Wireless music systems like the Sonos, Apple TV and Squeezebox have made it easier than ever to get music streaming wirelessly across your home or office. British hi-fi maker Naim built its UnitiQute to do just that, accepting audio from a variety of sources both wired and unwired, and producing clear, sharp sound in any setting.

This all-in-one music hub is heavy — around 13 pounds — but it’s small enough to easily fit on a desktop or bookshelf. The UnitiQute has an integrated 30 watt-per-channel amp that pumps out tunes from a slew of sources: FM and web radio, CD players, flash drives, iPods, iPhones and networked music from laptops and storage drives.

Naim has been building amps for 40 years, and its experience shows. The UnitiQute produces a balanced, open sound that provides punch where it’s needed, but also brings out the nuance and detail in complex recordings. I hooked the system into my Definitive tower speakers with built-in subwoofers, and it proved plenty powerful, with an impressive soundstage and well-defined sound.

The UnitiQute has a bright bluish-green display which can be read clearly from about six to eight feet away. Other than a headphone jack, an input jack and USB port, that’s it for the front panel. You’ll need to pick up the remote even for the most basic functions. The remote does everything, though: it lets you change the settings (networking, inputs, etc.), as well as view and select album, track, artist and other music data.

A better option, though, is using your iPod touch or iPhone to control the action. To do so, you need to install a Universal Plug and Play server (in this case, EyeConnect) on your computer, and you need to install NAIM’s “n-Stream” app. Surprisingly, when you go to download it in the iTunes store, you’ll find yourself short $36 — a tough swallow after dropping $2,000 on the hardware unit.

The app lets you browse and select tracks from your music libraries to be streamed through the UnitiQute right there on your Apple touchscreen. Once these two apps are up and running, the UnitiQute can read all the music and radio stations in iTunes, or from any NAS drive on your network. The performance is surprisingly smooth and snappy — a one- or two-second delay when switching tracks, and no dropped connections in our testing. When you touch the top of the screen, the bit rate, sample rate and other track info appears. All in all, pretty slick.

If you want to hook in a CD player or another component, the UnitiQute has a number of analog and digital inputs, and a preamp to connect to an external amp — although with 30 watts per channel, it will do a fine job with most speakers. If you want to play tunes from your iPod, you can connect it via the USB slot on the front of the UnitiQute, and since it flows through a digital connection, you can control playback with the remote. You can also use a flash drive loaded with music, and pop it into a USB slot on the face of the UnitiQute. The albums show up on the display, and the response is quick, so you can flip through the tracks in a snap.

At $2,000, the UnitiQute isn’t for the DIY crowd — U.K.-built hi-fi has never been for budget-minded buyers. But if you want a compact high-performance, plug-and-play, all-in-one music player, it’s tough to beat.

WIRED Multiple inputs and network connectivity give you lots of music options. Low-key looks, but built like a tank. Big, balanced sound.

TIRED $2,000 and they charge extra for the n-Stream app?

Photo: Jonathan Snyder/Wired

A new version of Rdio’s iPhone app is available, and if you’re a fan of the music streaming service, you should download it immediately. If you haven’t yet turned the corner on subscription-based streaming, this update makes it worth a look.

Some of Rdio’s best tools for discovering new music were previously only available on the website, but the new app now includes these tools, vastly improving the mobile experience. It’s also more stable and easier to use.

For those of you new to Rdio (“ar-dee-o”), here’s the deal: It’s an on-demand, cloud-based jukebox. You search for an artist, an album name or a song title, and you can click on one of the results and start listening immediately. The service has around 8 million songs available for streaming. Sure, there are some holes in Rdio’s library, and other services go deeper. But no service has everything, and Rdio is deep enough for almost everyone. You can hook up with your Facebook and Twitter friends and see what they’re listening to, and you can share playlists with each other.

For $5 a month, you can listen through your desktop browser. For $10 a month, you can also listen through your iPhone, BlackBerry, Android phone, Windows 7 phone, a desktop client or a Sonos system if you have one. The $10 plan also enables you sync tracks to your mobile phone for offline listening. Whether Apple’s new subscription policy will change Rdio’s pricing is still a question mark.

Full disclosure: I’ve been an Rdiohead for the last six months or so. I have the website pinned as an App Tab in my browser at the office and at home, and I log at least two or three hours of streaming per day. I also have the app installed on my old iPhone 3G, which is Velcroed to the wall in the kitchen. I stream through my Jambox while flambéing my crêpe suzette.

This level of devotion comes from the same guy who only a year ago was constantly arguing that subscription-based streaming, rental, and other cloud-based jukebox horse pucky would never, ever work. I was strictly a “if I can’t download the files, I won’t pay a dime” person.

