Don't panic just yet. Wait and see, it is very early days for the Logitech UE brand.
I am sure this is *not* going to be the only device from Logitech that uses the usesmartradio.com web site and UE Music Library server software. That would be a huge waste of opportunity and resources. I am actually quite optimistic that this merging of a headphone and portable speaker brand with the Squeezebox technology will bring "network music steaming and sync" to the mainstream. It will become "easy to set up and use" consumer electronics rather than sitting in a "geeky computer/hi-fi crossover" niche. That will give it broader availability, wider marketing and a better chance of acceptance by the general public and hence a a long term future as Sonos's first serious competition. It is Sonos's Play:5 and Play:3 "boombox" units that have widened their appeal to the mass market and it is what they are marketing most vigorously in the UK. However they are seriously over-priced and a competitor is needed to bring the entry cost down. That is what Logitech have a chance of doing with the UE brand, if they get it right. Logitech cannot comment, because they never comment on products in development, but if there is not -at least- one more UE "usesmartradio.com / UE Music Library" (UEML?) device available before December I will eat my proverbial hat. Personally I would like to see a "Touch-like" player first, but with UE's portable speaker and headphone heritage in mind I think it is more likely to be a portable stereo boom-box to complement the Smart Radio. I also imagine it will more closely resemble the UE portable bluetooth speakers rather than the old Squeezebox Boom, so a bigger redesign would be needed and hence it would take longer to bring to the market. Eventually I am sure there will also be a speaker-less player, but suspect this will be the last new product line as it will have least mass-market appeal. As a "geeky computer / hi-fi crossover" myself I will miss Squeezebox when it finally goes, however I fully understand Logitech's reasoning in shifting its focus to the consumer electronics mainstream where, in my opinion, this technology rightly belongs. Ikabob wrote: > What good is it if one desires a COMPLETE music system when all you can > synch are multiple UE Radios. In order for the UE system to be a > complete home stereo audio system there must be a device > (Touch-equivelent) that connects your main stereo components to these > little monaural radios. And what good is having stereo capabilities in > the kitchen or bathroom when to do so you must have TWO UE Radios. I > know my wife would object to that as do I. Who would actually think this > is cool??? > > By LOGITECH not producing a Touch-equivalant for the stereo system they > have lowered themselves in the marketplace and they no longer are > competitive with SONOS but are more like the GRACE Internet radio. I > believe that the sales of these radios are going to be limited just like > the GRACE radio. It's hard for me to believe that LOGITECH really wants > to go in that direction in that they have had the technological savvy to > be more than that. I don't think they want to lose that vast > audio-affectionado marketplace. I still believe that LOGITECH will not > let this full system capability fade away. Why would they? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TheLastMan's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=16021 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=96188 _______________________________________________ Radio mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
