Philips Internet Audio Mini System
November 2001Having access to so many stations all over the world is an absolute joy, but the i1000 is not without its drawbacks. iM Networks only streams stations that transmit MP3 music. WMA or other CODEC-based stations will not work. Other problems are the fault of Internet radio market itself. For one, the quality of the sound is not as good as a CD or even terrestrially broadcast radio (though it is not what we would call bad). Each station varies, streaming signals anywhere from 128kbps or lower. The other problem, depending on how you look at it, is the dependency on broadband, which is still averaging $50 per month. A third problem is with the infrastructure of Internet radio itself. Some recent U.S. Federal Court rulings on copyright law may force terrestrial radio stations with complementary Web broadcasts to cease the Internet transmission.
Even so, there are still thousands of Web stations broadcasting successfully at present and if all stays well, the i1000 does a great job at reeling them in.
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