WiDio Wireless Audio - Review - Page 1

Product: WiDio
Series: WireLess Audio Device
Manufacturer: Albatron
MSRP: 120 -150 USD

One of the busiest things to do each year (for me) is visiting the CeBIT exhibit. Hopping from one appointment to the another, seeing all kinds of new technology. In fact there is so much technology to be found that you forget half of them. Back in March one thing I did not forget was when I was meeting with Albatron; it was a little device called Widio. To this very date I have reservations that it will be a grand success, but the idea behind it is very innovative; it has Albatron written all over it. What is Widio you ask? Well my fellow guru's, it is a Wireless Audio Device.

It's a gadget that I just had to show you in a review, so the minute it became available Albatron submitted it for a test. Widio is a small wireless audio transmitter and receiver device that broadcasts on the 2.4 GHz band at a rate of 2Mbit per second. You could connect this to your DVD, CD, MP3 Player, PC or even XBox for all I care and then it broadcasts that signal to the range available, roughly 40-50 Meters. Within that range you'll have CD audio quality broadcasted from the source. You can use small headphones or whatever you want on it and enjoy music throughout your house. In essence this is somewhat different compared to infrared headphones that are common and widely available, as with that solution you need to be within the visual(line of sight) range of the transmitter, which is a few meters. There's s rechargeable 3.6V Lithium Ion battery in the device that charges fast and lasts for 3-4 hours of music. Widio does not require any software, it's a stand-alone device that broadcasts music to a small light-weight receiver that you carry.

Will this product be a success? I really don't know. It's interesting to observe though and since I'm a sucker for innovation I like it; you just know that innovation is always good. If I told you 5 years ago that all laptops would become wireless LAN/WAN devices you'd laugh at me.

Let's have a look at the product by going through a photo shoot after which we'll explain its functionality and our experiences.

Widio, the receiver placed in the transmitter module.