WiFi Radio

I have been known to moan on this website. Rarely, but... well, there we are. But I also like to praise.

This is a Roberts WM202 radio and I like it. (And I'm not being paid to write this!) It has regular FM and newer DAB but what I like is that it links to our home WiFi and gives access to a world of internet radio.

This is not a stable technology yet.

It's meant to link to my computer's media player so any music files can be played through the radio - it doesn't.

It has occasional fits when it produces 'Network Error' messages. And when it plays Podcasts it can't pause or rewind them.

But it can play podcasts just as if they were regular radio programmes, including the BBC's listen again programmes, and a load of sea kayak podcasts. Even for a broadcaster like me, it's quite freaky to sit in the kitchen and 'tune in' a normal-looking radio to my own podcasts and then hear my voice coming out the speakers.

You set all this up through a website, effectively programming favourites into the radio, and then those favourites appear in the radio's memory. The radio also has five preset stations.

We live in an area with a poor signal area, but on this Radio 4 and Radio 2 come through clear. Best of all, so does one of my favourite music stations, Radio Paradise based in California. And since it runs on batteries, we can play it anywhere in the house.

I'm sure there are other models out there which might be better. Please tell me if you use one.