Customer Reviews

Grace Wifi Radio with iPod dock GDI-IR3020

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This product is the synthesis of everything I've been looking for! I have long been a radio fan and in recent years subscribed to Sirius Radio, listen to stations on iTunes and love internet radio stations, especially Pandora. This little baby combined all of my interests into one small clock radio. While the sound of the speakers won't blow you away, add a small set of speakers (I am using an extra set of Logitech Computer speakers with sub that only cost me $40) and you have a great sounding system (depending on the station you listen to). The construction is ok, although for over $200 I would have liked it to be a bit sturdier, but it is a clock radio so it isn't going anywhere. This model also has an iPod dock - great for listening, but it won't charge your unit. Overall I am extremely happy - iPod, Sirius (although you have to upgrade your on-line account for $2.99/month to use with this), Pandora and over 16,000 internet radio stations! One of the big advantages of the Grace radio is 99 presets - most other radios I looked at had alot less.

My biggest problems these days is trying to figure out what I want to listen to first!! Highly recommended.

If anyone still owns Sirius/XM stock, it's time to sell. Internet radio is where it's at. That said, I'm still sending this device back - here's the good and bad:

GOOD -

1. iPod - another reviewer said it does not charge their iPod. Mine does charge when in the dock.

NEUTRAL

1. Sound quality - about the same as the iHome clock radio, slightly inferior Logitech iPod speaker set I've had for about 3-years - overall, okay but not great, especially considering the price point.

BAD -

1. iPod sometimes crashes the system when I try to go back to Internet radio

2. Mute function does not work on the remote control (another review mentioned same problem)

3. Display, while cool looking as a "wrapped window" integrated into the curved front, is illegible at any normal viewing stance because it's oriented at approximately 45-degrees up. If it's on a nightstand, dresser, or desk where the viewing angle is close to horizontal, the display is merely a blue light (I've tinkered with contrast/brightness to no avail). So rather than using the remote control from your desk or bed, you have to stand over the unit to see exactly what you want to do. Kind of defeats the purpose of a remote control.

4. Other small issues: User's Manual was in French (similar complaint as another reviewer - easy to download an English version). You have to use the Grace Reciva website to manage music - including setting up Pandora - if Grace goes out of business, you're stuck with your last selections.

Overall, its the combination of things that is causing me to send it back. If it was $80 instead of twice that amount, I might hang on to it (though the unreadable display is sort of a deal killer).

Cool idea, only so-so execution. Not sure what I'll replace it with (not many iPod-enabled Internet radio options out there), but this isn't the one for me.

got this unit for the office at work.

pros:

- tons of stations to choose from

- pretty easy to setup

- looks good

- ipod + internet radio (wired and wifi)

cons:

- navigating through the menus is not that intuitive. both the menus and buttons can be confusing. i am the only one at work that has taken enough time to figure out how to use this radio. most everyone else has given up and ask if i will just work it for them.

- display is not particularly easy to read or visually appealing. its very low res, small and has mediocre contrast. the ipod display this is not

- stations are garbled at times, even with a high speed internet connection

- very high price for a relative basic machine in this day and age

bottom line:

does what it says for a relatively high price. display and navigation could definitely be improved. overall reasonably happy but would expect significant improvements in future models

Very easy setup and connection to internet. Use of dial/single button to enter text characters is time consuming, but only needs to be done once per network, and remembers settings. We are able to dock our iPod with it's protective cover on. Had issues navigating through the grace radio website to activate the account (free) and associate our [...] account (the instructions didn't match the website very well). But, once set up it is very easy to use Pandora and provide "thumbs-up/downn" feedback. We even created a new Pandora station while listening to the radio on the deck of a cabin in the mountains on a recent trip. Perfect for travel, WiFi and ethernet port make it easy to connect to internet. Sound is nothing to brag about, but is not bad either. Haven't used the RCA jacks yet, but am sure this will become a standard part of our home stereo. Wish it had a battery-power option for true freedom of movement, but realize that it would chew through batteries, and perfection is a lot to ask for.

