Showing posts with label internet radio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet radio. Show all posts

7/07/2012

Slacker G2 Personal Radio Player Dock Review

Slacker G2 Personal Radio Player Dock
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The home dock has been a key missing accessories. Hopefully there will be a car dock as well. The home dock provides fix audio-out so this means that the volume must be controlled by the boombox, stereo or whatever you are using to listen. It also has a variable volume headphone jack, plus you can use almost any 5 volt USB cable with mini tip to power the dock. I am using a Motorola Razr AC power adapter and it works great. If you use the USB cable included with the G2 plug it into the dock and then into a computer it will allow you to charge the G2, but also you can add mp3's or you can refresh your station.
Now with the latest G2 firmware update, you have the ability to have the backlight come on when docked and powered. You can also have the G2 only come up when a song changes which as another cool feature.
You can also use the dock without power, though the backlight will not stay on, unless you set the G2 to have the backlight always on, but you can set it to turn on when a song changes. This allows you to use the dock and also make use of the G2's battery. Always charging it without every draining the battery is probably not a good idea for long term use.
The dock is well worth the $29.99.

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Get the most out of your Slacker G2 personal radio player at home with the Slacker G2 Dock. Easily connect the Slacker G2 to your home stereo or computer speakers, and charge the player while you listen. The Dock also connects to your PC to refresh your music and transfer songs.

Charge Your Slacker G2 You can charge the Slacker G2 while it's docked. Use the G2's USB cable to connect the dock to your computer's USB port or to the G2's AC adapter.
Refresh Your Slacker G2 Refresh your Slacker stations while the Slacker G2 is in the dock. You also can listen to music while you are refreshing the stations, whether you are refreshing via Wi-Fi or USB.
Play Your Slacker G2 Through Your Stereo Enjoy music from your Slacker G2 through your home stereo by connecting the dock to the stereo. Using the included cable, just connect the 1/8-inch mini jack to your G2 and the RCA cable to your stereo input and free yourself from the headphones for awhile. A 1/8-inch mini jack to 1/8-inch mini jack is also included for use with computer speakers, etc.
Transfer Music from Your PC to the Slacker G2 You can transfer your personal music files (MP3 and WMA) from your computer to your Slacker G2 when your player is in the dock. Use your Slacker's USB cable to connect the dock to your PC, and you're all set.
What's in the Box Slacker G2 dock, 1/8-inch mini jack to RCA cable, 1/8-inch mini jack to mini jack cable, quick start guide

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5/13/2012

Slacker G2 4 GB 25-Station Personal Radio Player Review

Slacker G2 4 GB 25-Station Personal Radio Player
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I bought one of the first generation Slacker Radios, and while it is very cool, the form factor (similar in size to an iphone) was a little too big for the gym or even walking around. The G2 is a perfect size, while still maintaining a readable screen.
In case you are new to the Slacker concept, you create your own custom radio stations by selecting artists, and Slacker provides music from those and other similar performers. You can also select from the many Slacker stations. While listening to a station, you can push a "favorite" or "ban" button so that Slacker learns your preferences.
The best part of the Slacker player is the Wi-Fi feature. Before going to bed, I plug in my Slacker Radio to charge along with my other stuff. I hit the connect button, and I'm done. The Slacker radio makes a Wi-Fi connection, and refreshes all the radio stations with new music. Everyday I start out with a newly loaded mp3 player, incrementally better suited to my musical tastes due to the use of the favorite and ban buttons. If you subscribe to the premium service, hitting the favorite button also saves a copy of the song to the player.
Obviously you can "refresh" any mp3 player through the use of playlists, but I never have that kind of time. All my other players are basically static, loaded with the music I first downloaded to them. And unlike downloading music you have selected to an mp3 player, with the Slacker you are exposed to music that you may not know or did not think to download.
For me, with no time or desire to plug my player into a computer and juggle songs in and out, the Slacker is the perfect player.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Slacker G2 4 GB 25-Station Personal Radio Player

The Slacker G2 plays all of your personalized Slacker Radio stations on one sleek, ultra-portable player. Whether you listen to one of more than 100 expert-programmed Slacker stations or custom stations that you create, the music evolves as you listen. New songs are personally selected for you and automatically loaded on the Slacker G2 so your radio stations are always ready to play wherever you go.


