Pure Sensia brings app stores to radio

"The radio for Facebook generation"

17 September 2009 10:50 GMT / By Dan Sung

Pure has launched a product today that it hopes will "do for radio what the iPhone did for mobile". That's the dream of the CEO of Pure's parent company, Hossain Yassiae of Imagination Technologies.

The Pure Sensia is a fully connected internet, FM and DAB device, much like their products before, only this time they're adding an app store. "It's the radio for the Facebook generation," according to Pure and the company hopes that it will help make the radio become central to younger generation rather than the PC or the mobile phone.

The device will launch at the end of October with two applications - Twitter and Weather - and the plan is to add Facebook, Picasa and a news link within the next few weeks before offering up an SDK for third party apps next year.

The unit itself works with DAB, DAB+, DMB, FM and internet radio through Pure's Lounge portal. It has a glass capacitive touchscreen, much like the iPhone, it's 5.7 inches in size with VGA resolution and it also has an ambient light sensor to save battery power when not plugged into the wall.

You can upload software updates via Wi-Fi and the USB port, both of which you can also play music through. So, you can stream music to the Sensia from your PC or direct from a memory stick.

There's no on board storage for MP3s but there is an alarm, an external connection for an iPod dock, stereo out, a headphones jack, support for album art and a tilt stand as well. Kitchen sink not included.

The only thing missing for the grand iPhone claims is video playback but, the reason, according to Pure:

"Because it's not a crap TV. It's a really, really good radio. It's to make radio relevant again and to bring it up to date".

The Sensia will be available in red, black, white and yellow and has an RRP of £250.