Nouveau Clock Radio

Grace Digital Mondo+ Internet Radio

- Bob Ankosko

MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS “CLOCK radio” as I lifted the Mondo+ out of its box. It’s tough to gauge the heft of a product from a picture, so I guess I was expecting something a bit more substantial. Even so, the plastic-encased Mondo+ is nice and compact—about the size of a loaf of bread—and attractive with a smooth gray finish and large color display that serves as a gateway to wireless streaming options and system settings, including—you guessed it—an alarm clock.

Curious to see how quickly I could get the Mondo+ up and running, I set it on my kitchen counter, loaded the supplied AAA batteries into the remote, and plugged the radio into a nearby outlet (a lithium-ion battery pack is available on Amazon for $40). In 3 or 4 minutes, I had connected to my Wi-Fi, loaded internet radio stations into five of the system’s 10 presets, and was enjoying the eclectic sounds of Radio Paradise, a listener-supported, commercial-free station out of Paradise, California. I also downloaded the Grace Digital Controller app to my phone, which put the radio’s controls at my fingertips, even when I walked out of the room. All this without removing the owner’s manual from its plastic wrapper. Kudos to Grace Digital for making setup a breeze.