I’ve recently bought a Pure Oasis Flow radio, and so far I’m very pleased with it. Quite literally, the radio has brought home the quiet revolution that is Internet Radio. The sheer universe of radio stations (FM, Dab and Internet), podcasts and catch-up services from across the world are suddenly accessible.

In a few hours I’ve discovered talk radio stations in the States, a charming folk & acoustic station called Calm Radio Folk, a back catalogue of London School of Economics lectures and wide eclectic range of background sounds (from various bird song to ‘Dog barking in wind’). BBC Listen Again services are also available, which is great for my favourite 6 Music show Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service.

The radio itself is weighty, sturdy and produces a bassy sound. It includes a rechargeable battery and is designed to be portable with a firm handle and rubberised base & sides. It’s splash proof so it’s comfortable in challenging environments, such as the bathroom or garden.

 

What makes the radio excel even further is it’s integration with Pure’s web service The Lounge, which allows you to discover and organise radio services that integrates with the radio. Utilising the web as a additional interface makes radio services more findable, playable and shareable (I think I’ve borrowed those verbs from the web design industry). I believe Pure have been revolutionary with this service. The mind boggles with the opportunities of integrating other domestic appliances in such a manner.

It’s worth noting that the radio isn’t perfect. For me one downside is the lack of preset radio buttons. Without them, to select a station, a dial needs to be turned and pressed down. This isn’t useful for radio channel hoppers like myself (especially when I’m desperate to turn off Thought for the Day at 0750 on a weekday morning!)

The user interface takes some getting used to. Part of display is a touchscreen, and there’s a couple of dials, one of which is clickable. The learning curve is quite steep, and it’ll take a few days before the interface becomes second nature. Saying that, it can’t be easy to design an intuitive interface to handle a large number of complex features.

For me the lack of Spotify integration is an obvious omission. I hope Pure and Spotify are working on this for a future software release.

So, after a few hours of use, despite the shortcomings, I’m really pleased. I’m looking forward to discovering new radio stations and ways of listening.

I’ll keep this post up-to-date with more thoughts and discoveries.

 

 

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