Sonos is finally shipping their in-home MP3 player solution, which can be vaguely described as a Rio Receiver on steroids. Each base station has a stereo amp and wireless built in. If you buy a bunch of them, they do mesh network, but you still have to have a PC or Mac somewhere to serve up the content.

The clever part seems to be their controller and the extent to which it provides a seamless, noobie-friendly interface. Note the iPod-like scroll wheel:


The obvious competition would be the Slim Devices Squeezebox, which lacks the built-in amp but costs much less money. There isn't anything like the Sonos controller, although there is PDA software. The Sonos solution looks to be easier for the unsophisticated consumer to use, once it's set up, particularly when they're doing some kind of ad-hoc networking to extend the wireless Ethernet beyond the range of your main base station.

So, any guesses on whether Sonos will take off or flop? They managed to get themselves a cameo (or would that be "paid product placement") on a recent Queer Eye show. The big minuses, as far as I can tell:

- no support for Apple DRM'ed AAC
- no digital audio out (which the Squeezebox has), although they do have analog input
- no display on the box (you have to buy one of the controller boxes)

And, of course, the other competition is the Apple Airport Express. No amp, no screen, but cheap and supports Apple DRM.

I believe this is too expensive to be successful and it is targeting a poorly defined market. I think they are going tor the novice computer user with this product, but I don't think this is realistic.

I think that this type of product still requires too much technical sophistication. Much more computer knowledge is required of the user than with a portable MP3 player because a home network with file sharing and associated hardware is required.

I think that this product could only be adopted in large numbers by geeks, and most geeks will prefer the slim devices offerings for a variety of reasons.

I think that home media servers are still mostly in the bleeding edge of the adoption cycle. Extremely well integrated products like Tivo are changing this.

This product is no Tivo. Much more computer knowledge and setup is required.

Just my $.02.

Jim

Not sure. I doubt it'd be successful in the normal consumer market but maybe in the VAR market. Stuff like this would be setup by a company on contract to the homeowner. It is the same with the lighting systems out there like Lutron. It's expensive and requires a lot of experience to setup properly but once done, it just works and thats what some people out there are willing to pay for.

Sonos is clearly targetting the aftermarket on a budget, versus something esotic like Linn's KNEKT, or even more traditional multi-room in-wall speaker installations driven by a central, multi-channel amplifier. The Sonos market seems to be people who want sound in every room but can't do in-wall speakers and don't have the space for lots of components. How big do you suppose that market is?

Just came accross this on Review gizmodo, thought I'd pass it on.

It's a pretty favorable review, all in all. Still seems expensive for what you get, but if it lets technically uninclined people avoid the expense of a home theater shop's comission, they'll probably come out ahead.

Matthew