Product Reviews

Most Internet radios that claim to be wireless are still limited by the fact that they need to be connected to the mains, but the Pico Wi-Fi overcomes this problem with its rechargeable battery. Add water resistance and a decent speaker into the mix, and you can listen to the radio in the bathroom, garden, or anywhere else within your wireless router's range.

Even if you're out of range, you can switch to the built-in FM radio. There's a sturdy telescopic aerial on the rear which gave great-quality reception in our tests. The battery lasted more than six hours, so you're covered for a full day away from the mains.

Although the

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display shows only two-lines of text, the iPod-style dial makes it easy to navigate through the 6,000+ radio stations available. Unlike Terratec's, Revo's menus are intuitive, and when you come back to the Pico it resumes playing the station you were last listening to. The bundled remote control is essential to get the most out of the unit, as it's difficult entering a long Wi-Fi passphrase using the scroll wheel alone. When choosing a station, you have the option of listening live or, where possible, listening on demand to previous shows.

It's a shame you can't yet access podcasts with the Pico, but this is planned in a future software update, so it isn't a reason not to buy one. The audio input on the front lets you use the Pico as a portable speaker system for an iPod or any other player with a standard 3.5mm connection, such as a Walkman mobile phone. If you want to connect more powerful speakers, there's a headphone output under a rubber flap at the rear. It's worth noting that there's no wired network port (Ethernet), so the Pico can only be used with a wireless router.

Whether you're listening to the radio or your MP3 collection stored on a PC, the Pico is the most convenient and affordable option here.