Short version: The AUH100F is Aluratek’s new USB to HDMI adapter. If you don’t have a digital video out feature on your computer this is the perfect solution. Perfect for those of us that are tired of watching Hulu or Netflix on the small screen and want something bigger.

Features:

• MSRP: $79.99
• Outputs video and sound from computers USB port

Pros:

• Decent resolution
• Sound quality better than expected
• USB bus powered
• Extended desktop
• Simple installation

Cons:

• Requires a pretty powerful computer for smooth playback
• Screen randomly went blank
• Does not include HDMI cable

Product Site

Borders is also announcing that Velocity Micro’s Android-based Cruz Reader R101 and Cruz Tablet T103 are now available for preorder on Borders.com for $199 and $299 respectively. Borders is currently offering 1.5 million titles through its e-book readers.

It’s no Kindle, but at $149 the Aluratek eBook Reader Pro is a pretty interesting device. It comes with a 2GB card and includes 100 public domain books including Wuthering Heights and The Bible.

It works with PDFs, ePubs, and Mobi files along with standard text files. The whole thing works quite well and it’s a nice, small size, especially for an inexpensive e-reader. It’s definitely a no-frills ereader solution but it may be good for folks who find ebooks online and not through the Kindle store.

Product Page

Quick take: A quality WiFi Internet radio tuner with a decent feature set. It’s too bad that the somewhat complicated setup will confuse some.

The Good Stuff: It works! I can’t say how nice it is to receive a new product, set it up, and enjoy all the benefits without diving into a random forum site for help.

This Aluratek radio tuner is just what I needed. I love listening to the radio, but I moved my office to a location where I can’t get any radio reception. This solved my problem and allows me to listen to every station I want via the extensive radio listings on the Aluratek website.

The sound quality is as good as can be expected from Internet radio. Don’t think this device will enhance the quality. Expect to hear the same quality as if you were to hook up your computer to your AV receiver and stream the radio station over the Internet.

That’s fine with me though. The device hooks up via analog cables to any AV receiver. It’s that easy. Well, the hook up is that easy. Setting up the device’s software and adding the stations is something else.

The Not-so Good Stuff: I configured the radio tuner just fine, but I don’t think my moderately computer literate parents or friends could have done it as easily.

There are numerous steps before this device starts streaming. First you have to get it on the WiFi network – or just plug in an RJ45 cable. That requires painstakingly entering the wireless access code via the remote. Each button has a number and a set of letters assigned. It took me a few minutes to discover you have to hold the appropriate button down to input a letter.

Once that’s done, you have to jump online to setup a playlist. This isn’t the best designed site on the Internet. It isn’t the worst, but it could be so much better. It does allow you to find and add to a playlist the stations you want to listen too. Just don’t mislabel your playlist because I don’t think you can rename it. At least I haven’t figured out how.

Like I said, the setup isn’t that hard for our average CrunchGear reader. But I think the overall process will confuse others.

So…I like it. I like it a lot. It’s a good little device that works as advertised. If you are in need of a way to listen to radio but can’t pick up any stations due to reception, buy this. You won’t be disappointed.

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Most of you who read this site are savvy enough to figure out internet radio for yourselves but for the other 90% of the world, here’s Aluratek’s USB Internet Radio Jukebox. It’s pretty much how it sounds. You plug the USB stick into your computer and, boom, instant internet radio with over 13,000 stations to choose from.

Now if you’ve read and/or watched my review of the Aluratek Internet Radio Alarm Clock, you’ll remember that I used words like “love” and “wonderful.” I’d assume that the USB device from Aluratek might elicit similar responses because it appears to use the same interface as the clock radio except in software form.

The browse-by-location feature is my favorite. I can tap into old radio stations I used to listen to when I lived in Minnesota, I can pull up KEXP from my Seattle college days, and I can listen to the weird-but-cool Cape Cod station, WMVY.

So file this one under “Internet radio for people who’ve heard good things about internet radio but don’t know what the hell they’re doing.” The USB radio goes for under 30 bucks at various online retailers like Buy.com and Amazon.

