Squeezeboxes gets Pandora

Internet radio provider Pandora and personal peripheral maker Logitech on Tuesday announced a partnership that will give owners of Logitech's wireless music systems, including the Squeezebox and Squeezebox Duet, as well as the Transporter, free access to Pandora's service. The arrangement is the first to offer the Internet service at no charge, but later this fall will expose users to advertising that will essentially pay for the subscriptions.

Logitech previously charged users on a subscription-basis for access to Pandora and other web-based radio services through its SqueezeNetwork, which did not require computers to be on, requiring only a wired or wireless network connection. The players use the 802.11g Wi-Fi to stream music over the Internet or from users' computers.

Users can register to Pandora and listen for free over their PCs, though they will have to listen to advertisements. For a $36 annual fee, Pandora eliminates all external advertising. The service has 15 million registered listeners and is also available on mobile devices such as the Squeezebox and Apple iPhone.

The Logitech Squeezebox Duet is priced at $400, with the Squeezebox priced at $300. The Logitech Transporter network music player costs $2,000.

By Electronista Staff