So far I have used a PDA, Nokia Smart Phone, Play Station Portable, N800 (briefly) and laptop - all with various web browsers, web skins and stand alone apps. I now have been using an SBC for 4 months or so as part of the beta test and i say that as a Squeezebox remote the SB Controler wins hands down. And i honestly dont say that with any Bias or fanboyism at all.
The reasons it beats all the other devices for me are; 1) Always on wifi - because it mostly in the dock wifi is always on - other devices like the PSP, PDA etc constantly lose the connection when idle to save power - it takes a few seconds to log on and drives me mad when i just want to flick tracks but have wait. 2) Ergonomics - the SBC can be used one handed, in fact it works best this way. Most other devices need two hands. I prefer to have a beer hand free at all times. I also just feels right using a remote in one hand. 3) Start up time - with say my PSP, i not only had to switch it on, log on to the network, but i also had to load the web browser. With the SBC it's just there - i grab it and its ready to use before my eyes even get chance to focus on it. 4) Knowing where it is - I know where it is - next to my sofa in the dock, not in the car or next to the bed, or being used by someone else for something else. 5) The dock - is a good wieght and lose so i can grab the SBC and drop it back with speed and ease with one drunken hand. The other docks i had for my PDA, PDA etc had to be clicked in with two hands and to much concentration to make me instinctively want to dock it after use. 6) Fool proof, easy to use and WAF - I can let my mates have free reign without worrying about them exiting the browser or something. 7) Speed of UI - very sluggish on most devices, often worse when using a NAS. Once the album art is cached it's lightening fast. Thats no to say it's perfect in the beta firmware, it's one of my main complaints, but we are told its being fix right now. Even if Jive was ported to Nokia Tablet OS or other mobiles OS's, you only really solve #7. Of course whether or not you think its justifies the extra cost is up to you, but just looking at it from the view of it being used as a remote, the SBC is the nuts. But if i had to chose the N810 would probably get my money first - but i would want a SBC too. It's a tough one, but when do we really pay full RRP anyway? RRP to me is just a guide to what not to pay more than. Usually it's kept at it's highest price on official prices so we can all buy a 'bargain' at Bestbuy etc (this is especially true with Logitech IMO). And after R&D is recouped we will probably see it even cheaper. -- autopilot SLIMSERVER:[/B] 7.0 APLHA (WINDOWS XP) + ALIENBBC, SLIMSCROBBLER & LAST.FM. *AMP:* CAMBRIDGE AUDIO 640A (LIVING ROOM) / DENON MD30 (BEDROOM). *SPEAKERS:* MISSION 701'S (LIVING ROOM) / KEF CRESTA 1'S (BEDROOM). *REMOTE:* T-MOBILE MDA VARIO / HARMONY 525 (IR) / *BETA TESTING JIVE REMOTE. [B]Clients:* 1 Squeezebox 3 + Softsqueeze. 'LAST.FM' (http://www.last.fm/user/domrevans/) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ autopilot's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1763 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=42038 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
