i2i Stream – Review

 

i2i Stream
Company: Aerielle Technologies
Cost: $120 for two-pack
http://www.i2igear.com

It’s not often my wife laughs out loud watching me review items for MyMac Magazine. It happened during the test drive of Aerielle Technologies’ i2i Stream audio transmitter/receiver two-pack.

 

Jim Dicker and I were playing “name that tune,” with me asking him to identify jazz artists or songs from my iPod. We were both listening to the same song at the same time, at optimum audio quality, BUT !! Jim was twenty feet away from where I was sitting. The music was streaming from my iPod to Jim’s headphones, both of which were attached to different units from a two-pack of the remarkable i2i Stream.

Barbara says it was hilarious: “It was ridiculous, John, but you two were having such a great time playing a silly game. Two men were sitting a room apart, headphones attached to some contraption, listening to music you easily could have played on the stereo. But that’s what men do, I guess.” She is correct, and it was a load of fun.

i2i Stream is a device that’s easier to demonstrate than explain. Here is the company’s official description:

“The i2i Stream is a wireless digital audio device that allows you to broadcast your favorite music to all your friends that also have i2i Streams. i2i Streams can send or receive CD quality sound up to 30 feet wirelessly. You can plug any MP3 player into one end of the i2i Stream and your favorite earphones into the other end and choose one of seven colored channels to start broadcasting. Experience and share your music like never before with the new i2i Stream.”

Do you get suspicious reading promotional material such as that? I do. But in this case, the reality is superior to the imagination. There are ENDLESS ways to use i2i Stream with small or large numbers of listeners. The color-coded channels are simple to navigate and activate. The physical device is small, cute, and ridiculously easy to learn.

Neck and pocket straps are included, as are USB charging cables and two lengths of audio cables from i2i Stream to iPod or other music source. Clever accessories are available directly from Aerielle Technologies, all at affordable pricing. MyMac will obtain and evaluate these other goodies as soon as we can. You can learn much more here.

A small printed User Guide is included. Study it before you get up to the batter’s box. Otherwise you may not have a clue how to get to first base with i2i Stream. Advice: place everything that ships with i2i into a small Ziploc bag, because no case is included. Every component, cable, and strap is tiny, and you don’t want your dog to eat a $60 gizmo for an appetizer.

Sixty dollars? Does that seem a little expensive? Nemo the Marketing Genius would place the street pricing of i2i Stream at $49 for one, $89 for two-pack, and $159 for a four-pack, but that’s why I’m not in business. This product is not a casual or impulse purchase at $60 each, but with outstanding audio quality and user functionality, it’s a reasonable cost.

Aerielle Technologies should sponsor a contest for most unusual and creative uses of i2i Stream. Some suggestions could be:

• In a plane, train, or bus

• Riding in different vehicles

• Classrooms and lecture halls

• During a parade

• Seated at a sporting event

• At a birthday party

• Dance partners, or dancing individuals

and those came to mind in about two minutes of imaginative thinking. I’m sure hundreds more appropriate situations for i2i Stream are possible.

I will continue to try i2i Stream as many ways as I can. Two college students are visiting for a few days. It will be fun to see them experiment and innovate.

Out of a possible perfect score of 5, we knock down Aerielle’s i2i Stream by two half points, one each for lack of protective case and high price. MyMac recommends this product, with a strong rating of 4 out of 5.

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