Acoustic energy Internet Radio review

The next time you're tempted to chuckle when your elders and betters refer to their radio as 'the wireless', check first that they haven't treated themselves to Acoustic Energy's Internet Radio.

The small black and silver box may not look cutting edge, but it connects to your home wireless network and can play streamed radio stations from across the globe.

The Internet Radio supports the 802.11b/g wireless standards and can connect to networks protected by WEP and WPA encryption. Its controls aren't particularly intuitive, but most functions are available with just the jog wheel and a couple of buttons. We found it easy to set up once we'd grasped how to navigate through the menus.

Once on the internet, the radio connects to a gateway service run by Cambridge-based Reciva to download station information. From the Stations menu you can browse stations by content (such as talk or dance) or location. Finding a station you like is quick and easy if you're choosing from the four Algerian listings, for example, but scrolling through all 728 American stations takes some time.

Eight preset buttons let you store and recall favourites quickly, but there's plenty of fun to be had simply by browsing for the most obscure-sounding stations. We were intrigued by Japan's Elvismen Radio Merengue, but sadly this was the only station we found that wouldn't stream.

The Internet Radio requires nothing more than a wireless broadband router to work, but it can access music in shared folders on any networked PC. It supports a wide range of audio formats and works without the need for server software. One superb feature is its ability to tune into on-demand streams such as those from the BBC's Listen Again service, which makes radio programmes available for a week after broadcast. After thorough testing, we now consider ourselves experts on the recent goings on in Ambridge.

Although it's light enough to carry around the house or garden, the Internet Radio can't work from battery power. Those with a wired network will also be frustrated by its lack of an Ethernet port. Sound quality is fine through the headphone socket, but there are no tone controls and the built-in speaker could benefit from more treble.

Acoustic Energy has used modern technology to create a product with cross-generational appeal. It implements internet radio better than anything we've seen, making it ideal for ex-pats who long for a fellow countryman's voice. While it's a good product, though, it could be better and cheaper.