New Squeezebox Radio

**Grumpy Bob** · 2012-08-29, 01:24

I was looking around the Logitech website, and found this page:
http://ue.logitech.com/en-gb/smart-radios
Looks very much like an SBR with altered fascia...
Overall the Logitech site seems to have a revamped set of pages around their audio products.

Robert

**Kevint** · 2012-08-29, 01:30

Very disappointing, looks like a minor hardware revision. I wonder if the new App works with the old product line?

**Squeezemenicely** · 2012-08-29, 01:35

Already being discussed here:
http://forums.slimdevices.com/showth...ars-Squeezebox

Is this the end of SB?

**mherger** · 2012-08-29, 01:38

Ok, I'll try to come up with a quick explanation.

Logitech | UE Smart Radio looks like a SB Radio, sounds like a SB Radio and is running almost the same software. But it's supposed to be much easier to use than the Squeezebox. It's Logitech's attempt at making the product ready for the mass-market. It still offers almost the same feature set as the SB Radio, the same music service, the same sound, while (hopefully) offering an improved UX. Which means:

really easy setup. See eg. bluegaspode's comment about the process in another thread - that's the kind of reaction we hoped to see (no, we did not pay him :-)).
no need to create an account to use it - only once you decide to use one of the music services you need an account on uesmartradio.com (I'll refer to this as uesr.com...). Connect it to your network - done.
no more switching back and forth between a local server and the online backend. UE SR is always connected to uesr.com. This has been a major point of confusion with many users.
local music still can be listened to through the UE Music Library. This successor of LMS concentrates on inventorying your music files, but doesn't have the bells and whistles and overwhelming number of options of LMS.
simplified UI: some of the more obscure options and features have been removed or moved to more hidden places
new mobile apps to control your players and handle the app management
and the UE Smart Radio comes with the battery built in

Unfortunately for the existing SB user these changes also mean:

UE SR is not compatible with SB and mysb.com: you'll need distinct accounts, won't be able to sync your existing SB devices with the SR, migrate settings etc.
as player control is all in the backend now, some of LMS' features and extensibility are gone (eg. the Random Play plugin)
there currently is no web UI to control playback. Use your smartphone/tablet computer instead.
while we plan to offer an optional upgrade path for existing SB Radio users, this will be limited to the Radio

What it does _NOT_ mean:

"this is the end of Squeezebox" - while true, there won't be any new Squeezebox models, it's not the end of your SB. It should continue to work as always. There are NO plans to pull the plug on anything SB related (mysb.com, forums etc.).
"LMS is dead" - It will continue to see some bug fixing and updates to keep up with latest OS developments etc. Eg. check out the 7.8 nightly if you're encountering issues with OSX 10.8 rather aggressive power management.

--

Michael

**Squeezemenicely** · 2012-08-29, 01:51

Thanks Michael,

but what does this sentence from Engadget mean then? "(Logitech says owners of the existing model will get the same software update and app support soon.)"

Will they really keep two Radios that look exactly the same, but one runs with the SB server and one not?

That would not make any sense in my eyes.

Why are SBs vanishing from the german and uk website?

**mherger** · 2012-08-29, 02:14

> but what does this sentence from Engadget mean then? "(Logitech says
> owners of the existing model will get the same software update and app
> support soon.)"

Interesting. You could indeed "update" (downgrade - depending on your POV)
a SB Radio to a UE Smart Radio, because it's basically identical hardware.
There are plans to offer this path to those users who wish to go there.
But it's a Radio only path. All other devices cannot be transitioned.
So... beware of that option.

> Will they really keep two Radios that look exactly the same, but one
> runs with the SB server and one not?

SB labeled products are being phased out. Get them while they're there. :-(

--

Michael

**ModelCitizen** · 2012-08-29, 02:19

I guess this means that support and development of LMS ends here then?

**kidstypike** · 2012-08-29, 02:19

If existing SB Radios get the same software update as the UERadio, does that mean they can no longer sync with Touch, Classic, Boom etc.

Is the software update manatory for existing Radios?

Will the UERadio and software updated SB Radios be able to play local music files?

**Squeezemenicely** · 2012-08-29, 02:24

Originally Posted by mherger

SB labeled products are being phased out. Get them while they're there. :-(

I was scared to read this sentence sometime - now it happened. What a great shame.

So that will also mark the end of LMS development.

How could Logitech kill such a great product?

**autopilot** · 2012-08-29, 02:34

RIP Squeezebox. You served me well for many years. I guess my current devices will still be usual for a while yet, but Sonos here I come...

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