Aluratek USB Internet Radio Jukebox [via i4u]

Aluratek announced this week their Tornado plus line of external hard drives which feature RFID security key data encryption. Available in two different sizes, (2.5”/3.5”) the USB 2.0 drives come in capacities from 160GB to 1TB.

By swiping the RFID key by the hard drive, data is encrypted and kept locked up until a second swipe releases it. It’s important to note that each device ships with two keys.

The Tornado plus external hard drives are now available at CDW, Amazon.com, Buy.com, PC Connection, Provantage, Newegg and other select resellers for prices ranging from US $119 for the portable 2.5” 160GB version to US $249 for the 1TB 3.5” desktop version.

These Wi-Fi radios have come a long, long way. Case in point, I have an old Linksys WMLS-11B from almost five years ago that requires me to spin around in a circle two times, add a single drop of blood to exactly 6.3 ounces of room-temperature tap water, and paint the Toyota Camry logo on my chest backwards before I can get the thing to reliably stream music wirelessly. Fast forward to the present day, and I just hooked up the Aluratek AIRMM01F and had it streaming music in under a minute.

Overview and Features

• Choose between more than 11,000 radio stations worldwide via built-in vTuner with no monthly cost
• Search music by genre, country or state
• Compatible with universal Plug-n-Play audio servers such as: Microsoft Media Player 11 (WMP11), Microsoft Media Connect, MusicMatch Jukebox
• Wireless access WIFI 802.11 b/g, Ethernet and USB 2.0 (host only) connectivity
• Built-in FM radio tuner for local FM broadcast service
• Access music files (MP3, WMA, WAV) stored on a USB 2.0 flash drive, MP3 player or Hard drive through the unit’s USB port
• Alarm clock function with 2programmable alarms wakes you up to internet radio, FM radio, digital music, or choice of several alarm tones
• Integrated amplifier: 2x2W stereo
• External plug for headsets (3.5mm)
• 2 RCA plugs (Stereo Lineout) for external speakers
• No PC is required
• 1 Year limited warranty

Pros

I need some sort of catch phrase or hook that I can give to product’s I really like. Something along the lines of “Doug’s Picks” or “Friends of Doug” or “Doug’s List of Crap He Likes” – we’ll stick to “Editor’s Choice” for now, how’s that?

Anyway, this thing is on that list. Setup consisted of screwing the antenna in the back, plugging the radio in, and choosing my wireless network. I had music playing in under a minute. You can tap into one of around 11,000 Internet radio stations, sorted by country, genre, or state. Music starts playing close to immediately and the sound quality is good enough that it sounds like it’s coming from an MP3 or CD player.

Menu navigation is intuitive and the built-in USB connection is a simple but wonderful addition, allowing you to plug in a flash drive or external hard drive loaded with music files. The radio also works with UPnP audio servers like Windows Media Player, allowing you to stream tunes from your computer. There’s also a hard-wired Ethernet connection and audio inputs on the back of the unit. If you choose a wired setup, you can use the AIRMM01F into a wireless access point. That’s a very nice touch.

Finally, the price is a reasonable $150 and the unit itself looks nice. I placed it on our fancy-pants Crate and Barrel bookshelf next to various glass jars filled with fake flowers and the martini shaker we never use and my wife didn’t notice it. That’s a good sign if she doesn’t notice a piece of electronic equipment. So you can keep this radio in your living room if you want. Or place it next to your bed and use the straightforward alarm clock function.

Cons

People who are really into AM radio are going to be left out in the cold here. So will a lot of Mac users, especially those with all of their music in AAC format. Music purchased from iTunes won’t play on this unit unless you hook your iPod up through the audio inputs in the back. Non-DRM music in MP3 format, though, such as that purchased from the Amazon Music store, played like buttah.

Conclusion

If you’re in the market for something like this, buy it. Then put it anywhere in your house and stream music to it, listen to Internet radio stations, or plug in an external drive. It’s relatively inexpensive, super easy to use, and works well.

Internet Radio Alarm Clock with Built-in WiFi [Aluratek.com]

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