Bugs Beset New Table-top Wi-Fi Internet Radio
LONDON -- Software bugs have put the “future of radio” on hold at least a month, the developer of the $500 Radiopaq Rp5 tabletop Internet receiver told us late Thursday. In a one-to-one briefing before a London party to “celebrate the launch of Radiopaq’s new home audio platform,” Radiopaq President Prash Vadgama admitted the Rp5 on hand was a dummy simulating software needed to access and display the existing Radiopaq portal, which carries global audio broadcasters to PCs.
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Radiopaq had said the launch would “showcase the kind of technology industry experts had predicted would be available no sooner than 2009” -- then warned no working model might be available because “our efforts to get them out of China have not been helped by the Olympics.” A sleek, lunchbox- size unit with five speakers, the Rp5 has a pop-up LCD that displays channel selections.
Vadgama spoke frankly in private Thursday evening. “Manufacture cannot start until we tell the factory how to make it. And there have been software glitches. We have developed our own applications and interfaces for use with custom chips -- because we don’t want to look the same as everyone else with an Internet radio,” Vadgama said. “Any new software will have bugs and we are still working through them. We'd rather delay for a while than deliver a puppy and have people say, ‘Great idea, pity it doesn’t work’. The application interface will work with other chips, and we will license that. We expect samples for review in mid-September, with sales in late September.”
Before the bug emerged, Radiopaq said France would be the Rp5’s next market in September, then the rest of Europe, with the U.S. next. “There is definitely a plan to launch in the U.S.,” a spokeswoman told us. “This will probably be next year but nothing is confirmed, as Radiopaq would like to wait to see how the sales go in the U.K.” By that time, Tivoli Audio’s $600 NetWorks table radio should be available. It’s set for fall delivery in the U.S. and elsewhere, and similarly connects by Wi-Fi to a PC to give owners access a pre-existing database of radio stations available globally via Internet.
Though also still “under development,” the Radiopaq Web site offers a taste of what the Rp5 tabletop radio promises to deliver (www.radiopaq.com). The one-stop portal for radio stations, podcasts, news and weather information offers users options for searching and organizing personal favorites. The Rp5 tabletop radio will mirror the site, for direct access without a PC, and has a small flip-up display for navigation and information. Podcast play can be paused, and the Rp5 gets over the air FM and DAB, where available. The radio uses the uPnP standard to play music from a PC, synchronizing with the Radiopaq Web site so favorite programs, news and weather are always up to date.