Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox
by Aluratek
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List Price: Our Price: $13.98 You Save: $5.02 (26%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox
Customer Review: Listen to overseas stations at home, and home stations overseas
Summary: 5 Stars
I was feeling nostalgic, remembering listening to BBC radio dramas when I was in college in Europe. I've tried to find them online with no luck.
Then I bought this tiny gadget.
I plugged it into my computer's USB port, and it's like going back in time. It works just fine on my computer running Windows XP. I can listen to radio dramas from the UK, music from Virgin Radio, Celtic stations from Ireland, and other favorites from around the world. I can also explore stations I've never heard of from pretty much every country on the globe.
Mind you, this device isn't perfect. It can take a few seconds for a radio station to start, sometimes you'll find a dead link, sometimes the sound drops a bit, though usually not much and certainly not as much as any other form of radio streaming I've found. Despite the drawbacks, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is missing a favorite radio station from another country. There's no reason to feel homesick anymore.
Likewise, if you're traveling with your laptop and you like to listen to American radio, you should probably take this with you. I've been in countries where I've had the hardest time finding anything on the radio I liked. With this device and a laptop with an Internet connection, you can take this comfort from home anywhere you go.
Customer Review: Great Product/Disappointing Stations
Summary: 4 Stars
Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox (Black)
I had read about this product in the New York Times and it seemed too good to be true. Immediate access to over 13,000 internet radio stations worldwide. As world music fans, it was perfect for my wife and I so I ordered one at Amazon.com. When it arrived, we plugged it into the computer, and immediately had music streaming in from Africa, Asia and South America. The device is great, 5 stars, and works perfectly. It's easy to use and the menus are very clear. The problem is with the radio stations. Many of the available radio stations are pretty bad, unexpectedly playing the same American and European pop music. We did find some really good music but what is frustrating is that if you hear some music you like, there is no way to figure out what it is, who the artist is. Some of the stations have websites that you can click on while listening, but so far none seem to have playlists of the songs they play. Very frustrating. Buying the device, we were hoping it would be a great way to discover new music from artists unknown in the US. We areindeed hearing the music, we just don't know what it is.
Customer Review: A neat product, but it's finicky
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this product as an alternative to satellite radio and I'm fairly pleased with it. While some people may wonder, "Why even bother when there's websites, Pandora, etc". The reason is because it's VERY convenient and fairly user-friendly. You plug it into a USB port and it lists all of the stations by country, genre, etc. You name it, it's probably there. It takes a lot of the hassle of trekking around the internet for radio stations. Better yet, you can rate stations and save favorites, so it's easier to find gems in the thousands of stations since you can look at recommendations.
While I say the interface is user friendly, the software isn't always that way. I had a bit of trouble getting this to run because the user-account control popups would come up constantly, asking me to load the software off the USB even though I've already done so (the actual usb drive comes up as a CD-ROM - presumably because you're not REALLY installing stuff on your computer). It got to the point where it wasn't usable. Turning off the user account control prompts solved the problem, but if you want security, this device isn't for you.
Once you do get it to work, the sound is awesome, and it's a snazzy little device.
Customer Review: Worth the money
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought one in March 2010 for $7.99 w/free shipping directly from one of the same stores that sells them through Amazon. The price was so good I just had to try out one of these little gadgets. I'm sure if you look around you can find a good price. They do sell used ones on Amazon Prime for $9.99. It works as advertised on all my computers:
PC1: Windows 7 64bit (Gateway)
PC2: Windows 7 32bit (Dell)
Netbook: Windows 7 Starter (Toshiba)
I find it much more convenient than searching for stations on the web, or using other software solutions. A big advantage of this device is that it uses very little resources. On the netbook & Dell PC it doesn't use more than 12,000kb RAM. A web browser playing media can easily use up to 100,000kb. That can be a significant factor. Your netbook/laptop batteries will last longer. On the Dell PC I couldn't run Photoshop and have a web browser open at the same time. With this device I could still listen to internet radio while I did graphics work. It uses slightly more memory (up to 20,000kb) on the Gateway, but it's still considerably less than a browser.
Customer Review: Good, but could be better
Summary: 4 Stars
The Aluratek Internet Radio Jukebox is great for finding & surfing radio stations around the world and playing them through a single interface. It performs this task very well. I had it up and running on my home PC in no time, just as advertised. Reasons I didn't give it 5 stars:
- The interface itself is clunky, cryptic and a bit slow. It's easy enough to use, just kind of awkward.
- It does not necessarily work on "locked down" office workstations. Although it doesn't need to install software to run, it does need to put a special driver in your Windows directory. Not a deal-breaker by any means, but something to be aware of.
All in all, the Internet Radio Jukebox is great for exploring Internet radio stations. If you'd like that process made simpler and more convenient, then you'll probably be happy with it. Otherwise, it's no different from just bookmarking your favorite stations with your Web browser.