User manual

Ipreviously reviewed. From what Ihave noticed, it was as
though it was the Kogan radio but without an iPod dock and in
aglossy white cabinet.
The set is connected to mains power via amains cord that is
attached to the set rather than the usual AC adaptor that plugs in
to the set. This is more in line with the traditional mantel radio or
most of the clock radios that are currently ins use and will be
likely to benefit people who have to deal with crowded power
outlets and powerboards,
The set uses abitmap LCD display which yields alarge clock
display whenever it is turned off and provides auseable menu
display. The knobs are of an equal shape and all the buttons are
lined up under the display in asingle row. This may impair
useability for older people because the labelling is toosmall.
On the other hand, the volume control is areal analogue volume
control rather than the rotary encoder that Ihave used on most
Internet radios and other recent consumer electronics. This will
appeal more to mature people who want greater control of the
set’s output volume – Ihave even heard that asign of aperson’s
maturity is knowing that the volume control can be turned
down
rather than always up!!!!
Connectivity
[3]
Kogan and OXX Internet radios alongside eachother
Like the Kogan table radio, there is an auxiliary input for
external audio equipment like MP3 players and Discmans as well
as aheadphone jack which you can use as an external speaker
jack when connected to active speakers.
It also excels on network connectivity through the provision of an
Ethernet socket for use with wired networks, including
HomePlug powerline networks. The wireless-network
connectivity has been improved through support for WPS
“push-push” setups as well as network profiles for multiple
different wireless networks.
Use
There are four preset buttons for each of the operating bands as
well as support for integration with the “
www.wifiradio-frontier.com[4]” Internet-radio portal. This then
allows for alarger list of preferred stations to be kept consistent
across multiple sets.
The unit also has improvements in other areas like
dead-programme “clean-up” with DAB multiplexes for sets that
are moved between towns or whenever the multiplexes are
rearranged. Similarly there is also an equaliser function with
fiver tone presets and manual adjustment for bass and treble.
There wasn’t aloudness-compensation control on the manual
tone adjustment unlike other Frontier radios with similar
firmware.
It does work well with DLNA media services, especially the
TwonkyMedia Server that is part of the Western Digital MyBook
World Edition network hard disk. At the moment, it only works as
amedia player that can be operated from its control surface.
[5]
Bitmap display on OXXradio
When this set is run at aloud volume, it sounds as loud as the
Kogan set, which is loud enough to cut over noisy kitchen
appliances for example.
Limitations and Points of Improvement
One main limitation that Ihave experienced is the tendency to
work on asmall buffer which causes the radio to “start and stop”
especially when playing some overseas Internet radio stations. It
may be also limited through problems with Wi-Fi networks that
may be difficult in some areas. The problem may also become
worse as more people “hit on to” Internet radio – the new
“short-wave” band, and servers don’t work well for quality of
service. Other radios don’t seem to be as sensitive to this
problem as much as thismodel.
A point of improvement that Iwould like to see would be steps to
make the set more ergonomic and easier to use. For example,
Iwould like to make the buttons more prominent so they are
easier to find. This is more so for the on-off button and the mode
button. As well, the LCD display could be better replaced with
one of the monochrome OLED displays to improve on readability,
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