Gear4 AirZone Series 1 joins the AirPlay speaker market

Gear4 have announced the coming release of their Gear4 AirZone Series 1 AirPlay speaker dock, showing that they are keeping up with their competitors in delivering the latest Apple technology for the masses of music streaming hungry consumers out there.

Gear4 have long been a popular choice amongst iPod and iPhone owners that are looking for affordable quality speaker docks, alongside the likes of Sony and Logitech, which both have announced their AirPlay speakers in the Sony SA-NS500 homeshare airplay speaker and the Logitech Air Speaker. With the Gear4 AirZone Series 1 they are once again looking to bring an affordable solutions to a market that is largely dominated by high-end high-price systems.

On first look one almost gets the impression that Gear4 have taken a leaf out of the iHome iW1 Airplay speaker with their AirZone Series 1, as it got a similar design. Gear4 have been clever and added a physical docking station as well that even allows you to dock your iPad with the unit, and there is a 3.5mm aux in connection for those media players that does not support AirPlay streaming or docking.

Gear4 have also added a built in FM radio to go alongside what is likely to be access to a myriad of internet radio stations as well given its AirPlay technology and WiFi connectability.

Gear4 did not add AirPlay to their recently launched series of officially licensed Angry Birds speaker docks (shame as Airplay and birds fit together!) so it is nice to see that their first AirPlay speaker will be released soon. In fact it is scheduled for a end of November release date and priced at £199 here in the UK.

I will be back with more information about where you can buy the Gear4 AirZone Series 1 Airplay speaker as soon as it is released.

[source: Gear4]

Libratone Live and Lounge Airplay speakers arrive at johnlewis.com

Some good news for those that are fans of Danish design and wireless speakers, the Libratone Live & Lounge have finally arrived here in the UK, including with John Lewis online as well as in the Apple store and through third party sellers on Amazon UK.

Whilst the Libratone Airplay speakers don't come cheap, with the Live starting at £599.95 and the Lounge starting at £1,099 (depending on color option), both of the speakers are unique in their design with their cashmere wool finish, making them look very high-end. Both of them also pack plenty of power and the FullRoom technology ensures that one speaker delivers a room wide sound experience, almost regardless of placement. For the greatest performance it is recommended to place the speaker about 20cm from a flat wall, allowing the sound to bounce of the walls to create a 360-degree sound.

As mentioned, these are not the cheapest of AirPlay speakers in the market, but they are amongst the more stylish, and feature high on my own wishlist at least.