Gramofon music streaming device goes beyond Spotify with AllPlay feature

Streaming music gadget Gramofon has been providing people with a way to stream Spotify through their stereos since a successful Kickstarter campaign in April 2014. Now its creator is expanding to other music services.

Wi-Fi hotspots firm Fon has rolled out a software update for its device that includes Qualcomm’s AllPlay technology, including support for Napster, Rhapsody, TuneIn and Aupeo.

The company says other streaming services including Tidal, SoundCloud and iHeartRadio will follow in the coming months, as it tries to persuade users of non-Spotify services to buy one or more Gramofons for their homes.

Fon drummed up more than $315k in pre-orders of the device in its original Kickstarter campaign, passing its original target of $250k.

It plugged in to buyers’ existing hi-fis and streamed Spotify over their Wi-Fi network, pitched as a cheaper alternative to buying a brand new internet-connected stereo from a company like Sonos.

The latter has a much wider selection of streaming services as partners, however. Adding AllPlay goes part of the way towards remedying that, while the new software update also enables Sonos-style multi-room music for people who have more than one Gramofon.

Fon told the Guardian that it has quietly been upgrading existing owners’ Gramofon devices in recent weeks. People who download AllPlay’s mobile app will also be able to stream music stored locally on their device – their iTunes collection, for example.

Expanding beyond Spotify could spur a new bump in sales for Gramofon, especially with the publicity around services like Tidal, which is now co-owned by a group of major artists including Jay Z, Madonna and Daft Punk.

Gramofon’s global head of sales and marketing, Stephen O’Reilly, told the Guardian that streaming services will be able to add AllPlay to their official apps so that their subscribers can stream through the gadget, just like Spotify users can using that company’s Spotify Connect technology.

“None of these guys have their own version of Spotify Connect. Qualcomm solves that problem, and that’s why it’s so attractive to these services,” he said.

“When people are able to play music on their own traditional stereos at home, that all contributes to making the pie for streaming services much bigger, and to making the digital music economy more valuable.”

The price of a Gramofon will drop from €79 to €69 to attract new customers, as well as to tempt existing buyers into buying a second device for the multi-room feature.