Personalized Radio The Slacker G2 plays all of your Slacker Radio stations on one sleek, ultra-portable player. Whether you listen to one of more than 100 expert-programmed Slacker stations or custom stations that you create, the music evolves to match your tastes as you listen.
Effortless Create your own unique radio experience with Slacker Personal Radio. You know what you like--Slacker knows how to deliver it. Slacker's Internet radio offering is built on the expertise of DJs from all over the country, and just by listening, you make Slacker even better at delivering the music that you love.

Music Discovery Perfect your listening experience using Slacker's exclusive personalization tools. With different buttons, you can tell Slacker which songs are your favorites and which you never want to hear again. Fine-tune any station to get more hits or more fringe; request older artists over new. Album reviews and artist bios come with every song and are delivered right to your Slacker G2.

Advanced Radio Clocks Slacker DJs operate using a proven method of picking and mixing songs to deliver excellent musical variety that complements your tastes. This patent-pending DJ technology is embedded in the Slacker Portable to create the very best radio stations. The more you listen, the better it performs to deliver new music you'll love.

Slacker Basic Radio: Free Take the world's first-ever personal radio player with you for nonstop, customized music wherever you go. On the Slacker Portable, store thousands of songs for repeated listening, or connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot to get new music instantly. With hours of battery life, the Slacker Portable is built to go where you go.
To offer your favorite music for free, the Slacker Basic Radio service might play one to two ads an hour. That's significantly fewer ads than traditional radio, so you can relax and easily enjoy your favorite music.

Plus, it's all completely legal. Slacker has unique licensing agreements with thousands of record labels to give you free access to a variety of music. By working directly with the record labels, Slacker gets the latest content to ensure your radio stations always stay current.



Upgrade to Slacker Premium Radio If you want even more out of the service, pay just $7.50 per month for Slacker Premium, which puts you in control. What's the difference between Slacker Basic and Slacker Premium? First, Premium subscribers can avoid the ads that played in the Basic service. So, it's an ad-free listening experience.
Next, Premium subscribers have access to Slacker Request Song, which lets you add your favorite artists' songs to your station. Then, use Slacker's fine-tuning controls to indicate how often those requested songs should play.

Third, Premium subscribers have no limits on the number of songs they skip, letting listeners create the exact music experience they want. (Basic listeners are limited to six skips per hour, per station.)

And fourth, as a Premium subscriber, you can save your favorite songs with the touch of a button. Saved songs are added to your library so that you can listen to them any time. You also can save your favorites to your PC using the Slacker Software Player. It's the ultimate personal radio experience.

Slacker Premium Radio at a glance:

Just $7.50 per month
No advertisements
Request songs
Unlimited skipping of songs
Save favorites



Slacker Radio: It's Everywhere With the Slacker G2, get easy access to millions of songs from thousands of artists wherever you are. All of the music you love is automatically delivered to your Slacker G2 at Wi-Fi hotspots or through your PC via USB. You can listen to your music anytime, even when not connected.
Pocket DJ The same personalized listening experience you love on Slacker.com is available wherever you go on the ultra-portable Slacker G2. Slacker DJs hand pick songs for your player and you can use the ♥ and ∅ buttons on the Slacker G2 to further customize your stations. The more you listen, the better the music gets.
Refresh On the Go The Slacker G2 gives you uninterrupted access to your music wherever you are. Thousands of songs are stored on the Slacker G2 to fill up all of your personalized radio stations. That means you can listen to your stations absolutely anywhere.
The Slacker G2 can automatically add new music at hundreds of thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots across the country. Each time you connect, songs that were hand-picked by Slacker DJs are added to your device. Plus, you can select new stations for your Slacker G2 on any PC or Mac with an Internet connection.

Built-in MP3 Player Already have your own personal music library? The Slacker G2 features a built-in MP3 player. You can store up to 1 GB of MP3s on the 4 GB/25-station Slacker Portable, or 3 GB of MP3s on the 8 GB/40-station Slacker Portable. Then, listen whenever and wherever you want. Check out all Slacker Portables.
On-The-Go Playlists Create personalized playlists with your MP3s using the intuitive controls on the Slacker G2. Enjoy the favorites you own in any order you want. As a Slacker Premium Radio subscriber, you also can save your favorite radio songs and play them whenever you like.

