Pioneer has just launched its own versions of an AirPlay-equipped system, and they’re characteristically bigger and badder than the rest of the crowd.
The X-SMC4-K Elite Music Tap ($479) is pretty similar except for the addition of Bluetooth connectivity. Both allow users to create collaborative playlists using Pioneer’s Air Jam app.
When he was eight, Eli Milchman came home from frolicking in the Veld one day and was given an Atari 400. Since then, his fascination with technology has made him an intrepid early adopter of whatever charming new contraption crosses his path. He calls San Francisco home, where he works as a journalist and photographer. Eli has contributed to the pages of Wired.com and BIKE Magazine, among others. Hang with him on Twitter.
15 responses to “Pioneer Launches Two New AirPlay-Equipped Home Systems”
Still no portable, battery powered AirPlay speakers, eh?? First one to make one gets my money. I want to be be able to use Remote on my iPhone to play music from my iMac to a speaker that I can carry around the house, outdoors for a party or yard work, or even to a park where I can play music straight from my phone.
Why does this not exist yet?
iHome has one. Just released.
http://www.ihomeaudio.com/iW1B…
i’m looking foward for a car stereo equipped with airplay, it would be heaven
dale2000,
Check out the iHome AirPlay iW1 wireless speaker system. Says it will be available Sept. 26. This is a rechargeable airplay unit which allows you to move the unit anywhere within your home.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/0…
Wait why would you pay more for bluetooth when it has airplay? isn’t airplay the same as bluetooth but it also plays videos?
Airplay uses a wifi connection inside your home. Bluetooth would let you stream music but has the benefit of not needing a shared wifi connection & also you can use devices other than your i-device. Airplay is more powerful, but Bluetooth gives you more flexibility.
Quite impossible.
Because AirPlay needs to use a wifi connection. And that’s not exactly portable, is it?
Better to use Bluetooth.
Why?
Wireless routers are $20 at retail. I would say it’s not impossible at all to include wireless router functionality to a radio. Airplay needs a local network, not Internet.