Grace Digital GDI-IR2000 WiFi Internet Radio featuring Pandora (Black)

This is a terrific device that plays thousands of internet radio stations. I mainly use it for news programs and for the BBC.The advantages are- It is very easy to set up (some reviewers have had problems but they need to check for solutions using the Reciva forum or wiki or reciva-users wiki spot- just search for these online)- A huge list of radio stations to choose from.- Can use Pandora or Sirius (though you will need a subscription to the Sirius "Premium Internet Radio" service).- Great sound that is even better played through an audio system.Disadvantages are- The manual is very sketchy and you may need to refer to the Reciva or Grace web sites for help.- The remote is pretty basic (but see info on the iPhone app below)- The display is pretty small and hard to use (but again see info on the iPhone app below)The radio uses Reciva for its radio station database and you can register at their web site and choose a list of radio stations there that can then be downloaded to the radio.Other reviewers haven't mentioned the amazing iPhone/ iPod Touch app (free!!) that makes the iPhone into a wonderful combined remote and display, essentially replacing the rather weak display on the radio and the weak remote.

This is the First Internet Radio I bought and I returned it. Please Read on for why...I found this radio to be very nice to look at in our living room; it has a sleet design that I think fits almost anywhere. Set up was simple, but I am kind of a geek, so that may not be saying much. I had some station problems (see below) and I first contacted the manufacturer. The people at Grace are great and were as helpful as they could be, except when it came for the reason for my return (below).As I said, I like the look of the radio: it has a kind of 'retro but modern' look that fits in almost anywhere. Set-up was a snap. Menu navigation is a piece of cake but I do expect that someone who is not slightly geeky might have a problem. Finding stations is easy, especially using the Reciva My Stations, and the Pandora and Sirus part of the radio is killer! Remote control (provided) works great but is small so keep an eye on it. All the other things it does (like playing streams from your computer or the internet, etc) are awesome bonuses! THIS IS THE RADIO FOR YOU (as long as you don't fall into the category below)! I have no physical complaints: readout was clear, sound was good, operation simple (except it would occasionally lose WiFi signal and had to be unplugged to reset, but that I found out later was my router's problem, not the radio) Good radio, does almost all I wanted...EXCEPT (and this is not a Grace problem, rather a Reciva problem) it does NOT get all the stations it is supposed to. Let me explain: I live in a marginal AM radio area (kind of in a bowl surrounded by mountains) with an neighborhood association that does not allow external antennas. When I bought this it was for my wife, who has four AM stations she likes to listen to in the morning and sometimes at night, both of which are our poorest reception times. I researched this a lot and found that the Reciva powered radios did indeed get all the stations she wanted, PLUS Pandora, which was a bonus. Imagine my surprise when I found I could NOT get two of them, despite them being on the Reciva (Reciva.com) list. I called companies, emailed Reciva (whom I never heard back from), and even the radio stations (waste of time) and got no help (did this over the course of two months!). Not being able to get these two stations was a deal breaker. Sadly, I packed the radio up and sent it back; I wanted to keep it but it was too expensive to not get everyting I wanted. About a month after I returned it, I finally posted in one of the Reciva forums on the web and found my answer: the two stations that I could not get that I really wanted code their streams using an AAC+ codec, which Reciva powered radios CANNOT yet deal with (despite them being on their approved list).IN SUMMARY: Excellent radio, does what it says and more; great for Pandora and Sirus. If, however, you want to listen to radio stations, be sure they do not use AAC+ to code their streams because you will NOT be able to listen to them (and, BTW, just because you can listen to them on your computer does not mean they will work on your radio!). If this radio were less expensive I would have kept it for myself and used it in my office, but it was too much for me to settle.

Third Update (2013):- Both radio's have completely locked up now and won't even turn on. I submitted multiple requests to Grace support online and they never responded. That being the case I would never purchase a Grace product again. *I'm usually very sceptical of reviews who rate products low and will always look around to see if this was just a one off product problem or someone who dislikes a company. As noted I had two radios that both died with the same problem with absolutely no support from Grace.Second Update(2012):- I originally rated this radio a 5 star and now have lowered it to a 2 star.Issues: BOTH radios over a few days or a few weeks start and develop weird characters all over the small screen that makes the unit unusable without removing the power at the back and resetting the unit. Once that's done the unit is back to normal. This happens randomly all the time now. I've tried firmware updates and nothing has changed. I will update the review with a screen shot shortly.- A few radio stations changed their format online and still stream audio that works on other devices and PCs. I go to the Grace Reciva website and the stations all check out normal and show functioning normal. I bring them up on both radios and neither radio works on these stations now. They both get caught in a loop saying "Connecting", "Retrying", "Connecting", "Retrying" and so on and so on. Most of the time I now find it easier to get an old IPHONE, set it to Wifi and sit it in speaker docking station. That works with all radio stations and I know every time I touch the screen it's on and ready to go.*If Grace fixed the 2 problems above I would rate the unit a 5 star but right now the units just sit gathering dust. I would high recommend not purchasing any version of this radio until Grace figures out the problems. I'm sure both are software related. *UPDATE(2010): I was so happy with my first IR2000 I purchaced another one for home.Original Review(2009): I originally rated this radio a 5 starThis is a great radio. I've owned it for nearly a week now and it's worked flawlessly. I was looking for a radio for my desk at work and I couldn't have made a better choice. Over the past few weeks I read every review I could find about every internet radio on the market. I finally decided on this one. I really love it. The sound is great but don't expect to be using it on full volume to cover your entire house. Here is my list of likes and dislikes and I hope it helps.Like's:- The size was perfect for my desk- It looks very stylish- I fired up the radio and had it working within minutes without reading the manual- It was very easy to register at [...] and automatically download my radio stations and streams.- I added some personal streams and they appeared on the screen of the radio within minutes.- It was very easy to browse stations around the world without the use of my [...] account.- The Audio sounded really good. Especially for the size of the radio- WIFI setup was very simple. I moved it from one network to another and it remembered both password keys (WEP & WPA)- The signal strength was really good especially with an internal antenna- Navigation on the screen was very simple.- When available it scrolled song or audio information across the screen. E.g. I tuned into aircraft traffic control after I added it to own streams after finding in on a website and within minutes weather information was scrolling across the screen.- The remote is simple to use- External input for an MP3 player, etc is a great addition- It can stream audio from just about anywhere.....Radio Station Streams, Pandora, Sirius, Your PC, any MP3/REAL Audio/WMA stream off the net....Dislike's:- The headphone jack is on the back. I use my headphone a lot and it's a pain having to pull the radio forward each time I want to plug them in. Some people may find it useful to plug other input devices in the front and others may find it useful to leave their stero plugged into the rear headphone port. Their should be an Aux (External) input on the front and back, and there should also be a headphone output jack on the front and back. That would accommodate every possible scenario.- Although it's good that the radio is light, it tends to slide a little when I press the select button at times.- I looked at the manual after I got everything working and it's laid out OK. They could lay it out just a little better.Conclusion.The radio is well worth the money. It's very easy to use and setup. The sound is great. The menus are easy to use. It's built well. In all it's a fantastic radio. If I were purchase another radio for my desk, beside my bed or on a table in the lounge room, I would buy another one of these for sure. In fact, I'm thinking about it right now. I give this one 5/5.