I am a Radio Nerd: Former Shortwave fan, former Ham, present Satellite Radio Subscriber, likes "HD Radio," etc. This Grace brings it all together. Once I set it up and (automatically) downloaded the station list for the first time, I saw the possibilities. Buried in the list was not just the BBC, Detsche Welle, and Radio Neitherlands, but all those other wierd little stations that I used to build special antennas for. Since I got it, I plugged into Sirius for my favorate new stations, tried out Pandora (its "personal radio stations" are free, but Sirius does a better job programming music mixes than I can), and suddenly realized that I can tune in many (but not all) HD Radio stations.

This is not even a Hi-Fi product. Better than AM, but FM Radio quality at most. There are RCA output jacks on the back, but the amp is so weak that they can't drive speakers unless you patch the output through an amplifier. Ordinary self-powered computer speakers are a big improvement, but I decided that earphones work best for me.

The display stinks. It is readable only with a certain orientation. Use the remote control after setting the presets, and then forget the display. The manual is set up as topics, but you can wizzen it out if you don't expect to read instructions in serial order. It is computer equipment, after all.

This is a reasonably easy product to use, and it performs well within the scope that I described above. As radio nerd, it certainly floats my boat.

Radio is everything promised and more. I have not used the Ipod connection but never needed to. Couple this radio with Pandora and you have fabulous commercial free, dj free music. I bought this with the intention of accessing satellite radio via the web, for a fee of course. However, after discovering Pandora, I have not bothered with the satellite bit.

Sound is great. After set up and storing stations in memory it is a breeze to use. Not that hard to set up but does require a bit of PC savy and patience.

I have only had my unit for a couple of days but LOVE IT already. My at home broadband is a Sprint MIFI 2200 portable Hot Spot which was also purchased from Amazon. They work well together along with my laptop computer. There is NO problem using the Grace Radio on a 3G Sprint Network! The MIFI supports up to five devices at one time. Enough said for the MIFI! the Grace Radio is fairly easy to set up, it took less than a half hour. Be prepared to spend MANY hours checking out ALL the various stations! I am now looking forward to a WiFi Auto Radio, maybe Grace will realize the potential of partnering with a MIFI device and build a radio for the road that can receive thousands of stations as well as podcasts!

I received this little gem of a radio for my birthday (I had been hankering for it for quite some time). It's broadened my horizons as it's hard to tune in to many good stations in San Francisco, where I live, due to the hills. Now, I can FINALLY listen to my favorite San Francisco college stations as well as tune in to other stations around the country AND world without having to be tethered to my laptop. All you need is a wireless connection.

It's super easy to set up and it sounds absolutely fantastic! Initially it would not connect to my wireless network. AT&T had the radio blocked. I called their customer support and they had it working in 10 minutes. Awesome support! Thanks guys!

Yay! For a radio lover like me, it was the perfect gift.

This internet radio delivers what it promises. It receives plenty of channels and reception is good. A few stations have varying sound levels, so there is a need to adjust the volume when switching between channels. I haven't yet used any of the other features such as the I Pod dock. I run it through my stereo, so the sound is great. By itself, the sound is decent as one would expect for a unit with speakers of this size.

Unfortunately, the display on the first radio I received stopped working after a few weeks. The radio was still functioning, but rendered useless. Amazon replaced it without a hassle. After a month of service, the new unit has performed well. However, the mute button on the new remote doesn't work. With an English language owner's manual (twice I received French ones - a replacement was eventually sent) I will upgrade my initial one-star rating to four stars. Hopefully Grace will expect and receive better quality products from the contract manufacturers who build these components. I'd like to consider Grace when I purchase my next unit. Quality still matters.

This device has a lot of great features but is not exactly what I had hoped for. The menu is small and hard to navigate and the sound quality is not good but it does have a external speaker input that I have not tried. It is not very intuitive to setup but it does have great features for accessing your music. Quality does not seem to be very high either. Part of the silver stripping is already coming off. Bottom line - Great once you get it setup but can be frustrating and quality is lacking.