You can have music wherever you go, and wireless to boot

The Audio Centre, with built-in speakers, can hang on the wall.

Technological gadgets come in two types: the kind that debut some innovative feature just for the sake of doing so, and the ones that actually bring something new and useful to the table.

More often than not, the first type doesn't sell, while the second kind becomes a sensation.

The Philips Wireless Audio Centre S700 is not the only device to do what it does, but if I was a betting man, I'd say it's likely to fall into that second category.

The S700 brings two high-tech capabilities to the lowly stereo system - a 40-gigabyte hard drive onto which CDs can be copied, and a broadcast ability that can send music wirelessly to up to five satellite stations. In effect, it's wi-fi hi-fi.

The Audio Centre's best feature is that it's ridiculously easy to use. I literally pulled it out of the box, plugged it into the wall socket and it was ready to go.

No speaker hookups and no complicated configurations, just true plug-and-play.

It's also a very attractive device - sleek, black and rectangular, it looks like many of the flat-panel televisions on the market. And much like the TVs, the speakers are built in, hanging on the sides of the unit.

The S700 can either stand on its base or be hung on the wall with brackets, again like a flat-panel TV.

It has only a single, top-loading CD slot, but it's not really meant to play discs. Users are meant to rip their discs onto it, and with a 40GB hard drive that stores up to 750 CDs, that should cover just about anybody's collection.

The built-in Gracenote CDDB database, meanwhile, automatically recognises track information and records artist name, genre type, album and song name.

The database can update itself through a PC and internet connection.

But connecting the S700 to the PC in order to transfer music or update the database is not quite as simple. Wired connections are done through an ethernet cable, so if the user has DSL broadband, he or she will have to reconfigure IP settings.

The S700 can also connect to the PC through a wireless router, but again, the user will need the know-how to do so.

Once music has been ripped or transferred into the system, it can be broadcast to the satellite stations in one of two ways. The first is the basic broadcast, which streams music wirelessly so that it plays simultaneously on the main unit and the satellite stations.

The second is the nifty "Music Follows Me" feature. This allows music playback to start out on the main unit, then literally follow the user round the house as the satellites pick up and continue whatever song is in progress on the main unit.

It's a very cool function, although not actually as cool as it sounds. First off, the user needs to program the main unit and individual satellites with the remote control in order to prepare the function for use.

Secondly, it's not really as Star Trek-ish as you might hope in that the satellites don't automatically detect the user when he or she enters the room. Instead, the user needs to carry a second, smaller remote and manually activate the satellites when near them.

Thirdly, the music switching is not seamless - it takes a second or two for playback to switch from the main unit to the satellite. That's not long, but it's enough to take off some of the coolness factor.

With both modes, the broadcasting seems to work well enough, although if there's more than one wall between the main unit and the satellite, there could be interference. That basically leads to some tinkering to find the ideal reception spots for the stations, which means function may have to dictate a room's form.

At $2000 for the main unit and one satellite station, the S700 is fairly priced compared with other stereo systems. Additional satellites go for $299, which is a bit steep given their limited role.

Nevertheless, the primary broadcast feature in conjunction with the spacious hard drive makes the S700 an ideal system for those who want to fill their house with music. It would be especially good for parties, too.

Philips WAC S700

Pros: Easy to use, sleek design, spacious hard drive.
Cons: Wireless broadcast a little wonky, expensive stations.
Price: $2000 for main unit and one station, $299 for additional stations.
Herald rating: 8/10