Orange Liveradio review

Orange's first internet radio has a unique online aspect that shows definite potential Tested at £99.00

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

A decent first attempt by Orange, but there’s room for improvement

Pros

  • +

    Price

  • +

    innovative online aspect

Cons

  • -

    Sounds thin

  • -

    not the easiest radio to set up

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Mobile phones, yes, but internet radios? We weren't expecting this from Orange, but once you hear about the Liveradio's features, it all starts to make sense.

The radio has been launched in conjunction with the Orange website . Here, not only can you register your radio, but you can also customise the eight presets simply by dragging and dropping your favourites into the relevant slots.

And the interaction doesn't stop there. There's a button on the radio that will bookmark whatever track is playing. You can then visit the website and download your bookmarks on to your home computer to use on your Orange mobile phone (should you own one).

The radio itself boasts a fairly inviting design that includes a small monochrome display. It is powered via the mains or four rechargeable batteries (supplied).

Connection concerns
Cycling through the menus is relatively painless, although the constant prodding of the d-pad can prove a bit tiresome. Our main grumble was the time it took to connect to two different wireless networks.

It had no trouble detecting them, but even after inputting the relevant security key, still struggled to connect.

As for the sound, it's about average for a portable device such as this - thin and lacking refinement. There's also a lack of quality bass when listening to dance stations.

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