Cisco targets Sonos with consumer "blitz"

 

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By Stuart Turton in Las Vegas

Posted on 8 Jan 2009 at 01:22

Cisco has pushed into the wireless home audio market, as it readies a "blitz" on the consumer market over the next three years.

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The first stage of this assault arrived in the form of the Cisco Wireless Home Audio system, which allows users to stream music to speakers in different rooms over a Wi-Fi connection.

The system utilises a 802.11n router, allowing it to stream the music in a lossless format, meaning no compression or degradation takes place between the source and speakers.

There's also integrated support for a number of music services, including Rhapsody, and an optional iPod dock will allow users to play content directly off their device, or through iTunes.

"We are really committed to this market and we're putting the whole company behind it," noted CEO John Chambers at the launch. "We will be very aggressive."

Indeed, Chambers is hoping to boost the consumer businesses by between $5 billion and $10 billion over the next few years.

Chambers says the company will be trickling out new consumer product announcements over the next year, with its principal strategy being to undercut the prices of its opposition's products, beginning with wireless audio specialist Sonos.

The Cisco Wireless Home Audio system will begin at $999 for a bundle connecting two rooms.