At first glance you may think that the FW-i1000 is a typical Hi-Fi stereo system with its detachable speakers, AM/FM tuner, display functions, dual tape deck, and 3-CD tray, but it's not. Well, if you would like this device to simply play your favorite radio station, tape, or CD, of course it can do that just fine, but if you're looking for something a little more high-tech, the FW-i1000 can take you to the Internet, too.

If you've become addicted to that special salsa station broadcast via the Internet from Brazil or if Italian opera sounds best from a little Internet station in Italy, you can now access them at home from a stereo system, rather than through your PC. The FW-i1000 connects to your home broadband Internet connection via a RJ45 connector. Once you have this set up, the device has access to Internet radio stations via the iM Tuning service, which allows you to access the Best of Planet content on the iM Band, in addition to thousands of Internet radio stations all over the world. The Internet stations are pre-categorized, so you can easily find what you want, and once you do find what you're looking for, you can add up to 40 preset stations. For those special songs that come on, when you can't remember the name or the artist, just hit INFO! for online access to the song name and title. And if you have a special MP3 collection already stored on your PC hard drive, just hook the FW-i1000 to your computer to play those songs.

Since Philips is concerned about sound quality, you can bet that whatever you stream off of the Internet will sound as crisp as possible coming out of the two 120 watt RMS 3-way speakers, which have been enhanced with wOOx technology, allowing for a deep and powerful bass sound. If this sound power isn't enough, you can easily add subwoofers to the device.

The speakers measure 9.45 x 13.19 x 13.66 inches and weigh a hefty 10.6 lbs each. The body component, on the other hand, measures 10.43 x 12.20 x 15.35 inches and weighs 21 lbs.

Pricing and Availability

The FW-i1000 from Philips is currently available for $499.99.

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