CES 2007: InFusion Pointless Portable Internet Radio Device

Torian Wireless showed us their InFusion portable internet radio device, for those of you who cannot get enough of… well… I don’t really know anyone who listens to internet radio with any regularity. The InFusion supports SD/MMC cards and can play MP3, AAC and OGG, along with a built-in FM radio. Its raison d’état, of course, is internet radio and as such, it has 802.11b (yes, b) support to play back internet radio wherever a Wifi access point exists. It allows for time-shift recording and scheduled recordings, but as far as I’m concerned, podcasts handle this behavior a lot more gracefully, and internet radio is really rather stumbling around and looking for its place. The device itself was a bit awkward, and felt like another also-ran late-coming MP3 player with a low contrast screen that should do a hell of a lot more for the $229.99 asking price. But maybe it’ll find its place in Torian’s native Australian. I’ll be honest: I’m really not sure about internet radio penetration here or abroad.