Skye Widget Turns Any Dock Into An AirPlay Receiver

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With the exception of latency, AirPlay beats out Bluetooth audio streaming any day. Fewer dropouts, way better (lossless) quality and less power drain on your iDevice, as it works over the Wi-Fi connection you already have on anyway.

Usually, though, AirPlay speakers are expensive. The Auris Skye is designed to fix that, turning any dock connector into an AirPlay receiver.

With a planned retail price of $69, the Skye isn’t too far above Bluetooth audio adapters in terms of price. It’s a Wi-Fi access point with a 30-pin connector on the bottom. You plug it into any dock or 30-pin-equipped speaker and then you can stream your music wirelessly. This is especially good if you usually drop your iPhone or iPod into a dock that’s hooked up to a proper amp and speakers, as you can now do it wirelessly with the same quality.

Not got an iPhone? It also works with DLNA, and there’s a “direct” mode that creates a Wi-Fi hotspot so you can use it even when there’s no infrastructure network running.

It looks great. If only the Kickstarter pitch video didn’t have the same damn chirpy guitar-n-whistles soundtrack of every other Kickstarter video. Seriously, does someone give that away free or something?

Source: Kickstarter

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