Sanyo launches subscription-free Internet radio

We’ve been playing around with Sanyo’s new Internet Radio R227, a Wi-Fi device you can keep on a kitchen counter, bedside table or entertainment room, and access thousands of radio stations from around the world.

We’ve been playing around with Sanyo’s new Internet Radio R227, a Wi-Fi device you can keep on a kitchen counter, bedside table or entertainment room, and access thousands of radio stations from around the world.

Similar in concept to the Hantech Starry 7 and OXX radio products, this new Sanyo Internet Radio R227 ($219) lets you listen to thousands of the world’s radio stations and podcasts – without having to pay a monthly subscription fee as you do with satellite radio. Some are online-only stations while others are online broadcasts of traditional terrestrial radio stations (such as CBC or BBC).

We’ve been trying it out and were pleased with its sound quality and interface. First, you select whether you want to search for stations by country (from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe), by genre (such as Top 40, alternative, country, dance, and so on) or by decade (60s, 70s, 80s, etc.). Quality varies between stations: some might broadcast at only 48 kbps (barely AM-quality), while others are at 256 kbps. Most are around 96 kbps to 128kbps, which is decent.

If you hear a station you like you can add it to one of the eight presets for easy access. The radio also includes an FM stereo digital tuner, clock radio and option to wake to an Internet or FM radio station.

Another bonus: you can also stream digital music stored on your PC to the radio, including AAC, AIFF, MP3, RM, WAV and WMA files.

It appears the software and onscreen LCD menus used by the R227 are identical to the Starry 7 and OXX products, but the stereo sound is quite impressive on this silver and compact unit (measuring just 215 X 140 X 110mm). A wireless remote is also included, as well as a headphone jack, audio output option to a stereo system and Ethernet jack in case you don’t have (or like) Wi-Fi.

Filed Under: Portable Devices