AirPlay

Last month iHome unveiled its second generation wireless AirPlay speaker system for iOS devices, the iW2. The company announced this week that it is now available.

iHome's iW2 is an AirPlay wireless speaker system that uses your Wi-Fi network to connect and control your iTunes library, allowing you to listen to wireless audio anywhere in the home. It has a USB port for charging and music playback from your iPad, iPod and iPhone with any iPod USB sync cable and dock. Sound is great too, thanks to SRS Trubass sound processing which is custom tuned to two full-range speaker drivers.

iW2 features include:

• Wirelessly stream music from iTunes, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch via Wi-Fi
• Plays and charges iPad, iPhone, or iPod via USB port
• SRS Trubass sound processing custom tuned to two full-range speaker drivers delivers exceptional audio
• Easy network configuration with free iHome Connect app
• Firmware updates via Wi-Fi
• Ethernet connectivity

The iW2 is available now at retail outlets and on iHomeAudio.com for $199.99.

This week Logitech unveiled the UE Air Speaker featuring AirPlay for wireless, uncompressed music streaming from an iOS device connected to your Wi-Fi network. The first speaker from Logitech Ultimate Ears, it delivers high-quality audio thanks to its dual tweeters and woofers and custom-tuned acoustics.

Simply dock your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, follow the on-screen instructions to download the Logitech UE Air app, enter your Wi-Fi network password and you're set! After the initial setup, any iPhone 4s, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch (2nd, 3rd or 4th generation), iPad, iPad 2, or iPad (3rd generation) with iOS 4.2 or later, or any Mac or PC on your network with iTunes 10.1 or later is instantly connected. The UE Air Speaker also has an Apple Dock Connector, allowing you to charge your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch while you play music. Read more

iHome on Wednesday announced a new wireless speaker system with Airplay – the iW2.

Available on April 1, the iW2 is an app-enhanced AirPlay wireless speaker system that uses your Wi-Fi network to connect and control your iTunes library, allowing you to listen to wireless audio anywhere in the home. The iW2 has a USB port for charging and music playback from your iPad, iPod and iPhone with any iPod USB sync cable and dock. Sound is great too, thanks to SRS Trubass sound processing which is custom tuned to two full-range speaker drivers.

"Many whole home audio systems require a significant investment from consumers and, until recently, a certain level of technical skill as well," said Evan Stein, Director of Marketing, iHome. "Easy to set-up, the iW2 offers a cost-effective entry into the world of wireless home entertainment without sacrificing quality or functionality."

The iHome iW2 will be available on April 1, 2012 at Best Buy, Crutchfield and select Target stores, and at iHomeAudio.com for $199.99.

CES 2012 is over but coverage from the trade show certainly isn't. New from Griffin Technology is Twenty, an audio amplifier for Airport Express. Twenty will send digital audio from iTunes – wirelessly – to an existing set of speakers using an Airport Express wireless base station and Apple's AirPlay wireless audio/video protocol. Twenty does this by capturing the AirPlay stream, decoding it, and then sending the lossless, amplified sound through speakers. Cool, huh?

Twenty boasts a zero-configuration audio set-up that streams Apple Lossless sound from iTunes or any other AirPlay-enabled app (Pandora, Spotify, last.fm, etc.) to the your speakers via a low-profile digital amplifier. It features a 2.1 channel sound system with 20 watts output per channel and also supports a powered subwoofer with an automatic active crossover at 80 Hz.

"The Griffin Twenty is the easiest, best-sounding solution for consumers who have speakers that are not AirPlay-enabled but still want to stream high-fidelity audio wirelessly," said Mark Rowan, President of Griffin Technology. "Not only can users stream from their iTunes library, they can easily connect with any AirPlay-enabled iOS device."Read more

A brand new gadget with incredible sound is now available for all your wireless needs, whether it's for your laptop, iPhone or iPad! The JBL OnBeat Air ($249.95; available now) uses Apple's Airplay wireless technology, so no matter where you are in your home, you can stream music from an iTunes collection or Internet radio station. This versatile music player features digital sound processing equalization with dual Phoenix full-range transducers to produce a room-filling soundscape, and includes an adaptable docking station to fit an iPad, iPhone or iPod in portrait or landscape mode.

AirPlay makes it easy to tap into your iTunes library wirelessly through the OnBeat Air. How do you free the music on your computer? Just open iTunes, select the JBL system in the AirPlay menu and start streaming to the OnBeat Air. Or you can pull your iPhone out of your pocket, select the OnBeat and play tunes stored on your phone. Watch a movie with your iPad on your lap and the OnBeat Air delivering the finely detailed soundtrack.

