the CityRadio - Passo falso

When I was 14 or so, my grandfather’s neighbor gave me two antique tube MW (AM?) LW & SW radios. The dial indicator had various cities printed on it. Being a dorky nerd i romanticized tuning in and hearing those city’s broadcasts. Disappointedly, all I got was static, until one night i was able to get all kinds of stations due to atmospheric enhancement etc. I was then allowed to string up a copper wire and get stuff during the day. It was fun and educational to spin around the world via this primitive radio. So I sorta understand the attraction HAM and other types of radio have. Immediately when I saw the preview, I was transported back in time for a few seconds. What you pointed out has me confused, did this company l just make a jazzed up wireless speaker that masquerades as imaginary device? Seems a waste especially when there’s a plethora of BT speakers and such equipped radio everywhere. Sob…

I think if you could buy something like this globe based radio of aliexpress, it would be worth a punt. https://www.instructables.com/RadioGlobe-Spin-to-Search-Over-Web-Radio-2000-Stat/

I have been looking for a device like this but standalone for years! Even thought about trying to build one myself. My grandmother is blind and loves listening to different radio stations, she brings her pocket Sony AM/FM radio with a tuning dial around everywhere. Sometimes she wants to listen to international radio but can’t operate a smartphone or computer - a device with presets on physical buttons is what is needed. Aside from that I just like the idea of operating an internet-connected device without a screen. Hope to see a company step up and build the product

Interesting video as always. It seems there is always a set of products designed to make it look like they are useful but who have a ‘fatal flaw’ which make it much less useful, maybe even borderline useless.

When you see the things AI can do now you find it incredible that when you moved the buttons around that the app couldn't just take a picture of the buttons and do some basic OCR.

This reminds me of a pirate videogame toy I bought for my kids in the 90s - the pirate ship was basically a complicated game controller. Unfortunately the game didn't work without the toy, and the toy did basically nothing without the game, so once Windows 95 support died the game and toy died with it.

I miss the old streamers like the Roku Soundbridge M2000. That was a thing of beauty!

Long before internet radios and smartphones I enjoyed getting radio from around the world on shortwave. I was lucky enough to get a good deal on a SONY SW-07 refurbished which was a great little radio and had a fold out active antenna that looked a bit like a flat satellite dish. There was a company in Japan who sold ROM cards for the unit with pre-sets to your favourite SW stations (the most recent one I have is 2016/2017). I also remember getting BBC Radio 4 Long Wave 198kHz reception near St Tropez in the South of France on holiday one year with a Roberts Radio which I was particularly impressed with.

This might be a product using the esp32 and probably be hackable to make it a "real" internet radio with wifi.

I find it hard to understand who this product is aimed at. These more accessible radios are often for elderly or people with forms of impairment, but it is way too complicated to fulfil that role. How many 80+ year olds are going to have a smartphone or the technical knowledge to operate this? It would not have been so bad if once set up, the device could be used as a standalone unit, but the lack of wifi kills that one. So I come back to it, who on earth is likely to want to buy this for the limited use? This jogged my memory back to the video you did on the 'useless' gadget, at least that one actually succeeded in doing the one thing it was designed for.

It’s feels sort of like the Brennan BB1, but even more pointless. That one at least connects to the internet

What a disappointing device, the idea had real potential, with the whole ‘one-touch city’ design. If it had a been a standalone unit as you originally thought it could have some merit. But in this form it’ll definitely be E-waste in 10 years when the app is discontinued and the battery goes bad, as you mentioned.

I found this site that lets you pick radio stations around the world from a map. http://radio.garden/

Not only the fact that "it's only a bluetooth speaker", but the selected default radio stations are RUBBISH. Using WKTU for New York is garbage-- it's not the least bit "local New York". WNYC is the public radio station for New York City and the only legitimate selection for radio in New York. I can only assume the other stations are equally terrible choices.

Well done for not referencing the similar word to "city" that could describe this radio. It seems the makers didn't pick up on it!

i could see maybe a scenario where a person has a cheap, crappy internet- abled device with a fragmented screen where they could use it as a dedicated streamer for this device to give it a new life, but that's pretty niche.

I now understand why 'passo falso' is written in Italian. Let's say that in Italy we have produced better things over the years, this device is definitely not one of them.

An exciting concept for sure, if only for the tactile nature of it, but it does seem a little bit defunct in this format 🤦🏻‍♀️ Great video as always, my OH and I always get super excited when the alert for a new video/update comes through! 😊

I'm disappointed they didn't arrange the presets as New York, London, Paris, Munich, so we can talk about pop music.

I bought a Roberts Petite radio last year, and to be honest, I've been using it more as a Bluetooth speaker than a radio! For me as a kid, my thing was travelling around the country and seeing different ITV regions on holiday. Occasionally, you'd be able to pick up them in other places due to atmospheric conditions. I recall getting a fuzzy Tyne Tees picture in Sussex!

It seems this will go down in the book of completely unnecessary devices. Stick with my phone and Anker speaker. Works great with a free radio app.

When Steve Jobs said "design is how it works," products like this are why he (and lots of other people) felt the need to make that point. It's relatively easy to come up with an interesting concept sketch, but if you don't have the engineering / QA / detail design / etc. to back it up, then a sketch is all you have.

My mom loved to listen to old radio programs from the 1940s. I got her an internet radio, programmed some internet stations in that played them, but, alas, she still found that confusing. This simple design would have been so much better for her! I do hope this idea is developed/perfected a bit further. I’d almost get one for myself, if I didn’t have too many other similar devices lying around that do the same thing!!! Great review as always!

It's too bad. It's a cute radio. If at the right price, I'd buy this.

