First touchscreen Squeezebox

Logitech this morning unveiled two expected but major updates to its Squeezebox network media streamers. The Squeezebox Touch is its first hub with a touchscreen and uses the 4.3-inch display to provide a much more flexible interface for playing music, whether from local Macs and Windows PCs or from Internet streaming like Last.fm, Rhapsody or general Internet radio. Its size better displays album art and lets users browse photos on the network.

The Squeezebox Radio's design doesn't have the photo support but instead is meant to recall the simpler forms of earlier transistor radios with a self-contained speaker system and large control knobs to select items through the onscreen menu; it's seen as ideal for browsing Internet radio stations. Built-in music playback controls and presets speed up access to more common tasks.

Both Squeezeboxes can use either 802.11g Wi-Fi or Ethernet to reach the network and support a relatively wide range of audio formats, including common formats like AAC and MP3 but also rarer ones such as Apple Lossless and Ogg Vorbis. They can similarly feed in any raw audio source through a 3.5mm aux-in jack.

The Squeezebox Radio ships earliest of the two and arrives this month for $200. Logitech doesn't expect the Squeezebox Touch until December and will charge $300 for its features.

By Electronista Staff