I touched upon the Soniqcast Aireo (see Fig. 1) in a recent EiED Online article entitled Keeping A Secret (ED Online ID 8495). The discussion centered around wireless security more than how the Aireo was designed. This time around I was able to interview Gary Stein, Lead Hardware Designer, SoniqCast. He provides insights into how SoniqCast was able to quickly turn an innovative architecture into a real product.
For those unfamiliar with the Aireo, I provide a quick overview of its features. The Aireo has a USB port, SD flash memory card slot, 1.5Gbyte hard drive, an FM receiver/transmitter, and 802.11b adapter (see Fig. 2). The hard disk can store music or data. Connect the Aireo to a PC via the USB cable and the operating system has access the hard disk as a removable drive.
The 802.11b adapter turns a PC into a personal broadcast station. Songs on the PC can be automatically downloaded to the Aireo's hard disk on a timed basis, usually each evening. The FM transmitter provides a way to connect the Aireo to a car radio or boom box.
Packing all this hardware into a compact package is no easy task. Gary provides some insight into how this came about and what kind of hardware and software is inside the Aireo.
The Interview
Electronic Design: Tell us a little about Soniqcast and the design history of the Aireo.
Gary Stein: SoniqCast LLC was formed in 2003 to develop and bring to market entertainment products with a leading-edge paradigm-wireless connectivity. The Aireo is the first such product, being the world's first (and still only) portable MP3 player with embedded 802.11 technology. The Aireo idea was conceived in 2002 by SoniqCast president Kurt Thielen; the SoniqCast team formed and entered development in 2003. The Aireo was introduced at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show, being a Best of Show finalist. Retail sales of the Aireo commenced shortly thereafter.
The Aireo hardware, software, and industrial design was all done by SoniqCast in the USA; volume manufacturing is done in Asia
ED: How did you arrive at the feature set?
Gary: The original feature set was determined by usage case studies. These studies addressed typical usage models, such as usage in a vehicle, usage while walking, office environment, wireless syncing, etc. Each model delivers a different set of feature optimizations. For example, usage in a docked environment such as a vehicle or desktop dock, minimizes the need for long battery life. Portable use when walking or jogging, however, requires the exact opposite. From these models a feature matrix allowed a set to be chosen that gave the broadest coverage across the multiple models. Of course, some features could not be optimized across all models.
Subsequent feature additions and tweaking came about through usability testing and feedback from beta unit reviewers.