When people were still listening to cassette tapes and compact discs, typical radio stations didn’t have to work quite as hard to reach their audiences. Now that everyone and their mother, quite literally, seem to own MP3 players these days, it’s becoming harder than ever for conventional AM/FM radio stations to stay relevant and popular. On the other hand, Internet radio stations still appear to be quite popular, especially since they can cater to very specific niche audiences and have much lower overhead.
From the consumer point of view, however, you may feel like you need to be at your computer to enjoy these stations. However, with something like the Myine Ira Wi-Fi Internet Radio, you can get your news and music without the need for a laptop or desktop. Let’s check it out!
Features at a Glance
Sure, you could take the route of an iPod or some other MP3 player, but Internet radio can introduce you to new music without costing you any extra money. The Ira by Myine is an Internet radio receiver that will work over your home Wi-Fi network. There is no Ethernet jack on the back, so you will have to use a wireless network. On the bright side, no computer is needed.
The Ira is pre-programmed with over 11,000 Internet radio stations from around the world, as well as On Demand (Podcast) programming. Since there are so many stations, it’s also good that you can store up to 40 stations as your favorites.
Going through the initial connection process, you’ll find that the Ira will work with most conventional Wi-Fi networks, including those with WEP, WPA, or WPA2 security settings.
What’s in the Box?
Looking inside the box, Myine has done a good job with providing the right accessories for the job. The Ira itself is about the same size as a paperback book or digital photo frame, and then you also get a credit card-style remote control, RCA cables, a 3.5mm adapter, AC power cord, and a quick start guide.
Speakers Not Included
Although it may seem like it can operate on its own, the Myine Ira Wi-Fi Internet Radio isn’t exactly complete by itself. Along with the Internet-connected Wi-Fi network that you have to provide, you also need to supply your own stereo system or set of speakers. The Ira does not have internal speakers.
This is a major shortcoming in my books, because it would have been so much better if Myine even included cheap clock radio-quality speakers. As it stands, you need to use the RCA jacks in the pack to connect to a set of speakers or a stereo system. You can use an iPod speaker dock if it has a 3.5mm auxiliary jack.
On-Screen User Interface
You don’t get a full color display with the Myine Ira. Instead, it’s a blue-backlit display with simple lines of text. It’s not the flashiest-looking thing in the world, but this really isn’t all that different than many satellite radio receivers and similar devices.
It’s quite notable that the Ira doesn’t have any hardware controls whatsoever. There are no buttons or switches on the device itself. Instead, the entire interface is done through the remote control. This can a little frustrating if you are right next to the Ira and you can’t even turn it off or adjust the volume.
Since everything is done through the remote and this tier-based menu interface, the user interaction can a little clunky and slow, especially when you compare it to the sleek interface of something like the new Zune HD or iPod touch.
Connecting to the Network
As mentioned earlier, the Myine Ira is compatible with a wide range of standard Wi-Fi networks. If your home wireless network uses WEP, WPA, or WPA encryption, you’re covered. Unlike some other consumer products that connect to Wi-Fi networks, like certain digital photo frames, the Ira will also be able to connect manually to your network if you choose not to broadcast the SSID. This takes a little bit of extra effort, but it does work.
The setup process only takes a couple of minutes and, assuming that you aren’t going to move the Ira from one location to another, you only have to go through this setup process once.
If your home wireless network is broadcasting its SSID, you can make use of the wizard and it will walk you through the process quite quickly. Just like other consumer Wi-Fi devices, like smartphones and netbooks, the wizard will scan for networks in the area and show you their SSIDs.
However, the first screen of the scan will not show you whether these networks are open or protected. This isn’t very useful if you plan on leaching a connection from your neighbor, but it’s not a major hurdle if you are only looking for your own network.
This Keyboard Is a Pain
Going through the menu and the connection wizard isn’t terrible, since you are only scrolling up and down to go through the various options, but entering text is a huge pain in the rear end.
You’ll need to make use of an on-screen keyboard if you need to enter your SSID manually or if you need to enter the network key for your WEP/WPA/WPA2-protected connection. Using the credit card-sized remote, you use the four directional buttons to go to each letter. This takes forever. Thankfully, you only have to endure this once.
Finding Your Internet Radio Station
Since the Myine Ira is preprogrammed to access over 11,000 stations, it can take you quite some time to find the station that you’d like to enjoy. Depending on your musical interests, the lists can be very long.
There are several ways that you can sift through the collection on the Ira Wi-Fi Internet Radio. You can shorten the list based on location, so you don’t get stuck with some stations from the Netherlands or Bolivia if that’s not what you want.
The location-based search is based on country only, however, so I couldn’t narrow it down to Vancouver-based stations; I could only look for Canadian stations. Getting into each country, you can then narrow the list further based on genre. Depending on these choices, you may still find yourself going through countless options, five stations at a time. Pop stations in the USA, as you can imagine, are quite numerous.
And the Radio Service Itself?
Since the Myine Ira is simply an Internet radio receiver and it does not provide any of the content itself, your mileage will vary considerably based on the station that you choose. After picking a station, the Ira will take a few seconds to connect and build up its playback buffer. For the station shown above, the buffer built up very quickly and it stayed strong.
When I tried connecting to BBC World Service News, however, the connection process took much longer (about 6 or 7 seconds) and the buffer never got past three bars. This made for a weaker experience.
Hitting the Info button on the remote cycles through some of the tidbits associated with each station. I left mine on the buffer screen, since I want the signal strength to be seen at-a-glance, but you can also check the genre, bit rate, sampling rate, and so on.
Final Thoughts
The Myine Ira Wi-Fi Internet Radio carries an MSRP of $149.99. I can understand why something like this would be very convenient for someone who is interested in these radio stations and doesn’t want to use a computer to gain access to them, but $150 isn’t exactly a small price to pay for something as specialized as this.
For me, the most frustrating aspect of the Ira was the lack of built-in speakers. In this way, the Ira is “just” a receiver. For me, it seems to be much easier to take an Internet-connected handheld and run an application that grabs Internet radio. You might even be able to run Internet radio through a cheap netbook and gain so much more functionality than “just” the free music.
If the Ira were cheaper and had integrated speakers, I may have felt otherwise. As it stands, I can’t recommend it to anyone other than those who desire the Ira’s very specific functionality.
Pros
- Free access to over 11,000 stations
- Support for on-demand podcast content
- Connects to hidden SSID networks
- Simple but attractive design
Cons
- No built-in speakers
- Interface is clunky
- No hardware buttons on Ira itself
- Expensive for “just” an Internet Radio receiver
Overall Rating: 6.5 / 10.0
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