With streaming music services starting to get mainstream attention, assisted in no small part by the launch Spotify in the U.S., Sonos is ramping up its efforts to establish itself as the home entertainment solution of choice.
The wireless, multi-room streaming music system today unveiled Sonos PLAY:3-a wireless speaker that replaces the more expensive zone system Sonos used in the past. Users will still need the basic Sonos Bridge device, which connects to the Internet to access such streaming music services as Spotify, Rhapsody, MOG, Pandora and others. Then, users can stream that music from the Sonos Bridge to any room with a PLAY:3 speaker.
This is a far cheaper option than Sonos has offered in the past. The Play:3 costs $300, and the cost of the Bridge is now down to $50. And Sonos also has free apps for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices that allow them to act as a controller for the system, saving users an additional cost there as well. To add Sonos to new rooms, simply buy a new Play:3 device.
Brining its prices down is a key need for Sonos, which as done a great job at establishing itself as the leading wireless music streaming system, but to date has struggled to expand its footprint past the early adopter base. It’s firmly hitching its wagon to the popularity of the various streaming music services available today by embedding support for each into the system. With the launch of Spotify, for instance, Sonos provided every customer who’s used a Sonos since 2005 with an invite to the service’s free tier.