High-tech in a retro shape

Apr 8, 2008 14:13 GMT  ·  By

Even though Asus is a brand commonly associated with the utmost technological breakthroughs, especially in the field of computing, it looks like it's not nearly enough to make them stay aside when it comes to truly nifty gear. The Asus Internet Radio, codenamed AIR, is the strongest proof that their engineers and designers are quite skilled in producing great consumer products, other than circuit boards and various hardware components.[admark=1]

The Asus Internet Radio is a truly nifty piece of audio gear, which breathes retro styling mixed with highly-advanced wireless technology for a really encompassing multimedia experience.

You get instant access to more than 10,000 web-based stations at a touch of a button, conveniently sorted out by artist, genre and many more criteria, so that you can reach the preferred content in no time. Whether you're hooked in to the local news or world sports, the AIR is the perfect tool for you, with its impressive capacity to store station presets: no less than 250 user-defined stations can be stored in AIR's memory, for immediate playback.

On the environmental side, the Asus Internet Radio comes with a dramatic reduction in the area of power-requirements: while a desktop computer needs a 300W/hr power consumption level and a notebook needs 65W/hr, the AIR works exceptionally with 8W/hr, in a very serious effort to respect the energy resources. On the other hand, all you need is a wireless router and the AIR will connect without the need for a computer; it comes with a built-in buffer easy to set up for 2, 4 or 8 seconds, so that you'll get a smooth listening, free form the glitches inherent in Internet communication.

With built-in sleep timer and backlight, the AIR can also work as your alarm clock, as it comes with snooze functions as well; the sleep timer can be adjusted from 15 to 120 minutes and the display light has 3 intensity steps, for a perfect integration with your bedroom. The casing of the AIR is made of wood, for a pleasant feel and better sonic resonance, while resembling with a traditional radio.

The Asus Internet Radio comes with multi-lingual support in English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese and offers some pretty impressive connectivity options: headphone jack, line in, line out (RCA), Ethernet (RJ45) and DC power jack, letting you send audio from your fav Internet stations to the audio rack for a better, more powerful sound. AIR packs a 5W 4 Ohms speaker and a 26-key wireless remote control. No launch date or pricing are available yet.

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AIR: the Asus Internet Radio
Wooden case with an old-fashioned style, mixed with wireless Internet: the Asus Internet Radio
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