Acer iRhythm K.O. Wired Remote Tuner

The iRhythm K.O. consists of two hardware pieces--a base unit and a remote control. The base unit connects to your PC via a USB port, as well as through the PC's audio output. You can then connect the iRhythm K.O. to computer speakers or a home stereo in the same room as your PC. With the iRhythm K.O. remote control, you can control the iM Tuner software and easily change radio stations or switch between songs on the MP3 playlist.

The iM Band features Internet radio stations composed of 25 genres covering everything from Top 40 country to college radio and even police scanners. Each genre consists of 32 radio stations. There is a list for broadband connections and one for narrowband connections, giving you 800 stations to choose from.

Don't worry if your favorite Internet radio station is not listed in the iM Band. In addition to the 25 genres, you can create your own channel on a Z-band with your favorite Internet radio stations. You can also put your MP3 playlists on the Z-band.

The Acer iRhythm K.O. requires a PC with an available USB port running Windows 98, 2000, or Me. You'll also need to have Windows Media Player 6.4 or later or RealPlayer 7.0 or later installed. The unit is powered by four AA batteries (included).

The above statement is a bit misleading. The iRhythm has no audio processing built in whatsoever, and the only connector available is a USB connector for the remote control receiver (one half of the transmitter/receiver pair). You can connect your speakers or home stereo to your computer sound card output using the supplied cable. I imagine most people who buy this device will already have speakers hooked up to their computer. Note that to get your computer sound out of your living room stereo, you will likely need to run an audio cable between each. From the manual: "Q:If I don't want to run a wire from my PC to my stereo, what else can I use? A:There are a variety of radio frequency transmitters that operate over 88-107Mhz, 900MHz, or 2.4GHz that plug into your PC and transmit to your stereo." In that case, additional equipment would need to be purchased.

As a wireless remote control for your PC's *existing* audio system, the iRhythm is not bad, but only works with the supplied software, and custom configuration appears to be limited to station presets and playlists. There appears to be a rich, though not exhaustive, set of internet stations to choose from, and this list is being regularly updated.