I tried them all. To me, MOG is meh, though others love it. Spotify is interesting, but it’s too flaky for me here in the states. Too many hoops.

Now, I give Rdio $10 a month. The things that really turned me around were Rdio’s discovery tools on its website — the social aspect lets me see what my friends are listening to, the recommendations are surprisingly decent, and the New Releases tab in the web app lets me stream just about every new album the same day it hits the stores. Yes, calling up your faves instantly from the search box is a big draw, but these little darkened corners — browsing the automated recommendations and checking out new releases — are where I spend the bulk of my time on Rdio. For me, it takes all the pain out of discovery and all the risk out of buying new music.

And this is why I’m excited about the new iPhone update — Rdio has finally baked those extra features into the app.

The old iPhone app, which the company launched with, wasn’t much to talk about. It was difficult to navigate and it was buggy. It did let me see what my friends were listening to, but the recommendations weren’t there and the new releases were harder to dig out.

This week’s update, which appeared in the iTunes Store on Wednesday, changes all that. There’s a new dashboard that looks like the Facebook app’s dashboard. It lets you jump into New Releases or Recommendations with a tap. There’s a big search box at the top. Icons can be trashed or re-arranged. There’s also a new icon to browse Top Charts, but (surprise!) the wider Rdio community has the same terrible taste in music as the general populace. I’ll stick to my friends, thank you.

I was given the opportunity to test the app on my iPhone 4, and I spent the last couple of days listening to full albums both over Wi-Fi and over AT&T’s 3G network in San Francisco. The sound quality on 3G is still good — a little crunchy during the delicate bits, but overall quite decent. Wi-Fi sounds stellar.

General usability is better too. The coolest new item is the persistent player widget at the bottom of the app. If you wanted to get to your current selection in the old app, you’d have to dance through the menus. Now, you just drag the player up from the bottom of the screen from anywhere within the app.

Lastly, the update is iPhone only, so if you’re a Droid or a Dell Venue Pro user, you’re stuck with the old code for now.

So if you’re not yet an Rdio person, strike while the iron is hot. And if you’re a fan — and an iPhone user — this update will make you happy.

WIRED New interface puts the best of the website’s discovery tools into the app. Not nearly as buggy as the old app. Persistent player is a plus. All those jams beamed from space, instantly.

TIRED New app is iPhone only. The library is deep but don’t have everything, so you’ll have to be adventurous. Only works in the U.S. and Canada for now. Some think $10 a month is steep.

Photos by Jim Merithew/Wired.com

We were a bit surprised to find LG’s prototype Windows Phone 7 device for developers, soon to be unveiled officially as the Optimus 7 when released in its production form, hanging out in the wilds of IFA. Nevertheless, there it was, streaming DLNA content to a WiFi enabled TV. LG worked with Microsoft to develop a custom DLNA media sharing capability for its GW910 handset. Just one of the ways hardware partners are able to differentiate themselves on the otherwise locked down Windows Phone 7 platform. It certainly makes sense that LG would play to its strengths in the television industry as it moves to market with the device as early as next month according to our sources. Watch the trick flip-to-TV photo sharing interface in action after the break.

Continue reading LG Optimus 7 Windows Phone 7 prototype flicks photos to TVs, launches October

LG Optimus 7 Windows Phone 7 prototype flicks photos to TVs, launches October originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew this was coming and here it is: the Netflix application, heretofore reserved only for iPad users, has trickled down to iPhone and iPod touch devices. Version 1.1.0 makes the TV show and movie streaming app universal — so long as your universe is known as iOS — and looks to massively expand the available audience for Netflix’s mobile effort. What are you waiting for, go get it already.

[Thanks, Michael A.]

Continue reading Netflix adds iPhone and iPod touch compatibility in latest app version

Netflix adds iPhone and iPod touch compatibility in latest app version originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Video Games, Playroom

In March, the streaming video game service OnLive promised us it would launch its final version during E3, specifically on June 17. Well, by midnight yesterday not everyone had been granted access, but it appears that the company is rolling out the service in stages. We’re still not seeing a link to sign up for a new account, but some who pre-registered for the service are reporting their accounts have been turned on.

The new service will allow users to play power-hungry video games in their browser, putting the burden for running the game on OnLive’s servers instead of your home PC. The service is launching with 23 games, including ‘Assassin’s Creed 2′ and ‘Borderlands.’ Some of those who signed up pre-launch will be given a year of free access, others will have to cough up $14.95 a month for a subscription, in addition to paying for access to individual games. OnLive is just the latest push, along with QuakeLive, to make gaming on-demand and put an end to the need for high-end gaming rigs. [From: Yahoo!, via: Engadget]

OnLive Goes Live, Brings Streaming Games to Your Browser originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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