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Monday July 27, 2009
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Today, Sonos, manufacturer of expensive-but-excellent wireless home audio systems, announced the Sonos Controller 200--the first Sonos remote control that fits in one hand and uses a touch screen. In a brief hands-on with the new controller last week, I got a look at the new easy-to-use interface. I'll reserve most comments for our official review at PCMag.com, which should post within the next week or so, but my first impression: excellent.
It's been a while since Sonos has made any radical improvements to its core system, the Bundle 120. Its Zone Players--the receivers that either connect to speakers or have them built in--have slowly improved, but the biggest change was last year's iPhone and iPod touch app. What was so clever about the app? It made the iPhone into a remote with a touchscreen. It worked seamlessly, and all the sudden, the well-designed-but-aging Sonos CR100 remote control seemed more cumbersome than useful.
Enter the Sonos Controller 200.
Those familiar with the iPhone/iPod touch app already know what to
expect: Except for a few buttons in different places, they are
virtually identical. Sonos claims, however, that the new remote is
faster than the app, and I must say, while we did no A-B testing during
the demo, the user interface is lightning fast. The integration
of the remote and the iPhone app together is also pretty
excellent--switch to a new song using your iPhone, and the change
appears almost instantly on the remote's screen, as well. Not everyone
is willing to spend HDTV-level money on a home audio system, but for
those who are, the Sonos experience just got better.
The new controller is $349 on its own--which is $50 less than the CR100
went for--but it will also come as part of the new Bundle 220. Nothing
has changed from the Bundle 120 except for the new remote--you still
get the Zone Player 120, the Zone Player 90, and a cradle for the
remote, all for the same $999 price tag.
The new Bundle 220
and the Controller 200 (CR200) are available on the Sonos website, and
the older controllers (which are waterproof, by the way--the new ones
are not) will be sold at a discounted price until supplies run out.
Look for a full review of the Bundle 220 on PCMag.com in the near future.
Posted By:
Tim Gideon
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