Sonos Remote Goes Touchscreen; New System Bundle On Its Way

Some one else likes the Kaiser Chiefs? I'll take 2.

What is this, 2004?

My phone does this and about 1000 things more...

SmBizMan

First off, I love my Sonos! Secondly, the fact that I have an iPhone yet almost always turn to my standard Sonos controllers speaks to the advantage and ease of them relative to the app. The app is nice to have but simply doesn't replace the normal controller for my uses.

RalphWiggum

@nachomaans: Thank you for the clarity.

As a Sonos owner, I wholeheartedly agree. The iPhone app is great - since I always have my phone with me, I always have a Sonos remote with me - but there's still a place for a dedicated remote for all of the reasons you list. (And it's probably a good idea to not require potential purchasers to go out and buy a product from some other company).

bubba451

@nachomaans:

your "guests" can download the app on their own phone and NOT touch your $400 remote as well...

:)

tvass

The current controller is built like a tank and can be handed to guests during a party or visiting guests spending a few days. It's splashproof, has big buttons, and a very good wife acceptance factor. It's easy to grasp and intuitive.

It's pretty good at what it does except when you have to enter text (track/artist search, deezer search etc). Typing with a scrollwheel sucks, and this is where having a touchscreen is interesting.

The iPhone app is nice as a backup remote that you always have on you. The virtual keyboard is great for searches and puts the current controller to shame. Yet, you can't really hand your phones to guests, and the phone locks itself after a few minutes of inactivity. You then may have to enter your password (depending of your settings) and it takes 1-2 seconds reconnecting to your wifi network.

A new touchscreen remote is a belated welcome move.

It should be at least up to par with the iPhone/iPod app and won't lock, require a password or lose wifi connection.

I wouldn't upgrade my controllers which still work well, but for new users it will feel less clunky than the (expensive) original.

nachomaans

I don't understand the negative tone of this post.

Sonos makes great products that people love (I am talking about the people who buy it and use it, not the people who have never used but think they know everything about everything and dismiss it as too expensive, blah, blah, blah).

Sonos releasing a free App for the iPhone / iPod touch was an awesome move. The software was great and gave existing owners and prospective owners more reason to love Sonos.

Believe it or not, many people like having a dedicated controller and are not gadget loving freaks (I mean that in a very positive way ) and see buying an iPod to be used as a Sonos controller as a less than ideal solution (even if it is less expensive).

Before the haters trash this product, they should at least know how much it costs, etc.

I think an updated Sonos controller is exciting.

chefmitch

The iPhone/iPod app is fantastic -- much more usable than the CR100, because you can directly touch items you want to interact with, and it has a keyboard.

But, it has a key limitation -- you have to keep waking up your phone/iPod to use it, and when you do it takes a few moments to reconnect to your Wi-Fi network. If this remote can match the quality of the app, but it has the same instant wake-up of the CR100, then that'd be a nice improvement.

The 'i' button on screen is intriguing. That's not a function I recognize from the existing controller or app. I've always felt that a weakness of the Sonos is its inability to see detailed metadata about particular tracks, which most other music players allow.

I sort of wish this one still had a hard button for pause.

I certainly look forward to seeing one in person, although I doubt that I would replace all my CR100s.

@tylerstyle:
Or they should have held the app back 'til they got the new hardware out the door..

tvass

Unless this controller does MORE than the current one (handheld zone, touchscreen doesn't count to me) and they decide not to keep (any more) features from the iphone app, I won't be buying this.. I purchased 2 2G Iphone for $50 a piece for this purpose. I will "acquire" a new one if I buy a new bundle, but definitely not stand alone.

I really don't see the new controller with NO touch screen priced @ $400 being undercut in price & add new features to the new one. I'm sure the price will be VERY close if not the same. The CR100 has been the same price since the system's introduction back in 2005.

tvass

@$700.

I've had the Sonos system for over a couple years and it is pricey but really the best complete digital system out there. I'll miss my old controller once I need to replace it, not everyone likes touchscreens even though that seems to be the way everything is going. Hope they bring the price down.

Sonos f'ing rules. This controller... er, maybe not so much. Yeah, the old controller has that iPod-like wheel to get around, but I prefer it over the iPhone/iPod app to use Sonos (it's faster).

They need to seriously reduce the price of the controllers to move more zoneplayers out the door.

@World's Greatest Mactard!: partly because I don't speak bundle...

I just don't get some business decisions...

I don't even know what the fuck it is.

Why are they releasing a free IPhone app, when they have overpriced gadgetry to sell??? They could at least charge a little for the app.
I just don't get some business decisions...