - can buy an extra speaker (rip off!) to make stereo. For 30 quid? Whoops, that's a bit of a crapthing.
- It's so fecking expensive because we're in the UK and it's for geeks with money to burn. And it looks prettier than the Netgear MP101 ;) Although so saying, I'm not retireing my Airtunes\Airfoil plug just yet. But I may well do so after I've seen this in action.
