What if anything makes this better than the Grace Wifi Radio?
I've never used the Grace - it may be great - but a couple reasons why
I chose the RCA RIR200:
- All these radios seem to be technology in their infancy - I didn't know
if I'd love it, if it'd stink, or something in-between. This was the
cheapest way ($100) to try it out. The Grace was $70ish more.
(BTW, so far, I LOVE IT!!)
- It included AM/FM. This allowed me to hear my locals that didn't stream,
sporting events that were 'blacked out' from streaming, etc, all in one small
package on the nightstand.
- Since I was happy with my XM XPress - which was made by Audiovox -
I figured I'd give this also-made-by-Avox product a chance.
Also, while RCA isn't considered in the elite by audiophiles,
I've owned a few of their products and they've made me happy enuf.
- Weatherbug was a bit of a factor. While some folks love to hate them,
I've used their software and found their wx alerts to hit my desktop
faster then the NWS alerts hit my local media. Having the temp and forecast
included is a nice touch.
- SLACKER. Does the Grace work with Slacker? I dunno, but it stood out
loud and clear that the 200 does, and Slacker has done more to make
listening to music fun again to me than any source in a long time.
The 200 has rough edges, pros & cons, like all these products do.
I didn't know if I'd like these little internet radios or not. But my 200
has been a very positive introduction. For 100 bucks, the ability
to hear Slacker and thousands of other music, talk, shortwave and
international radio stations, even scanners and ATC, in crystal-clear
audio quality is ahelluvalotafun for a radio junkie!!