VTech IS9181 WiFi Internet Radio with Access to Online Content

by VTech

Product Details

User's Guide [8.07mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 14.4 x 6 x 8.4 inches ; 3.9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0026L7FGI
• Item model number: IS9181
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,368 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #11 in Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Radios > Internet Radios
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 8, 2009

Product Description

WiFi Streaming Music Device with Access to Online Content

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music and news from anywhere in the world, August 27, 2009

By 

PT Cruiser "PT Cruiser" (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: VTech IS9181 WiFi Internet Radio with Access to Online Content (Electronics)

(What's this?)

Length:: 7:52 Mins

Imagine playing music directly from Japan while eating sushi in your dining room. Or playing Hawaiian music from Hawaii at your next luau. With this WiFi internet radio you can listen to music from all over the world and save your favorites with just a push of the "favorites" button. Then the next time you want to listen you can go directly the the "My Stations" list and choose one of your favorites. I have a classical station in Italy, an oldies station in France, a Celtic station in Ireland and some radio stations in the midwest that I grew up listening to in my favorites list. I also have a French news talk station to keep up on my French. In my video I'll show you how to make some of the internet radio selections and find your own favorite stations.

One of the other options is to listen to music from your computer on this device. The included manual gives simple instructions, with some photos, for setting up your computer so that you can connect via WiFi with this internet radio and play your favorite mp3's, WMA's, Real audio, MP4 and M4A files. There are instructions included for Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Mac OS 10.4 and 10.5. I've listened to music from both my Windows and Mac computers without any problem. And the good news is that it's easy to set up, even for a non geeky person. The internet radio is also simple to set up. When you turn it on for the first time it asks you if you want to set the time, weather setting (your zip code) and wireless settings. It looks for your WiFi network and asks you to enter your password. I used both the little dial on the top of the radio and the remote to make entering it faster.

I mentioned in my video review that you can use the RCA connectors on the back of the unit to connect to other speakers, such as your stereo speakers. The RCA connector cord isn't included with the radio. There is an auxiliary audio cable included to connect another device such as an mp3 player to this radio (audio in). If you wanted to connect earphones, like the type from an mp3 player I think an adapter like this would work 2 x RCA Male / 1 x 3.5mm Stereo Female, Y-Cable, 6 inch

The sound on the video is limited not only by the camera, but by the compression into a video small enough to show here. It sounds so much better in person. But I hope the video gives you an idea of the different menus and features.

77 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Who's VTech?, September 17, 2009

By 

Frederic Woodbridge "Fred" (ID, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: VTech IS9181 WiFi Internet Radio with Access to Online Content (Electronics)

(What's this?)

This impressive-sounding "device" is simply a radio with Internet capabilities, but so be it: we'll call it the IS9181.

The IS9181 is a cute little gadget that didn't take me long to get working, which is a plus, but there were various little annoyances that I thought detracted enough from using it that I have decided to give it a less glamorous review: 3-and-a-half stars.

I subject most electronics to what I call the "dumb male" test: is it possible to set it up without reading any manuals of documentation and if so, how long would it take to get the majority of the features working. I award a five-star rating if I can get it operational within 15 minutes. I'm happy to report that I was able to get the IS9181 working within 10. (5 stars)

Plugged in, the operating buttons are easy to read, but only if you're directly above them but even with that slight drawback, the menus were intuitive to navigate and the device to configure. Anyone who's used any electronic device within the last five years should not have too much difficulty working the IS9181. The rotating wheel used to move backwards and forwards had a pleasing feel to it while the colorized menu on the front was clear and readable. I soon had the device connected to my WiFi access point easily. The speakers are pretty good with the woofer hidden directly underneath adding a nice bit of depth to what could have been a teeny sound system.

Within another five minutes, I was streaming music from Internet radio stations around the world. I do wish I could choose/sort the stations according to their streaming speeds, however. In addition, all the stations are arranged alphabetically, which can be a real drag to sift through. (-0.5 stars)

The range of musical styles and genres is impressive as is the fact that with just a few clicks, it is possible to enter your ZIP code and get the weather report both for today and five days ahead. When not working, the display shows the time (although it is not intelligent enough to use Daylight Saving Time automatically; -0.5 stars). It is also a bit inconvenient that the rotating wheel used to highlight menu items cannot also be used to choose the item, instead of having to click on the "select" button to the side. (-0.25 stars)

A little weirdness happened when I chose the "Popular stations": of all the stations, the device thought was the most popular a *Dutch* talk radio station. Strange :-)

A small remote control comes with the IS9181 which, considering how difficult it would be to be fumbling around if you use it as a bedside alarm clock-radio, is a boon. However, mine simply stopped working after only one use . (-0.25 stars)

Apparently, it was also possible to add stations by registering on the manufacturer's website. I haven't bothered to try although that sounds like a good idea. The other slightly annoying bug is that, when the device is turned off, it disconnects from the access point and turning it back on and attempting to do anything related to online activity throws the device into a loop of error messages with no way of breaking out until the WAP is back online.

45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best one yet!, July 31, 2009

By 

David Rechtschaffen (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: VTech IS9181 WiFi Internet Radio with Access to Online Content (Electronics)

This is my third WiFi Internet Radio.

VTech really did their homework on this one.

I only just got it, but as I do have experience with these, I feel I can comment.

Just a few points:

- The color screen is very high-quality and a really nice thing to have (more than I expected)
- Set-up and programming are very easy (similar to all the others, but there's a set-up wizard that's helpful)
- Sound quality is as I expected; very good, with good base and treble, and levels (different stations have different volume output).
- Found all the stations I looked for via the radio, except one, but I was easily able to add it via the website.

Cautions:
- No network jack -- wifi only (not a problem for me)
- Not really a proper clock radio. The controls and alarm silencing sequence aren't very much like a true clock radio, so if that's a primary function for you, try the Sagem/Aluratek unit.

I really haven't found a single thing that's been a disappointment or "negative". It's just as good as I hoped it would be, if not better. I suppose one could say it's "big", compared with the AE radio or the Freecom MusicPal, but compared to the Logitech Squeezebox, it's of a similar size. It looks better in real life than in the photos.

No Pandora, but don't care. My iPhone does that, and it's limited anyhow. It's easy to find an internet radio station that plays music similar to any channel I might devise.

The remote is a wonderful feature to have in conjunction with the forward-facing color screen, and it does RSS fees (identifies station, song, program, etc..., unlike any of the Reciva units [I could be wrong on this point, but most of those seem to be essentially similar on-screen]).

I fiddled with the file streaming feature. Worked immediately and well (Windows machine). All shared folders were easily found and explored and mp3's playable.

There is ONE huge negative that I've found: NO TIMER!! This is a major oversight, but it's not unfixable. The AE WiFi Internet Radio lacked one too, at first, but it was implemented via a Firmware Update. Hopefully VTech will do the same. I don't see why they couldn't too, and I fully hope and expect they will (I will write them and ask them to).

Delighted with this unit, otherwise!! Highly-recommended!