New iPhone Applications Turn Your iPhone into A Remote Control for the Squeezebox or Transporter

Hi, I’m Matt Cuson and I’m responsible for finding partners who can help Logitech make the Squeezebox line of products the best digital networked music players out there. It’s a lot of fun, but when I have downtime, I draw a comic strip and work with youth sports leagues.

Sometimes you don’t fully appreciate a product’s true value until you’ve had a chance to use it for a while. Case in point: check out this Squeezebox customer blog. Mari isn’t the first customer to be pleasantly surprised by a firmware or software update making her music player even better. The cool thing is that these enhancements aren’t being developed by Logitech alone. Since the Squeezebox software platform is open source and has a robust set of APIs, there are a number of developers making regular contributions to further improve the product.

In fact, in the last month, the developer community released three new iPhone applications that turn Apple’s iPhone into a wifi remote control for all Squeezebox and Transporter devices: iPeng, developed by Jörg Schwieder, Squidgy from EMCC Software Ltd., and Squeemote by Luke Redpath. iPeng and Squidgy also give you access to your favorite Internet Radio stations (e.g., SIRIUS Internet Radio, RadioIO, Radiotime), and personalized, on-demand Web music services such as Pandora, Deezer, Last.fm, Rhapsody, and many others.

I’ll be sure to update you regularly when compelling new enhancements are added to our library. In the meantime, feel free to join our community to search for something new or maybe even to start developing your own plugin.

Author

Director of Business Development

8 comments

  • The SqueezeBox is a great idea. I have looked it over thoroughly, and am just a bit disappointed that it has to be plugged in( no battery capability) and doesnt have a traditional handle. Its not a real boom until you can carry it like one and play it without a plug, like a real “boom box” Simply needs to be more portable. For instance, I might want to carry it out to the deck, by the pool, while its playing. How long will that be?

    • Hi Squeezer,

      Thank you for letting us know how much you would appreciate a portable battery in the Boom. We have received similar feedback from other customers and are taking notes for future products.

      -Matt

  • Hi Matt,

    I have been browsing around looking for a product similar as the squeezebox, just that it should also allow for video playback from your media server.

    At the moment there are 2 types of products around, pure music players, which allow selecting music without a TV connection and pure video (media) players, which can only be controlled if the TV is turned on.

    I really like the idea of the display in the controller (btw. who should buy your controller if an iPod Touch has such a great controller option … ) for selecting music / audio. But I would like to have a single product that can consume streams in my living room. So how about crafting a product that allows both? Operation with TV turned off for pure audio and operation with TV for video & picture streaming?

    Just remember where the idea came from 😉

    • Hey Mark,
      T
      hanks for the feedback. Your assessment of the state of the market is pretty accurate, but markets change and we’re always looking at how to improve our products. Logitech already has quite a bit of experience with video (webcams and home survillance cameras), so you can be sure it’s not being ignored.

      As for your iTouch question, we want you to have lots of ways to enjoy — and control — your music. Today, Squeezebox owners can control their players from an IR remote, the device itself, a PC, our wireless controller or an iPhone or iTouch. We also have home-automation systems that control our players. Because we have an open software platform, we are likely to see innovative third parties develop even more ways of using and controlling our players. We enthusiastically support their efforts.

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate the feedback.

      Matt

  • What Squeezer posted on February 3rd is dead right…

    As summer is here I’ve been itching to take my Networked music library and my SqueezeNetwork music services with me into the garden, but so far been reluctant because of then having to worry about running extension cables, and then bringing my Hi-Fi speakers out into the exposed environment, in which in the UK the weather conditions can change in an instant, plus theirs the chance of damaging my equipment by keep moving it in & out of the house.

    A portable, battery powered device (with a good WiFi range) is what’s needed next from Logitech, but it shouldn’t be just a battery powered version of the ‘Boom’.

    Logitech need a whole new portable player that will fill the Audio gap between the ‘Boom’ and the ‘Duet/Classic’ products, what I mean is that, the sound from a ‘Boom’ (although it sounds quite decent in the bed room/kitchen) won’t have that much presence in a outdoor environment, especially as were blessed with a decent sized back garden.

    I just think the depth and bass of the music would get lost outdoors.

    The portable wireless device should resemble something of a modern ‘Ghetto Blaster’ in proportions that would have a solid build, good bass extension and still maintain a clear crisp top end, and ultimately sound as good indoors as well as outdoors.

    Playing on the retro ‘Ghetto Blaster’ name, the Logitech device should be called something like the ‘Squeezebox Blaster’, to go along side with the ‘Squeezebox Boom’ and ‘Duet/Classic’. Please make this, or something similar happen!!!

  • Hello, I would like to make sure, if my understanding is right – if I want to use some of the apps for iPhone, I need to have turned on a PC with the squeezebox application? If so, is possible to somehow install it into WD MyBook WorldEdition II? Thank you

    • Hi Karel,

      These iPhone apps from the developer community simply let your iPhone act as a remote for the Squeezebox. If your music is stored on a PC, you will still need to have that running to control the tunes from your iPhone.

      -Matt

Comments are closed.