Logitech gave owners of its long-serving Squeezebox music hubs an update Tuesday for MOG's online audio. The addition lets listeners stream on-demand from MOG's whole catalog at 320Kbps, at the higher end of the compressed audio most listen to. It joins Napster and Spotify among the choices for unlimited music on the devices.
Spotify as promised has at last started up service in US. The music streaming provider is currently active in an invite-only beta but has 15 million tracks and the full feature set of its European counterpart. It includes an expanded free service with ads, a $5 Unlimited monthly plan that gives full streaming on the web, and a $10 Premium plan that gives full access on Android, iOS, and other devices like Sonos and Logitech Squeezebox systems.
Logitech has followed up last month's release of its Squeezebox Controller app for Android devices with one for Apple's iOS devices. The app (free, App Store) will work on the iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad. The features are nearly identical to the Android version, with users getting full-fledged control over their Wi-Fi connected Squeezebox devices.
Logitech has announced that it has finally released an Android app that will allow users to remotely control their Squeezebox devices. The utility can be used to control any Squeezebox located throughout a home, though it appears to be limited to devices connected on the same Wi-Fi network. The interface presents several menus to choose from devices and content.
Last.fm on Monday said it was switching to a pay-only model for its Internet radio on Android and iPhone devices on February 15. The strategy will drop the free, ad-supported service and will instead require $3 per month in the US to get the stream on a mobile device, albeit ad-free. Media hubs such as the Logitech Squeezebox and Sonos ZonePlayer line, will also need a subscription, either immediately or by mid-summer.
Logitech on Monday gave its Squeezebox line support for Spotify music. Both the Radio and Touch versions will stream the unlimited music service without needing a computer, including playlists. It should keep the 320Kbps bitrate but, due to the nature of the Squeezebox, won't handle offline caching.
Logitech today removed some of the questions surrounding its Google TV box by posting an official Revue product page. While the company didn't have more details, it explained the name choice as an attempt to reflect the multi-purpose nature of the Android-powered add-on. Since the set-top can do everything a Harmony remote and Squeezebox can, it ought to reflect a multi-act performance like a revue, the gear maker said.
Logitech's long-delayed Squeezebox Touch Wi-Fi home music server is now shipping, though the product page still shows the item as out of stock on Logitech's website. The device has a 4.3-inch touchscreen to help users interface, playing music from their iTunes or MP3 collections or control Internet radio services that include Pandora, Deezer, Rhapsody or Last.fm. Local AM/FM radio is also an option.
The release of the promised Logitech SqueezeBox Touch has again been delayed, according to a Thursday post by a Slim Devices developer on the official Logitech forum board. The last delay promised the touch media server would arrive this month, and Logitech is still keeping mum about why the device has been delayed. Forum members speculate Logitech ran into major software or hardware problems.
Logitech at mid-day said it has delayed its launch of the Squeezebox Touch until February. The company didn't provide an explanation for the delay, which comes after it had already pushed back the launch of the media streaming hub to December in its original September unveiling.
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.
An unnamed Logitech customer has already received the Squeezebox Touch, ahead of any official release date from Logitech itself. The product clearly isn't ready for prime-time, however, as it is stuck in software update mode. The owner isn't getting any help from Logitech's support line, with technical staff refusing to acknowledge its existence. Photos of the multimedia streaming hub's box reveals the official specs, including its 4.3-inch, 24-bit color LCD utilizing capacitive touchscreen technology.
The FCC today spoiled Logitech's plans for a quiet introduction through a filing for tests on a new device, the Squeezebox Radio. The hardware is portrayed as a self-contained media hub with 2.1-channel speakers that would both stream most any Internet radio station as well as perform the usual Squeezebox functions of sharing content from computers on the local network. Most details are unknown outside of the existence of a moderately-sized 2.4-inch LCD, Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
Logitech is planning to upgrade its Squeezebox media streaming hub with a high-end, touchscreen model. Forum goers have noticed a product listing for a Squeezebox Touch (pictured) and understand that it has a 4.3-inch, capacitive touchscreen that would be used to control most media playback on the network. It would also have room for local storage with music accepted directly from both SD cards and USB; output should involve the usual RCA stereo and headphone jacks as well as digital co-ax and optical for home theaters.
Logitech on Tuesday announced its Squeezebox network music players will now offer the Napster subscription music service. Via their wired or wireless home networks, users will have access to Napster's roughly 7 million-song online library as long as they have active memberships. The service is available both for models with Internet radio support as well as simple network music playback.
Slacker today kicked off the start of its Radio Plus service. The feature aims to solve some of the problems of traditional Internet radio by letting users make an unlimited number of "requests" for the radio station and thus pick the songs they want rather than depend on Slacker's own team. It also lets users skip as many songs as they like and comes ad free versus the sponsored segments from some competitors.
Logitech on Thursday turned its attention to wireless audio courtesy of both a wholly independent Internet radio and speakers built just for notebooks. One of the first fruits of Logitech's buyout of Squeezebox, the Squeezebox Boom can pull and play unprotected music from any recent Mac or Windows PC on a local 802.11g Wi-Fi network but also picks up Internet streaming radio services entirely on its own, including largely free services such as Last.FM, Pandora or Slacker as well as a user's memberships to primarily for-pay services such as Rhapsody and Sirius' Internet streams.
Yahoo today tilted the balance of digital music by announcing that Yahoo Music would switch to RealNetworks' Rhapsody for its on-demand music, replacing the Yahoo Music Unlimited service for subscription services. The move will see existing Yahoo subscribers transition over to Rhapsody accounts over the next several months, beginning mid-year, and will make Yahoo's music services accessible from devices which were previously limited to the Real service; devices such as Logitech's Squeezebox media streaming hub and TiVo recorders will now have access to Yahoo's services. Both companies also plan to collaborate on a la carte downloads in the future.
Logitech tonight followed up earlier announcements with updates to both its Squeezebox wireless music hubs and Harmony universal remotes. The Squeezebox Duet is the first new Squeezebox since Logitech acquired the device's parent company and gives much more control than previous models: the remote (pictured) builds in a 2.4-inch color LCD and gives both more precise control as well as the option of viewing album art, RSS feeds, and other information without turning to a computer or the main hub. A new scroll wheel and simplified interface also helps find content more quickly.
