Product Reviews

Scottish manufacturer Revo's product range consists solely of radios, and the Blik RadioStation is the first in the world to combine Internet radio with DAB (digital radio) and FM receivers. We reviewed the Pico Wi-Fi in issue 198 - search for 125454 - and praised its marriage of wireless Internet radio and FM, with battery-powered operation for complete freedom. The RadioStation uses a different chipset, allowing you to choose from over 9000 stations compared to the Pico's 5500. You can also listen to available FM stations, with RDS display so you know what you've tuned in to, and choose from scores of

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high-quality DAB broadcasts including BBC stations. Better still, it supports DAB+, the new standard likely to replace DAB over the next few years.

The Blik is very easy to use from the off. Turn it on and it automatically tries to connect to your WiFi network. You'll need to enter your WPA, WPA2 or WEP password (using the buttons on top or the slim remote) and then choose whether you want to browse Internet stations by location or genre. There's also a Favourites section in the main menu, plus eight presets accessed directly from buttons, just like a car radio.

You can also listen to music from any PC or media server on your network. We found this worked fine whether using Windows Media Player 11 or accessing files on a UPnP network hard disk.

The built-in speaker is great quality, and goes loud, but you can also use headphones or connect a set of speakers. There's a minijack input for your MP3 player, too. Finally, the Blik functions as an alarm clock, with four different profiles for weekdays, weekends, daily or one-off alarms.

The small screen has rather narrow viewing angles, and there's no battery power, but these are the only two criticisms we can level at this fantastic radio. It might seem expensive at £150, but if you love radio, this is as good as it gets.