If you are like 75% of the world, you are currently looking for a holiday gift for that special someone. This posting is all about a great new toy that my wife gave to me for our anniversary. It is the Logitech Squeezebox Boom. This is a replacement for our Bose Wave Radio that we have had in our bedroom for almost 15 years. I loved the sound on the Wave Radio, I find that Bose is behind the times for adding mainstream features. This was true 15 years ago when I could not purchase a Wave Radio with a CD player while several less expensive similar devices had integrated CD players. They were slow to add MP3 support for their CD players and just now have iPod Docks for an additional $50. It is as if Bose thinks that all you need is good speakers and what you will listen to on those devices is an afterthought.
Hence my drive to look for a new radio. You know my love of Slacker and I really wanted one that had streaming music support from the Internet. A quick search on Amazon and BestBuy.com lead me to the Logitech Squeezebox Boom. The basic premise is a clock radio with decent speakers and built-in WiFi support. But that just scratches the surface. Out of the box, it is a little clunky to set up by entering in your WiFi access point and security key. However, at that point, I suggest doing everything from the web at www.mysqueezebox.com. From there you can browse “applications” that you can download to your device and configure just about everything.
My first download was Slacker of course, but if you prefer Pandora you are in luck as it is supported as well. There are lots of applications ranging from Classical.com to Last.fm. If you are a podcast lover, you can download the Media Fly application that allows you to stream podcasts to your radio. I quickly set it up for one of my favorite Podcasts - This Week in Science. You can also download and install the Squeezebox Server to your computer to be able to stream MP3′s from your computer. I believe that this should work across network boundaries, so theoretically you could have the Squeezebox in your office and stream music from your home computer as long as it was also turned on and connected to the Internet. I must admit, I love Slacker so much, I don’t listen to my MP3s much any more so I have yet to fully explore this feature.
It appears that Logitech publishes an application programming interface (API) for developing new applications so hopefully new applications will be added over time. They have an interesting “application” from Queen which is really just an audio commentary off of their new best of CD but an interesting listen. Amazon also has an application that I haven’t tried yet that appears to make it easy for you to purchase CD’s directly from the Squeezebox.
The sound on the device is decent. It does not have the rich bass tones that the Wave Radio has, but it is also about 1/3rd less and has much more functionality. It has a port for an external woofer which I suspect will greatly improve the sound and will likely be on my shopping list in the near future. As far as serving as a clock radio, it allows you to set multiple alarms and schedule the days of the week to be active. You can also select the sound from a library of sounds that come with the device (nature sounds, trains, musical tones, etc.) or any other source such as MP3s, podcasts or Internet radio station. One word of caution, I set it for rain one morning and spent five minutes listening to the downpour outside, cursing the weatherman for predicting a sunny day until I realized it was my alarm… Oh and forget about setting the clock – it gets the time automatically from Internet time servers.
One of the coolest features, however, I didn’t discover until about two weeks after I had been using the device. The Boom does not come with AM or FM radios! However, it receives all of the local radio stations in perfect sound. By searching through the local radio stations you will see a list of all of the streams from local radio stations. I was struggling to listen to the Redskins game on the local ESPN station through the FM radio in my kitchen but received PERFECT sound quality on my Squeezebox through their Internet feed. I also really like to listen to WRBS out of Baltimore (My buddy from junior high Mike Alley is on the morning show). I can barely get it in my car while driving in certain areas but get it perfectly through their stream. I’m assuming that if I were a transplant, I could program in radio stations from other parts of the country if I so desired but haven’t yet tried that.
There are a few down sides to the Squeezebox. First, as a clock radio, it doesn’t display the time when listening to music. It does show you artist/album/track information and have a graphic indicating how much of the song has played. I am still exploring how the volume level is set on the alarms. Because of the number of features that are included there is a significant menu structure that can also be daunting for the technically challenged. It would be nice to have a built-in iPod dock, but can’t say that I really miss it as I spend so much time listening to streaming music instead.
There are three basic versions available from Logitech. I’ve put in links to Amazon, although Best Buy also has great prices if you want to pick it up.
 Logitech Squeezebox Boom All-in-One Wi-Fi Internet Radio |
This is the version that I purchased. It has stereo speakers and a basic remote. Perfect for a kitchen or as an alarm clock. |
 Logitech Squeezebox Duet Wi-Fi Internet Radio |
This is a great addition to a stereo system. Includes are really cool wireless remote control that also shows album art. Haven’t tried this as I just haven’t had the disposable income for a nice stereo system since kids… |
 Logitech Squeezebox Radio (Red) |
A more basic model also good for the kitchen where counter space is at a premium. Includes album art on the color screen. |
