Sonos Introduces New iPhone Controller

Sonos introduced new software today that allows you to control their Sonos Digital Music System using an iPhone. they also announced that Sonos owners will now have free access to Last.fm and Pandora (as in free forever, not a free trial).

Sonos made two important announcements related to its excellent Sonos Digital Music System today : They now have an iPhone app that turns that smartphone into a controller for their music-streaming system, and all Sonos customers now have free access to the Internet radio services Last.FM and Pandora.

By most accounts, the Sonos controller, which features an iPod style control wheel and a luscious 3.5-inch LCD, is better than what comes with any other music-streaming system on the market. Unfortunately, its $399 price tag renders the device more costly than many other entire music-streaming systems, including Logitech’s excellent Squeezebox Classic ($299, including a decidedly simpler remote control).

But if you own an iPhone, you can now download a free app that turns that device into a Sonos controller with all the same (some would say more) functionality.

Squeezebox fans, of course, will point out that an iPhone controller has been available for that music-streaming system for months. That’s just one of the many benefits—to both manufacturers and end users—of open-source software ; the Sonos system is entirely proprietary.

Sonos’ other big announcement today is that all Sonos customers now have free access to the Internet radio subscription services Last.fm and Pandora. Both services analyze the music you listen to and make recommendations of other songs and artists that you might like.