Manage your MP3s Use your Slacker G2 with popular applications, such as Windows Media Player, to manage your music collection and transfer your favorite MP3 files from your PC to your portable player.

What's in the Box Slacker G2 4 GB 25-Station Personal Radio Player, Slacker adjustable earphones, carrying case with sport clip, power adapter, USB cable, quick start guide, preloaded Slacker stations.


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6/26/2011

The Carmen Car Audio Player (Black) Review

The Carmen Car Audio Player (Black)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The Carmen Car Audio Player has some nice features but actual in-car usage didn't work for me. Since that's the whole idea, it is being returned.
Background: I like to listen to audio books while driving. I have an older Toyota Corolla with a cassette player. Many newer books are on CD but enough are still on cassette that I am not ready to change the car radio/cassette player. I figured out a way to listen to CD's using a portable CD player connected to a wireless transmitter from IRiver (good reviews and pricing for IRiver on Amazon). It works pretty well and while not as easy as an in-dash CD, it's not hard. The main problem is that the portable goes through batteries quickly. I rotate 3 sets of rechargeable batteries and one audio book of 10 CDs goes through 6-8 battery changes. A power socket adapter for the CD Player causes too much static with the IRiver. Also occasionally I listen outside the car. so I mused out loud about getting a MP3 instead, easier to carry than the CD player and no batteries.
My wife overheard and thought this Carmen audio player might help. i've only had it a week. Its a neat-looking combination wireless transmitter and audio player in one. At home, loading music and other files onto it is no problem, but in the car it is very hard to use.
I realized after opening that it is really designed for Internet radio in cars not equipped for satellite radio. But it can also do MP3 files. So I decide to try it. Actually, the software that connects to Internet radio that is on the Carmen player is pretty neat and very easy to use. It's a cinch to find radio stations of the type you want, listen to them on the computer and save them to the Carmen in real time for later playback. It much like a DVR for car radio. You have to use your own software to load other music or books, its own software is just for radio downloads.
I managed to load the car audio books and some music onto the Carmen using standard Windows Media Player or ITunes without much trouble. But then the gotcha kicks in. In the car you can't see the screen in normal lighting. After plugging it in, nothing happened, despite twisting the Carmen on its hinge at different angles, pushing into the socket firmly, nothing, or so I thought. I tested the socket with my IRiver and it was fine. I gave it up as a product failure, but then glimpsed words and numbers on the small screen when I drove under an overpass. Ah Ha. In darker areas, you can see backlit blue radio frequency numbers, music or book titles and tracks. It's very small but readable. But in normal daylight, even cloudy days, it is absolutely, totally unreadable, much worse than a digital camera LCD in sunlight. You can't see so you can't change music or book chapters or radio station saved files or radio station freqencies unless you drive at night or in deep shade. You also can't lock in a favorite unused radio frequency for playback; you have to reset the frequency each time by holding in the change button until you find your desired frequency. That's a pain.
I'm stubborn, so I determined to listen anyway. Unfortunately, the static that accompanied the spoken words and especially music on different unused radio frequencies was too high for comfort. Radio station recording were a little better but not much. My IRiver is much superior as a wireless transmitter. I'll go back to my CD player. Maybe I'll try a regular MP3 player with the wireless transmitter.
So in summary, getting music and radio and audio books into the Carmen audio player is essy, but actually listening to them in the car ia a flop. It's going back.


Click Here to see more reviews about: The Carmen Car Audio Player (Black)

Record FREE Music From Thousands of Stations. Carmen's exclusive, easy-to-use software makes downloading and storing your favorite programming quick and fun. Select the type of programming you want to hear. Choose from music, sports, talk, news and lots more! Connect Carmen to your computer with the included USB cable and let it find hours of your favorite programming for you automatically. Connect the Carmen to your computer with the included USB cable. Double click on the Carmen application icon in the folder on your computer's desktop. Pick your favorite genres; search or browse over 42,000 stations around the world. Recordings are saved on the Carmen. Insert into your car's 12V adapter. Connect to your radio via FM transmitter (or the included AUX cable.)

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