ASUS AIR Internet Radio Over 10,000 Stations at your fingertips!
Andy Taylor
Internet Radio is a medium for receiving audio broadcast on a computer or even hand held PDA device while connected to the internet. Since the idea grew in 1994, Internet broadcasting has not only delivered music and talk shows from Radio Stations around the world but also made way for webcasters to establish large followings of the growing number of Internet Radio listeners from studios in bedrooms, basements and garages from just about anywhere a broadband internet connection existed.
Getting the audio to the masses has not been that difficult and can be done usually with software that exists on the internet for free. One of my favorites is Shoutcast which is from the people who developed the popular WinAmp audio player available in a Free Version and feature filled paid version at Winamp.com. Back in 1995 when TechtalkRadio started, we attempted to broadcast our radio show in just about every format available, MP3, Real, Windows Media and even Apple QuickTime. A book, Online Broadcasting Power, that came out around that time featured our Radio Show as an example of grabbing a larger Internet audio base from our flexibility.
In today's times we have seen the numbers of Internet Radio listeners grow as choices for all types of programming are available over the internet. This is not to say that internet broadcasters have had shares of ups and down over the last 15 years, most due to regulations on royalties paid to music artist and record labels for performance of music but mainly for royalties to commercial voice actors that were heard on Radio Station Streams in commercials over the net. Some years ago stations were forced to pull internet streams of their radio stations in fears they would have to pay Voice Actors huge amounts of money for commercials broadcast over the net.
Technology came to the rescue to create streaming from Radio Stations that could be triggered to block out commercials when they ran over the air, on the Internet Stream. During the down time for Radio Stations, small home grown broadcasters picked up the slack and became popular with webcast and radio shows similar to the early days of broadcast radio. With the technology replaced and small webcaster with large audiences, the Internet Radio market is becoming a popular place for not only having fun but for the consumer giving them more choices in many cases for free, just with the broadband connection.
In June, Chrysler announced UConnect Web which will provide in-car Wi-Fi on 2009 models as an option for GPS, mobile phone connectivity and even Internet Radio from pretty much anywhere the car received a connection using the 3G network. While the Automotive Industry is looking at the future for Internet Radio in cars, the desktop has also captured the internet with a new product from Asus called the AIR, Asus Internet Radio. The desktop box looks like a desktop radio however packs a punch with its ability to receive what the company says is over 10,000 stations. I remember as a young boy sitting in my room on Saturday nights DX'ing on my AM radio trying to find stations in faraway places. Now, the ASUS Air would have me busy for life.
The attractive looking radio works with a direct internet connection plugged into the back of the radio to a Ethernet port or a Wi-Fi wireless connection B or G to your home or office network. Hooking it up and connecting to my secured network was easy to accomplish and with the push of the power button, I had stations to find bringing me back to my childhood days. Sound was a lot better than when I was kid however it is certainly not Hi-Fi sound with the Asus Air's single speaker. Surprisingly so, the Asus AIR delivered a richness to the cabinet that allowed me to listen to my favorite Movie tunes channels without having to turn on the computer. A Bright clock can be seen from across the room to really make this a great compliment to the desktop and can also serve as an Alarm Clock.
Rather than shifting through the thousands of stations, Asus has lined them up by Genre, Country of Origin and State. Over 70 genres of stations were listed from Country Music to Talk to Airport Tower Operations to listen to planes come and go. To find the station you would like to check out, all you have to do is scroll through the display panel on the front of the screen with the scroll wheel and easily select you're desired station. If you like the station, you can add it to a favorites list and always located it easily.
The Asus AIR internet Radio plays stations that are streaming in MP3/WMA format and while it has an enormous list of stations to get you started. Users can enter addresses for listening to streams that may not be listed. This was one of the features I was looking forward to the most, however left me the biggest disappointment. The interface was not easy to operate in selecting a new station and I was itching to have a keyboard after entering 12 letters and numbers of internet address with the scroll wheel. In one case I entered a 75 string internet address only to find out it couldn't be brought up. This was Very Frustrating. Asus could solve this with a slide out keyboard on the bottom of the unit or even an Add on Keyboard to a USB port that also, didn't exist.
The Asus AIR Internet Radio is available in two designs A Cherry Wood type case and another in a black finish. Both look nice however we liked the traditional wood type encasement for the desktop. A headphone out jack on the front of the Asus AIR will allow you to listen in stereo with headphones and Line out on the rear panel will allow you to hook up the AIR to a system for playing it on larger stereo speakers or throughout a pre-wired house. A line in connection can give the user the ability to listen to an MP3 player or other device over the AIR speaker.
The Station Database can easily be updated from the AIR and allow the user to find new listings within the genres. While scrolling through the choices, I found Radio stations in Phoenix such as KDKB or even WKRZ in Scranton PA where I guest once in awhile talking about Technology with Rocky and Sue in the Morning.
Lovers of Radio, Worldwide Events or capturing home town internet broadcast will enjoy the features of the Internet Radio from Asus. Aside from the occasional buffering that occurs with the broadcast, which can be adjusted depending on your connection, and the selecting your own station address, The Asus AIR Internet Radio is a fun and useful internet appliance for the desktop. We found the AIR available locally at SWS Electronics and Computers for around $170.
Getting the audio to the masses has not been that difficult and can be done usually with software that exists on the internet for free. One of my favorites is Shoutcast which is from the people who developed the popular WinAmp audio player available in a Free Version and feature filled paid version at Winamp.com. Back in 1995 when TechtalkRadio started, we attempted to broadcast our radio show in just about every format available, MP3, Real, Windows Media and even Apple QuickTime. A book, Online Broadcasting Power, that came out around that time featured our Radio Show as an example of grabbing a larger Internet audio base from our flexibility. 
The attractive looking radio works with a direct internet connection plugged into the back of the radio to a Ethernet port or a Wi-Fi wireless connection B or G to your home or office network. Hooking it up and connecting to my secured network was easy to accomplish and with the push of the power button, I had stations to find bringing me back to my childhood days. Sound was a lot better than when I was kid however it is certainly not Hi-Fi sound with the Asus Air's single speaker. Surprisingly so, the Asus AIR delivered a richness to the cabinet that allowed me to listen to my favorite Movie tunes channels without having to turn on the computer. A Bright clock can be seen from across the room to really make this a great compliment to the desktop and can also serve as an Alarm Clock. 
The Asus AIR Internet Radio is available in two designs A Cherry Wood type case and another in a black finish. Both look nice however we liked the traditional wood type encasement for the desktop. A headphone out jack on the front of the Asus AIR will allow you to listen in stereo with headphones and Line out on the rear panel will allow you to hook up the AIR to a system for playing it on larger stereo speakers or throughout a pre-wired house. A line in connection can give the user the ability to listen to an MP3 player or other device over the AIR speaker. 
