Re: Sonos

Higuero Alvaro wrote:
> ...But the home market can only be
> exploitable if the products are plug and play. Lets be realistic....we
> are the minority: the people that will deal with SMB shares, XBMC,
> linux, NAS, etc. The rest of the population either does not have the
> time or worst they do not have the knowledge and they just want
> something that works, regardless if it has an ogg codec or server side
> software, etc.

Perhaps, but I actually think Sonos is on to something...  They really
are plug and play.  If someone has a computer with iTunes or Windows
Media Player (or whatever) on it, then Sonos will find that music, and
make it available in any room in the house.  If you happen to have an
NAS (LinkStation, NSLU2, etc.) on your network, it will find that too,
just like the AudioTron.

I've seen and played with the system (extensively), and signed up as
one of their "Digital Experts".  I also pre-ordered a system at
MacWorld a few weeks ago (just as I pre-ordered my AudioTron before
they started shipping).  The difference is that after following their
message boards (at http://forums.sonos.com ) for a while, I determined
that as cool as it is, it's not right for me.  I cancelled my pre-order
this morning, and suddenly I feel $1200 richer.

The system is great for many people.  You buy their ZonePlayer units
($500 each) and just plug it into the wall in each room where you want
audio, and connect your speakers.  You also get a handheld Controller
for $400 (or 2 players and a controller in a bundle for $1200).  The
ZonePlayers communicate with each other over 802.11g using a
proprietary wireless mesh that Sonos developed.  Thanks to this
proprietary mesh, no wiring is needed to connect the units together.
Only one needs to be connected to your network to find your music.

The best feature (which only Squeezebox has managed to come close with)
is that any number of units can be linked together (from the handheld)
to play the same music in perfect sync (over hours and hours with no
drift, unlike the Squeezebox or so the Sonos folks say).

That's all find and well, but the Sonos system is just that -- a Sonos
system.  The boxes have amps built-in (though they also have line
outs), and the entire thing is not at all hacker-extensible (yet,
though there is much push-back on that from the early adopters).  They
have their own ideas of what it should be, and don't have any current
plans to open any of it up.  It's not even clear that they agree with
some folks' opinion that there should be a smaller and cheaper ampless
version (for better integration into existing systems).

Since I already have an AudioTron as well as an Airport Express and
several iTunes-playing machines all served by my LinkStation, I just
couldn't see adding a mere two more rooms, and as amazing as the
"synchronized playback" feature is, it's just not going to be very cool
between only two rooms in my house.  Yes, they HAVE a subscription
model (as someone else mentioned) -- the "subscription" is that you
really need to buy a ZonePlayer for every room in the house for it to
be really cool, and then of course you need to buy a bunch of their
wireless controllers (since there's no way to control it from a
wireless PDA).  So the cost ends up being way more than $1200.

I finally decided that what I really need is just another $100 Airport
Express, so I can route music from the bedroom computer to the bedroom
stereo just like I'm doing in my office.  The AudioTron will continue
to handle the family room (though if it dies, I'll quite likely replace
it with a Roku Soundbridge or another Airport Express), and I will
continue to look for a decent (yet affordable) multi-room solution for
the living room and back yard.  These various systems may not all play
in sync (until someone comes up with a hack that can route one AirTunes
stream to multiple Airport Express units), but in the mean time I've
got plenty of other uses for that $1200.

I understand Seth's claim about the market not being mature yet, but
I'm sure plenty of people said that about the portable music player
business, the online music sale business, etc. etc.  Apple seems to be
making mature businesses out of these (and a few other companies who
are also contributing ever so incrementally to the  pie).

I also believe that Roku is probably doing just fine with their
SoundBridge products (which were born of the SliMP3 player, but
recently added iTunes client support via DAAP which is basically now an
open server and client protocol); I look forward to seeing what Roku
does next.  I think Sonos is going to blaze some new trails in the
custom installer market -- people who don't want to run wires all over
the place but have thousands of dollars to spend.  I think VTB left a
lot of money on the table by not catering more to this market with a
high-end rack-mountable and (serial?) remote-controllable product but
oh well.

Enough rambling for tonight.  :-)
--Steve