With home theatre systems, iPods, home entertainment servers and subscription music services, it seems almost retro to get excited about a new radio. But Sanyo’s R227 isn’t just any radio.
It’s a standalone Internet radio that looks remarkably like a hybrid between ever-popular clock radios and those multi-band receivers capable of receiving short-wave, police calls and weather emergency transmissions.
Like clock radios, the R227 is something you might want to put on your nightstand. Or your kitchen counter. After you flip the ON switch, the R227 searches for your home wireless network, connects and makes Internet radio as accessible as local stations.
That’s right. Internet radio without a computer. Although Sanyo isn’t the first to market such a gadget, it is the latest. What’s more, this one just might be the one for households everywhere.
Why would you want a standalone Internet radio receiver on your kitchen counter? Actually, when you consider the receiver allows you to tune into thousands of stations across the globe, maybe the question should be why wouldn’t you?
Unlike those boring, old-fashioned radios of yore, the R227 offers computer-like ways to navigate the plethora of channel choices, including searching by genre or location. With the many “niche” Internet radio stations, there are plenty of choices to satisfy even the most demanding listener. Plus, it also works with terrestrial radio as well.
Although not yet available in the United States, the R227 has garnered great reviews from those lucky enough to take the unit for a test spin.
For example, Los Angeles Times reporter David Colker.
“It was bringing in Bartok Radio, a mostly classical station based in Budapest that segued from an operatic aria (I can’t tell you which one because the announcements were in Hungarian) to a lovely a cappella rendition of the Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’ sung by the King’s Singers,” Colker said.
He described the R227 as having kind of retro look, “reminiscent of the Bakelite used to make classic radios from the 1930s to ‘50s.”
In fact, the only negative other than the unit’s price, which has been described in published reports as ranging from $150 to just over $200, is the unit’s name.
After all, the moniker “R227” doesn’t exactly drip with excitement and pizzazz. At least, not like iPhone, Blu-ray or Xbox.
But who cares what Sanyo calls it? That is, as long as it works as described and makes listening to Internet radio as easy as listening to terrestrial radio.
Or, as Colker wrote:
“That is a lot pricier than most run-of-the-mill clock radios. But they can’t find Radio Bartok.”