And you're not just limited to music files. The OnBeat Air can play Internet radio stations that you access through iTunes, or audio from apps on your AirPlay-connected device — including music services like PANDORA Internet radio, Spotify, and Rhapsody.Read more

Marantz just announced a special promotion for owners of the NA7004 Network Audio Player. From now until December 31, 2011, owners (and new purchasers) of the NA7004 will receive an AirPlay upgrade, a 20% discount coupon for HDTracks, and a free HDTracks Audio Sampler, plus a $100 Visa Reward Gift Card….all for simply registering at the Marantz website (www.us.marantz.com/airplay). You can't beat that!

Don't have this critically-acclaimed audio player yet? The Marantz NA7004 is a completely different type of digital music player that connects to your home network and dramatically improves the audio performance of music vs. standard players from virtually every source – including CDs, portable music players, iPhones and iPods, and Internet radio, as well as from online services like Pandora, Rhapsody, or Napster. With the NA7004, no matter where your music comes from, it will sound the very best that it possibly can. You can even get better sounding music from Bluetooth-enabled devices wirelessly, using the optional Marantz RX101 module.

"Marantz is a company that was founded on providing the very best music listening experience possible. Today's digital music revolution brings an incredible amount of freedom and convenience to music lovers," noted Jim Ludoviconi, Brand and Product Manager for Marantz America. "The Marantz NA7004 utilizes advanced sonic technologies that deliver all the power, dynamics, range and audio purity possible with digital music – just the way the artist intended it to be heard."Read more

iHome announced that their AirPlay speaker system, the iW1, will be available on September 26, 2011.

Thanks to AirPlay wireless audio streaming technology, you can listen to music anywhere you have a home Wi-Fi network. The iW1 can receive music from AirPlay sources such as iTunes, iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad and also supports charging and local audio playback via USB by using the USB sync cable that comes with new iPods and iPhones.

Compact in size, the iW1 boasts Bongiovi Acoustics Digital Power Station (DPS) technology and includes four active speakers, giving the system premium audio performance.

iHome's iW1 AirPlay speaker system will be available for $299.99 on September 26, 2011. AirPlay requires iTunes 10.1 or later and iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 4.2 or later. Get more information at www.ihomeaudio.com/iW1BC.

Bowers & Wilkins this week announced the new Zeppelin Air App, the world's first iOS AirPlay app. Built for use with the company's Zeppelin Air speaker dock (but can be used with any Apple AirPlay device), the app builds a social music community playlist by bringing iTunes libraries from multiple iOS devices together wirelessly. What does this mean? You can have your iPad, your friend can use his iPhone, someone else can bring along their iPod touch - and the iTunes content from each device joins together, allowing you to build a customized, community playlist, which is streamed to any AirPlay-enabled music player.

The playlist is managed on your iOS device, where it can be edited before sending tunes wirelessly to your music player. No Mac or PC is needed to use the app; only a Wi-Fi network. Available now, you can download the free Zeppelin Air App from iTunes.

"There are many fantastic mobile apps that allow you to stream music, but the Zeppelin Air App is the first of its kind that enables users to share music and create collaborative playlists with friends, mobile device to mobile device," said Paul McCarthy, of app developer Aurnhammer. "Bowers & Wilkins has essentially created a wireless, virtual jukebox."

You can now get Denon's N7 Networked Music System in black, as well as the original white "mod style". The N7 consists of the RCD-N7 CD Receiver and SC-N7 Stereo Loudspeakers and now comes with a free AirPlay upgrade, usually priced at $49.99. With the free AirPlay upgrade, you can stream your iTunes music library from a Mac or PC on your Wi-Fi network, as well as music stored on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

In addition to AirPlay, the N7 includes other networking features, such as Internet radio, support for the Napster music subscription service, and "Party Mode". Party Mode allows you to stream music from an attached iPod to up to five Denon audio components on your Wi-Fi network – giving you whole-house music. Of course, it also plays CDs, AM/FM radio and has a top-mounted iPod dock. The sound is top-notch too, thanks to the N7's full digital processing, which provides a pure signal transfer for optimum audio from all sources.

The new RCD-N7 CD Receiver is available for $599 and SC-N7 Stereo loudspeakers sell for $199/pair. For more information, visit http://usa.denon.com.

The free Sonos Controller for Android app is now available for download. First announced in February, this much-anticipated app allows Android users to control their Sonos wireless music system all around the home using their smartphone.

Using the free Sonos Controller for Android app and your Sonos S5 wireless music system, you can play songs from online music services, Internet radio stations, and, of course, your personal music library. The app also allows you to control the volume, play the same song in every room, or choose different songs for different rooms. You can even search for songs and stations by typing or speaking using Sonos' new music voice search feature.

The Sonos Controller for Android works on any Android smartphone running Android 2.1 or later with a screen size of HVGA 320 x 480, WVGA 480 x 800 or WVGA 480 x 854.

In addition to announcing the Sonos Controller for Android availability, Sonos just released Sonos System Software v3.4 which features support for Apple AirPlay music sources, iOS multi-tasking and more. Read more