Thanks for another great video! I love your tone and attitude, just like me. :)

As always, a well-done review, even though the device did not live up to your expectations. A classic example of design over function. The operating concept is interesting, but not very practical. Considering that the case is not meant to be opened, the shelf life is probably rather poor. I wish I could say more positive things about it, but something tells me that these devices will end up in landfills sooner rather than later.

Is that a 14 Pro or a 14 Pro Max?

I’d love to see “the stack”

This ‘radio’ reminded me of my time in Zimbabwe and how it brought a smile to my face every time I could faintly pick up our local radio news on my little Sony receiver. Today I can easily catch ‘signals’ from all over the globe, but in the meantime I have lost all interest. I think I speak for most patreons when I say that we find your videos to be from simply good to very, very good. I recently listened to a lengthy podcast about the Stockholm Syndrome. At first I didn't like the psychologist, but now I'm a big fan. But that didn't happen to me with Techmoan: I was fond of his video’s from day one. Every time there is a new one out, it brings a smile to my face. So, Mat: never stop.

Just noticed the new phone because of the dynamic island. When did the X hit the recycle bin? 😀

was there a little easter egg in this video that gave us a hint as to what your next car will be. You did say a while ago that you would be getting a new car and i noticed that whilst skipping through your open phone screens a video featuring 2 very well known cars, or am i overthinking things!!!??

Since the audio seems to be just standard Bluetooth Audio (given that it woks on the YouTube app) there's a part of me that wants to get one of these just to reverse-engineer whatever Bluetooth protocol they're using and then you could use it as a Bluetooth speaker with programmable buttons that can be used to manipulate the sound source, but I have other financial obligations right now... would be an interesting hacking project though

A curious combination of device and software. A solution looking for a problem I think. I listen a lot to news stations from around the world, especially the news in English on NHK World Newsline and KBS from South Korea every night. There's a perfect App for this: 1 Radio News - Hourly & Live - no separate speaker or anything else required.

Here in Italy the Cityradio have some mixed reviews (mostly neutral or negative), for the same reasons that you say in the video. If you want, here is a link to an interview at the creator, in Italian, Where they explain more about his creation. https://it.mashable.com/design/3621/una-radio-vintage-per-ascoltare-le-stazioni-di-tutto-il-mondo-lidea-di-un-designer-italiano

Despite it not being what you thought it was - it's an entertaining and well-made video, as always. It's cautionary for those of us who do not want smartphone app required physical devices. First uninteresting story: every time I travel to one city or another, I am fascinated by both the local TV content or radio content. I get berated by family members who criticize I'm wasting vacation time trying to experience either one in my hotel room. Second uninteresting story: this thing reminds me of Magnetic Poetry® Kits that I never used as intended. In college many dorm rooms had magnetic white boards on them, and I would leave short cryptic messages with the magnetic word supply. I was amused when people tried to figure out who had done it. Speaking of Bluetooth speakers - I need to stop procrastinating and invest in a good set of the bookshelf variety. Have yourself a nice coffee on me ☕ and a great day.

Wow, weird! I do find it interesting that people come up with these poor ideas and think they're great.

This feels like something that was designed to be a standalone, self-configuring device, and then got value-engineered down into a bad Bluetooht speaker. And even still, the designers opted for a fiddly "tell the app what buttons are where" interface rather than just using the phone's camera to detect what buttons are where.

I like the aesthetic and the concept, but it's a bit rich for my blood. Now, if this was in a globe of the world form factor, that's a different story... it'd be like using Radio Garden, only tactile.

So, who is the target market for the CityRadio? I looked on their website and checked out the resellers for the U.S. They included: Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Adler Planetarium, The Museum of Modern Art, American Swedish Institute, Museum of Contemporary Art, Central Park Conservancy, NYC, The Art Institute of Chicago, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. They seem to be big among the major museums and cultural institutions in the U.S.

Hmm.. another spot on the storage unit shelf taken up. Shame.

I could see where this was going as soon as you connected to Bluetooth, shame that you can't connect other Bluetooth speakers and that it doesn't automatically connect. I suspect that it would be quite easy to produce the desired internet radio with a Raspberry Pi and an online data file of stations, part of me wants to get one of these and replace its innards, that would also allow adding a line out.

Is it just me, or are those magnetic buttons just waiting to get lost? I tried Googling to get a price, but I didn’t find it. How much is it?

Pity it wasn’t the thing you thought it was. I would also pay for what you describe - a radio that connected to you HiFi and would pick up internet radio. I think Roberts used to make such a device. I think it was before it’s time and may have been discontinued. It was also rather expensive.

I feel like this device would have had broader appeal, particularly in the gift / seasonal space when IoT / “smart” products and devices first came along over 10 years ago. In this day and age when streaming and podcasting dominates, it’s way more of a niche and I suspect those that would want such a device would prefer the type of device you assumed it was at first rather than an app connected Bluetooth speaker.

I wonder if they’ll do a standalone version? I hope so as I like the form factor. Being able to listen to far away cities does still have a certain romance to it..

Seeing Mt. Ceneri on that radio at the beginning was quite a throwback! I used to live near the antenna broadcasting it (20 km or so). It was when telephone lines were still brought into the homes via wires on poles, and I remember that when you lifted the handset, before you started dialing, you could hear the radio programme over the dial tone.

Will the App outlast the batteries ? I have here a Roberts Stream 205 which I picked up at a charity shop for £10. It works, but doing some research it seems that there was a period when the original Radio Server provider went offline leaving people with no way of using them and Roberts looking for a new service. My guess is that was the point in which someone decided it was useless.

What a disappointment! Thanks for making this video to show folks what the story is.

I share your sentiment, I'm not into bluetooth speakers either. I won a Sonos Five speaker a while ago, tried it and ended up selling it. It's a great device, sounds good but it is just not the way I 'consume music'.